Moving Beyond Social Language:
How to Teach Academic Language
Presented by Vicki Everhart, Ph.D.CAEBER
CASA Conference at NMSDApril 17, 2010Santa Fe, NM
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
• Freeman, Y. S., & Freeman, D. E. (2009). Academic language for English language learners and struggling readers: How to help students succeed across content areas. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Zwiers, J. (2008). Building academic language: Essential practices for content classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Primary Resources for This Presentation
Plan for This Presentation: To Be Reviewed Quickly
• Difference between academic & social language
• Role of social language in school
• Functions of academic language
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Plan for This Presentation: To Be Covered in Depth
• Supporting academic (English) writing– Text level– Paragraph level– Word level
• Academic content & language objectives– Teachers partnering for student success
• Building academic language with performance assessments
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Cummins’ Views on Language Acquisition
• Types of language proficiency
– Conversational language (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills – BICS)
– Academic language (Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency – CALP)
Source: Baker (2006) pp. 13, 174
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
• Social Language– The way language
is used in daily communications with friends and others we meet
– Can involve writing, but also is less formal than academic language
• Academic Language – The way language is
used in the school or the work setting
– Is more formal, usually conforms to some societal standard
– Is more heavily monitored (self-corrected) than social language
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)
CALP (Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency)
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Source: Cummins (n.d.)
Activity: Review of Social vs. Academic Language
• With a partner (or in small group), quickly write down some examples of students’
– Social language• ASL• English
– Academic language• ASL• English
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Social Academic Language Language
natural face-to-face interaction
letters or email
story-telling
writing or telling about what you know
solving math story problems
formal report about inverte-brates
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Social vs. Academic Language
• Represents a continuum
• Not distinct processes
Social language
Academic language
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Social Language• Informal
• Like language used in daily communication
• Has contextual clues (context embedded)
• Although, it can be informally discussing an academic topic. (This is closer to middle of continuum.)
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Source: Baker (2006) pp. 13, 174
Academic Language
• More formal
• Language used for formal presentations
• More abstract, less contextual clues (context reduced)
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Source: Baker (2006) pp. 13, 174
Communicative Language Functions
• Greetings/leave-takings• Requesting information/assistance• Giving information/assistance• Describing• Expressing feelings
Source: O’Malley & Valdez Pierce (2002) p. 61
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Academic Language Functions
Seeking Information/Informing Comparing Ordering Classifying Analyzing Inferring Justifying and Persuading Solving Problems Synthesizing Evaluating
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Source: O’Malley & Valdez Pierce (2002) p. 62
Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.
Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,
Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.
http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm
Using Academic Language:
Bloom’s Taxonomy
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• http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html
• http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
• http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/blooms.htm
• http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/bloom.html
• http://faculty.washington.edu/krumme/guides/bloom1.html
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Website Addresses
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
• Vygotsky: Learning occurs through social interaction.
Virginia Collier: “A good teacher includes social and academic language development in every lesson.”
Source: Collier (1995) p. 9
Role of Social Languagein School
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Too often, teachers expect students to go directly from social ASL to academic English, bypassing social English and academic ASL (both of which
support development of academic English).
• Social ASL
• Academic ASL
• Social English
• Academic English
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
What is Academic Language?
• Language appropriate for academic settings
• Register used in academic discourse
– Vocabulary, syntax, tone, etc.
• Ability to communicate in academic settings
– Communicate like a scientist, mathematician, literary scholar, etc.
