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Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Definitions and Contexts
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Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Definitions and Contexts

Foreword by Jeff Zwiers



April 2014 | 256 pages | Corwin
Ensure your school speaks the language of success! 

With the rigorous content of College and Career Readiness standards, academic language use has moved to the forefront of educational priorities. School leaders and teachers must ensure that academic language becomes the focus of new curricula, instruction, and assessment, with special attention to linguistically and culturally diverse students.

The author’s six-book series on academic language is already the definitive resource on the topic. This companion volume provides a concise, thorough overview of the key research concepts and effective practices that underlie the series. Including:

  • Definitions and examples of the dimensions of academic language.
  • A step-by-step template to incorporate academic language use into plans for student learning.
  • Graphic models that illustrate the construct of academic language and its classroom application. 

Language is the most fundamental building block of education. Be sure your school is as strong as it can be with this indispensable book.

"This book brings language learning in the classroom alive!  Against a backdrop of new standards, the authors skillfully take the reader through detailed vignettes of classroom practice that support students’ development of academic language, while at the same time discussing why the practice is effective.” 
—Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA

 
Foreword
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgements
 
About the Authors
 
In the Beginning….
 
1. What is Academic Language?
The Role of Language in Schooling and Beyond

 
Different Registers

 
The Nature of Academic Language

 
Evolving Perspectives of Academic Language

 
Academic Language Versus Social Language Perspectives

 
Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspectives

 
Language Skills Perspectives

 
Sociocultural Perspectives

 
Language as Action Perspectives

 
Academic Language Learning as a Developmental Process

 
Considerations for Students with Disabilities

 
Oral and Written Languages

 
Oral Language as a Vehicle for Promoting Academic Language Development

 
Oral Language as a Bridge to Literacy

 
Multiliteracies and Multimodalities as Sources of Academic Language

 
Raising Awareness of Academic Language

 
Academic Language and Social Justice

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
2. What Are the Dimensions of Academic Language?
Identifying Academic Language Within and Across Content Areas

 
Analyzing Academic Language Within Discourse

 
Balance Between Informational and Literary Texts

 
Differences Between Nonfiction and Informational Texts

 
Examining Sentence-Level Structures

 
Language Functions as Expressions of Sentence-Level Meaning

 
Identifying Vocabulary--Words, Phrases, and Expressions

 
Development of Academic Vocabulary

 
Teaching Academic Vocabulary in Authentic Contexts Through Meaningful Interactions

 
Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
3. How Do Standards Define and Shape Academic Language Use?
The Impact of the New Standards on Shaping Academic Language

 
Bringing Standards Together: Content Learning Through Language and Language Learning Through Content

 
Content and Language Learning for English Language Learners

 
The Impact of Standards in Shaping Grade-Level Language for Academic Purposes

 
Academic Language Within Content Standards

 
Resources for ELLs for the New Content Standards

 
Examples of Academic Language in Content Standards

 
Academic Language in English Language Development/Proficiency Standards

 
Academic Language Use in Language Standards

 
The Impact of Home Language on Academic Language Development

 
Suggestions for Redefining Teaching and Learning Around Academic Language Use

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
4. How is Academic Language Used in Content Areas Schoolwide?
Seeing Academic Language Throughout the School Day

 
Listening in the Music Classroom

 
Moving From a Physical Education Class to the Arts

 
Looking Into Mathematics Classrooms

 
Entering an English Language Arts Class

 
Visiting a Science Class

 
The Language of Science Textbooks

 
Exploring Academic Language in a Social Studies Class

 
The Specialized Language of Social Studies Texts

 
Effective Instruction in Content Classrooms Around a Unit of Learning

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
5. How Can Academic Language Be Integrated Into Instruction and Assessment?
Maintaining a Focus on Academic Language: A Historical Perspective

