This also reminds me of my experience learning English. There are two main tests assessing English ability adopted in China—TOEFL and IELTS. Despite being a bit overgeneralizing, TOEFL focuses more on CALP whereas IELTS puts more daily scenarios into the exam. This also shows how influential Cummins' BICS/CALP dichotomy is. I started to prepared for TEOFL at 10th grade, before which I learned only BICS, basic BICS. With that said, I only know how to start a conversation, and some basic syntax and grammar. I had no idea how to write an email, or how I can take orders or checkout. In contrast, I must be a genius under Cummins' framework—I only took not even two years to harness CALP. However, after coming to the U.S., I found I knew so little about BICS. Even now I cannot read the menu most of the time. From my experience, I do not agree with Cummins' point that CALP is somewhat more complex and advanced than BICS. But neither do I know if the dichotomy of BICS/CALP really exists because I was taught under the exact framework, assuming the existence of the dichotomy. This framework does have some positive impacts, though, in that it helps reject the practice of assessing immigrant students under the NCLB and ESSA. This kind of rejection allows teachers to not teach to tests, but really focus on students' growth instead.
The critique from the FAQ to Cummins' dichotomy is quite interesting. The critique starts from a consideration of how this dichotomy, along with the history of racism in the U.S., negates the languages possessed by racial minorities in the U.S. school settings. This makes a lot sense, especially when the author points out that CALP stems from colonialism. I would argue that there should not be any divide between BICS and CALP, which are socially constructed. However, just like race, these social constructs rendered some real world impacts. Being aware of this divide helps to demolish it. As the author seeks to integrate more BICS into academic settings. From my experience in the fieldwork, the topics for students in the English Language Development class seem to focus more on BICS.
Lippi-Green's chapter provides supplements to the understanding of BICS/CALP. The myth of "no accent" is constructed to act against and further justify the systemic discriminations and inequalities. This applies to BICS/CALP as well.