Source: Freeman, Freeman, & Meyers (2006)2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Supporting Academic (English) Writing at:
1) Text Level2) Paragraph Level3) Word Level
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• Personal genres– Presents personal experiences– Recounts, accounts, narratives
• Factual genres– Presents facts– Procedures, procedural recounts, historical recounts, reports
• Analytical genres– Analyzes events or argues for certain interpretation of events– Accounts, explanations, expositions
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Ensure Students Have Experience Reading & Writing the Various Genres in
Your Content Area
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 93-98
• Cohesive sentences– Connecting in a logical way
• Patterns of cohesion– Constant topic– Derived topic– Chained topic
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Reading and Writing Cohesive Paragraphs
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 106-107
• Constant topic– Topic of each sentence is constant
• Derived topic– Topic of one sentence is related to or
derived from topic of previous sentence
• Chained topic– Comment of one sentence becomes the
topic of the next sentence2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Patterns of Cohesion
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 107-108
• Is the pattern of cohesion in paragraph below: constant, derived, or chained topic?
Struggling readers tend to be notably unmotivated. They are especially likely to have low confidence in their reading.
These students are likely to lack confidence in their ability to read of even to improve their
reading skill.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Activity: Patterns of Cohesion
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 106
• Is the pattern of cohesion in paragraph below: constant, derived, or chained topic?
Struggling readers can become engaged readers with the right instruction.
Engaged readers enjoy reading a variety of books. A wide variety of books should be available to students in their classes and
school library.
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Activity (cont’d): Patterns of Cohesion
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 108
• Is the pattern of cohesion in paragraph below: constant, derived, or chained topic?
Struggling readers tend to be notably unmotivated. Often, deaf children can be
identified as struggling readers. Some children in my classroom are struggling
readers, most likely because they did not have early access to a language.
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Activity (cont’d): Patterns of Cohesion
topic comment
Water evaporates when thetemperature rises.
topic comment
??? is one of the stages of the water cycle.
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An Exercise to Teach A Pattern of Cohesion: Chained Topic
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 111-112
• Content-specific vocabulary
– Technical words related to a specific academic discipline
• (English) e.g., hyperbole, quotient, coefficient, googol, schizophrenia, mitosis
• General academic vocabulary
– Words that are used across disciplines and appear in different content areas
• (English) e.g., assessment, evidence, issues, context, hypothesis, longitudinal study
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Content-Specific and General Academic Vocabulary
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 124
Take a minute and jot down some
• Content-specific vocabulary and• General academic vocabulary
from your content area.
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Activity: Content-Specific and General Academic Vocabulary
1) Provide rich and varied language experiences
– Use academic vocabulary in whole-class and small group discussions in students’ first language
– Encourage extended reading
2) Teach individual words
– Students brainstorm synonyms for academic word & then rank words from most neutral to most powerful
– Students complete graphic organizer divided into four main sections
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Teaching Content-Specific Vocabulary
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 126-130
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-examples
Example of Using Graphic Organizer to Learn Academic Vocabulary:
“Force”
Push or pull Measured in “Newtons”
Catching a ball
Throwing a ball
Mass
Weight
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 130
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-examples
Strategy for Learning Individual Academic Vocabulary Words
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 129-130
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Definition Characteristics
Examples Non-examples
Activity: Quickly fill in your own graphic organizer on one of these Content-specific
Vocabulary Words: imagery, metaphor, divisor, hypotenuse, evaporation, gravity, revolution, emancipation, etc.
3) Teach word-learning strategies, using:• Context clues• Word parts• Dictionaries & related reference tools
4) Foster word consciousness• Awareness of & interest in words & their meanings• Discussing the history of certain words• Noting similarities & differences across languages• Discussing new slang terms
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Teaching Content-Specific Vocabulary (cont’d)
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 136-143
• Freeman & Freeman do not advocate direct teaching of general academic vocabulary
• Instead, they recommend:– Teachers briefly explain important general terms
as they run across them • e.g., difference between “summarize” and “synthesize”
– Teachers purposely use general academic vocabulary during class discussion
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General Academic Vocabulary
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 125
Examples of General Academic Vocabulary
• Create• Analysis• Percent• Significant• Context• Hypothesis• Analyze
Signal Words• On the other hand• Similarly• In contrast• Because• Since• Therefore• As a result of
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Sources: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 124; Freeman, Freeman, & Meyers (2006)
• Academic Word Lists– http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist
– http://www.uefap.com/vocab/select/awl.htm
– http://www.esldesk.com/vocabulary/academic
– http://www.doe.in.gov/TitleI/pdf/Word_List_Feldman.pdf
– http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com
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General Academic Vocabulary Resources
Planning Involved in Teaching Academic Language
• Content Objectives– Specifying what students
should know
• Language Objectives– Specifying the language students should
use when demonstrating their knowledge
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA ConferenceSource: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 143-146
• Content objective: Students will demonstrate understanding of four stages of water cycle through labeled drawings and explanatory paragraph.
