What does CALPS stand for in the context of second-language development?

What does CALPS stand for in the context of second-language development?

• A. Cognitive Language and Proficiency Standards
• B. Communicative Academic Language Proficiency
• C. Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
• D. Cultural and Linguistic Proficiency System

Answer: (C)

CALPS stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency—the level of language students need to understand and engage with school content. This isn’t everyday conversation; it’s the ability to handle the language of lessons, textbooks, lectures, and assessments: grasping complex ideas, following multi-step instructions, using discipline-specific vocabulary, and explaining reasoning in academic tasks. In second-language development, this kind of language grows more slowly and requires explicit instruction and time to mature, beyond simply social, everyday talk. That’s why this phrasing is the established label for the concept. The other options mix terms that aren’t used together to name this construct. They don’t reflect the recognized term for the academic-language dimension of second-language development.

CALPS stands for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency—the level of language students need to understand and engage with school content. This isn’t everyday conversation; it’s the ability to handle the language of lessons, textbooks, lectures, and assessments: grasping complex ideas, following multi-step instructions, using discipline-specific vocabulary, and explaining reasoning in academic tasks. In second-language development, this kind of language grows more slowly and requires explicit instruction and time to mature, beyond simply social, everyday talk. That’s why this phrasing is the established label for the concept.

The other options mix terms that aren’t used together to name this construct. They don’t reflect the recognized term for the academic-language dimension of second-language development.