Tier Two: Academic words that appear across all types of text. These are often precise words that are used by an author in place of common words (e.g., instead of They change meaning with use. “gallop” “run”). Tier Three: Domain-specific words that are specifically tied to content (e.g., These are “Constitution,” “lava”). typically the types of vocabulary words that are included in glossaries, highlighted in textbooks, and addressed by teachers. They are considered difficult words that are important to understanding content. Social vocabulary/language: Cummins (2000) refers to this as proficiency” and, in earlier iterations of his work, as Basic “surface Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS). Wh- questions: and questions. “Who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” “how”
Tier Two: Academic words that appear across all types of text. These are often precise words that are used by an author in place of common words (e.g., “gallop” instead of “run”). They change meaning with use. Tier Three: Domain-specific words that are specifically tied to content (e.g., “Constitution,” “lava”). These are typically the types of vocabulary words that are included in glossaries, highlighted in textbooks, and addressed by teachers. They are considered difficult words that are important to understanding content. Social vocabulary/language: Cummins (2000) refers to this as “surface proficiency” and, in earlier iterations of his work, as Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS). Wh- questions: “Who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” questions.
ELPStandards_ProficiencyLevelDescriptors_Dec2013FINAL.docx