• (English) Language objective (text level):Students will write a science report referring to their drawing.
• (English) Language objective (paragraph level): Students will use “chained topic” technique to connect sentences within a paragraph.
• (English) Language objective (word level): Students will use sequence words such as first, next, and then in their science report.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Content Area: Science: The Water CycleBig-question theme: What are the cycles we find
in our lives, our environment, and our history?
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 146-150
Teachers Pair Up With Other Teachers from Other Content Areas
• To decide on a “big question” theme(s) together
• Teach language and content organized around integrated units of study
– This helps connect curriculum to students’ lives
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Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) pp. 177-179
Activity: Team With Another Teacher from Another Content Area
• Use the same Big-question Theme from previous example.
• Think of a unit for your content area and create:
– Content objective– Language objectives (English or ASL):
• Text level• Paragraph level• Word level
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
• Content objective: Students will demonstrate understanding of four stages of water cycle through labeled drawings and explanatory paragraph.
• (English) Language objective (text level):Students will write a science report referring to their drawing.
• (English) Language objective (paragraph level): Students will use “chained topic” technique to connect sentences within a paragraph.
• (English) Language objective (word level): Students will use sequence words such as first, next, and then in their science report.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
Content Area: Science: The Water CycleBig-question theme: What are the cycles we find
in our lives, our environment, and our history?
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 150
• Content objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of the western migration by listing reasons for the westward migration that occurred in the United States.
• (English) Language objective (text level): Students will write a historical account of the westward migration describing why events occurred in a particular sequence.
• (English) Language objective (paragraph level): Students will use complex sentences with clauses that show cause and effect as they write and talk about the westward migration.
• (English) Language objective (word level): Students will use content-specific academic words such as “pony express” and “land rush” as they write their account.
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Content Area: Social Studies: Western Movement UnitBig-question theme: What have been the causes
and effects of expansion in the United States?
Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 151
Teachers Addressing the Same “Big Question” Across Content Areas
• Ensures certain concepts and vocabulary are repeated naturally
• Reading materials can be chosen to match the proficiency levels of different students
– Easier and harder books on the same topic
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Source: Freeman & Freeman (2009) p. 180
• Content objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of:
Academic Language FORM:• English Language objective (text level):• ASL objective (___ level):
• English Language objective (paragraph level):• ASL objective (___ level):
• English Language objective (word level): • ASL objective (sign level):
Academic Language FUNCTION:• English academic language functions (e.g., comparing, classifying):• ASL academic language functions (e.g., comparing, classifying):
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Unit Planning Template (example)Content Area: _____: Unit on: ______Big-question theme: _______________
• Provide opportunities for students to use academic language– In real-world ways
• Produce authentic performances or products
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Performance Assessments
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 233
Examples of Performance-Based and Product-Based Assessments
Signed (or Spoken)• Signed (or oral)
presentation• Song or chant• Debate• Court case• Panel discussion• Talk show• Teach a lesson• Conduct interview
Written• Essay• Historical fiction• Editorial letter• Business plan• Book review• Children’s book• Collection of poems or
stories or art• How-to manual
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 234
Examples of Performance-Based and Product-Based Assessments (cont’d)
Drama and Movement• Role play • Monologue• Readers’ theater• Movie script• Dance• Design a video• Lab experiment• Write a play• Puppet show
Visual• Poster• Web page• Video commercial• Computer game• Design a building or
park or school• Magazine• A mural• Slide show
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 234
• Students learn thru doing an activity
• Then for Assessment purposes, that activity is modified (“tweaked” a little)
– So that students can show their ability to apply and transform their knowledge
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Instructional Activities Can Become Performance Assessments
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 233
• Do professionals in the real world memorize list of facts and answer multiple-choice questions?