 
Planning a Unit of Learning Around Academic Language Use

 
Capitalizing on Linguistic and Cultural Resources

 
Deciding on a Theme for a Unit of Learning

 
Matching the Theme to Standards

 
Academic Language Use in Learning Targets and Differentiated Objectives

 
Infusing Academic Language Into Unit Targets and Differentiated Lesson Objectives

 
Instructional Activities and Tasks

 
The Relationship Between Assessment and Instruction

 
Placement of Assessment Within a Curricular Framework

 
Assessment Across Lessons of a Unit: Measuring Standards and Learning Targets

 
Assessment Within Lessons: Measuring Differentiated Objectives

 
Crafting Instructional Activities and Tasks

 
Reflecting on Teaching and Learning

 
Teacher Reflection

 
Student Reflection

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
6. How is Academic Language Situated in Curricular Design and Infused Into Professional Learning?
A Theoretical Basis for Curricular Frameworks

 
Early Thinking on Curriculum

 
Recent Thinking on Curriculum

 
Conceptual Frameworks That Integrate Language and Content

 
The Value of an Integrated Curricular Framework for Diverse Schools and Districts

 
A Curricular Framework That Features Academic Language Use

 
The Role of Professional Learning in Understanding and Promoting Academic Language Use

 
Implementing Professional Learning: From Two Participants to District Level Participation

 
Making School a Meaningful Experience for 21st Century Students

 
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning

 
Transformation of Schools

 
Promoting Academic Language for All Students and Teachers

 
Seeking Advocacy Within the Educational Community

 
For Further Thinking

 
 
At the End….
 
Resources
 
A. CCSS for Mathematics and Related Academic Language
 
B. Examples from the CCSS for English Language Arts of Related Academic Language
 
C. A Curricular Framework Highlighting Academic Language
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index

"This book brings language learning in the classroom alive! While there is plenty of theory and research to ground the practices the authors describe, this is not a dry book about language learning. Against a backdrop of new standards, the authors skillfully take the reader through detailed vignettes of classroom practice that support students’ development of academic language, while at the same time discussing why the practice is effective. For those who are interested in learning more about academic language and how to help students develop it, this book is a must read."

Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development
National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA

"This detailed and richly exampled book provides a comprehensive framework for both pre-service and practicing teachers to dig deeply into the nature and development of the language skills necessary for academic success. It emphasizes the need to move beyond a narrow conception of academic language as vocabulary words to an exploration of the nature of instructional and assessment practices that develop language and thinking at the conceptual and discourse levels. The classroom-based examples from across the curriculum, including the arts and physical education, illuminate the nature of the language demands unique to and common across each discipline. I highly recommend this book as a vital tool to guide curriculum planning and renewal at every level."

Nancy Commins, Clinical Professor
School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado at Denver

"Academic Language weaves content and language teaching as a focus for designing viable units of learning throughout the school year. By providing students with linguistic tools to understand and use academic content, it enhances their opportunities to meet the rigor of the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. The authors offer explicit examples of how to build students’ language development using a framework with clear learning targets that lead to effective teaching practices."

Janeen A. Kelly, Director of Department of ELL/WL
Washoe County School District, Reno, NV

"This book provides a promising vision on how to teach academic language to diverse learners including English Language Learners (ELLs). The authors present a comprehensive framework that combines learning content and language in ways that engage students to learn key ideas and concepts, link concrete knowledge and abstract knowledge, and promote critical thinking. The specific steps on how to create differentiate language objectives for ELLs at different levels of English language proficiency is particularly helpful. I highly recommend this book for general education and English as-a-second language teachers who work as a team to provide effective instruction for diverse learners."

Maria del Rosario (Charo) Basterra, Deputy Director
The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center
Key features
(1) Examines the evolving theory behind academic language.

(2) Includes graphic models that to explain and clarify the construct of academic language

(3) Presents definitions and examples of each of the components of academic language.

(4) Features a step-by-step template for teachers who wish to incorporate academic language into their planning for student learning.


Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

1. What is Academic Language?


For instructors

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