BICS & CALP

Describe your own language learning experience and knowledge using the terms BICS and CALP

As a child I grew up learning Arabic and German at the same time. In Sudan, my home country English is the major language besides Arabic, so I was also already surrounded by the English language at an early age. I started learning English when I was in 5th grade but my parents would teach me some English even before that. That English surely would be BICS-English

In Sudan we usually watched movies in English and thats when my interest in the English language really started because I enjoy the original language of the movies much more than an arabic or german translation. What further deepend my enthusiasm for the English language was my passion for Music. 95% of the Music that I listen to is English. I learned a lot of expressions and slang language from American music artists. So basically the English I have learned was exclusivelly BICS-English.

I would say that in 12th grade, when I was able to choose English as an intensive course, my CALP English strated to improve dramatically. Since enrolling in University and studying English my CALP Level enhances steadily. At the same time my BICS-English is also improving continuosly because I talk a lot to friends in the United States on the phone or by mail and through that I grasp the one or other saying. What I also got used to in the last 2 years is reading news online in Enlglish. I particularly enjoy reading a lot of sports news. The language used on these sites help me better both my BICS and CALP-English at the same time.