• Design the activities/tasks based on:
– How people in the real world show their proficiency in that area
– How experts in the topic of study think and express their learning
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Teacher Creating Performance Assessments Tasks
Source: Zwiers (2008) pp. 233-234
• Design a new type of chemical additive to fertilizer • Students do the chemistry.
• Design a new bridge at the lowest cost – Students do the calculations required to meet safety
requirements and cost limits.
• Create a movie scene from a novel– Students interpret what is needed in scene, dialogue, and
action & why action takes place.
• Design a museum exhibit– Students learn facts and controversies, synthesize
importance of artifacts, & organize them in logical way
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Examples of Real-world-based Activities and Assessments
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 234
• Designed at same time the teacher designs the assessment
• Score independent traits, habits, and language separately
• Describe the quality of a student’s use of language
• Are explained by using a variety of work samples that show performance differences
• Use precise descriptors and indicators that enable speakers and readers to verify their scores and accurately self-assess
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Rubrics to Score Performance or Product Assessments
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 237
• A clear idea of what they are to do and not do
• What the product looks like
• How to evaluate each feature that goes into the rubric
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Rubrics Provide Students With:
Source: Zwiers (2008) pp. 237-239
Teachers continually model, scaffold, and highlight the academic language needed
to successfully accomplish the tasks.
• Students do lots of thinking and use lots of language when working with one another
• Students engage in types of thinking and academic language used by experts in the discipline
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Benefits of Real-world-based Activities and Assessments
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 235
• Think of the unit topic you’re teaching in your class(es) now
• Choose one performance assessment in each of the four categories and describe how it could be used to assess your students’ academic language
– You can create additional performance assessments not listed in these categories if you like
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Activity: Performance-Based and Product-Based Assessments
Review: Examples of Performance-Based and Product-Based Assessments
Drama & Movement
• Role play • Monologue• Readers’
theater• Movie script• Dance• Design a
video• Lab
experiment• Write a play• Puppet show
Visual
• Poster• Web page• Video
commercial• Computer
game• Design a
building or park or school
• Magazine• A mural• Slide show
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• Essay• Historical
fiction• Editorial letter• Business plan• Book review• Children’s
book• Collection of
poems or stories or art
• How-to manual
Written
• Signed (or oral) presentation
• Song or chant• Debate• Court case• Panel
discussion• Talk show• Teach a lesson• Conduct
interview
Signed(or Spoken)
Source: Zwiers (2008) p. 234
Summary of What WeCovered Today
• Supporting academic (English) writing– Text level– Paragraph level– Word level
• Academic content & language objectives– Teachers partnering for student success
• Building academic language with performance assessments
Write down one or two new ideas/activities that you want to try with your students to build academic language.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
References
• Baker, C. (2006). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (4th ed.). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
• Collier, V. P. (1995). Promoting academic success for ESL students: Understanding second language acquisition for school. Woodside, NY: New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-Bilingual Educators, Inc.
• Cummins, J. (n.d.) BICS and CALP. Retrieved July 10, 2006, from http://www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/bicscalp.html
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference
References (cont’d)
• Freeman, Y., Freeman, D., & Meyers, M. (2006, January). Developing academic language through thematic teaching using preview, view, review. Presentation at the 2006 National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
• O’Malley, J. M., & Valdez Pierce, L. (1996). Authentic assessment for English language learners: Practical approaches for teachers.Old Tappan, NJ: Pearson Education, Addison-Wesley.
2010, V.S. Everhart, CASA Conference