I believe what Cummins (2011) suggests academic proficiency is simply put understanding and recognizing grade level appropriate DURR sight words and language used inside the classroom. This may be more difficult for ESL learners. “The academic language proficiency Cummins states that while many children develop native speaker fluency (i.e. BICS) within two years of immersion in the target language, it takes between 5-7 years for a child to be working on a level with native speakers as far as academic language is concerned” (Cummins, 2011).
A question I have is: Are there resources and training available to students to help decrease the gap of 5-7 years so a child can be on a working level of native speakers in terms of academic language?
Reference:
esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/cummin.htm