Key Concepts from ELL Acquisition versus Learning (combining) Influence of L 1 on L2 Profiles of English Learners How Long Does it Take to “Catch Up”? Language Levels Input & Output Combining Modes R / W / L /S

Beyond Krashen Output – Language Production as Comprehension – Fluency takes repetition Modes – Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking Language taught through engaging, relevant content

Iceberg Metaphor Observable Language is the tip of the iceberg Performance: The language use in interaction that we can observe – ability to perform varies by situation. Competence: The underlying abilities that are often invisible. Individual’s literacy and language abilities in L1, content knowledge and understandings (schema) transfer directly to L2.

Profiles of ELL Students Newcomer with Foundation of Learning in L 1 Newcomer with Disrupted Schooling Long Term English Learners Emergent or Simultaneous Bilinguals Native English with Non academic dialect

Academic vs. Social Language Social Language – Everyday language – Easily understood – Many idioms, multiple meanings Academic Language – Specific vocabulary and language structure – Misunderstood by many students (E.O.’s included) – Specific meanings, little interpretation – “Language of academic discourse”

Academic Language is…  Language used during teaching and learning.  Varies across Disciplines.  Links directly to Cognition in Concepts and Abstractions.  Supports Higher Order Thinking.  Expresses Emotion and Aesthetics.  Language of literacy, numeracy.  Is Cultural Capital in School & Work.

Academic Language in TPA Language of the Discipline – Forms – Functions Language of Instruction – Teachers’ direction – Students needs to participate Become a language watcher / illuminator – Language demands in tasks, texts

Student needs to… Develop academic vocabulary. Understand and use correct grammatical structures and appropriate discourse. Read to acquire new information. Understand information presented orally. Participate in classroom discussions. Write to communicate their knowledge and ideas.

Teacher’s Role in Academic Language Development Teach academic language in the context of content instruction Find opportunities to work on the kinds of construction that figure in logical reasoning – Use conditional sentences or conditional comparative constructions Find opportunities to teach the meanings and uses of terms that express relationships in time, space, quantity, direction, order, size, age, and so on… – The standards may not include these, but the tests rely on them.

Language Functions Functions (Dutro & Moran, pp ) – The tasks or purposes AND uses of language. – We use language to accomplish something in formal or informal settings, for social or academic purposes. Social purposes include: exchanging greetings, expressing needs, making jokes, exchanging greetings, indicating agreement or disagreement, participating in personal conversations, expressing intimacy or distance in relationships, etc.

Academic Language Functions Academic Language Functions Dutro & Moran Navigating written text Asking/answering informational questions Asking/answering clarifying questions Relating information Comparing and contrasting Explaining cause and effect Justifying and persuading Drawing conclusions Summarizing Evaluating Conducting research

Academic Language Functions Academic Language Functions Chamot and O’Malley Seek Information - use who, what, when, where, how Inform - recount information or retell Compare - explain graphic organizer showing contrast Order - describe timeline, continuum or cycle Classify - describe organizing principles Analyze - describe features or main idea Infer - generate hypotheses to suggest cause/outcomes Justify & Persuade - give evidence why “A” is important Solve Problems - describe problem-solving procedures Synthesize - summarize information cohesively Evaluate - identify criteria, explain priorities, etc.

Language Function: Compare/Contrast Marine mammals Ocean fish Born alive Lungs Warm blooded Produce milk Born from eggs Gills Cold blooded Do not produce milk Excellent Swimmers Vertebrates Live in groups

Learning Academic English Children do not acquire A.E. on their own A.E. must be specifically taught What can a teacher can do? – Oral language: high level responses

Academic Language Forms: Compare/Contrast Sentence Frame: ________ have __________, whereas________ have _____________. Marine mammals have lungs, whereas ocean fish have gills. Providing the mortar words will enable students to use language to compare and contrast.

Social Studies In social studies, long sentences with multiple embedded clauses are common. Cause and effect statements are frequent. – Because there will be more people in the world in the future, we will need more land on which to build towns and cities. Various verb forms are used: – “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” Augustus is supposed to have spoken these words as he lay dying. He was Rome’s first emperor, and started the first of its great building programs. He claimed that he had had over 80 temples rebuilt. Frequent use of pronouns it and they as referents.

Mathematics Comparatives: – 6 is greater than 4 – Maria earns six times as much as Peter – Lin is as old as Roberto Prepositions: – (divided) into, divided by, – 2 multiplied by 6 and X exceeds 2 by 7 Passive voice: – X is defined as a number greater than 7. Reversals: The number a is five less than b. Logical connectors: if…then – If a is positive then -a is negative.

Science Use of passive voice Multiple embeddings Long noun phrases serving as subjects or objects If…then constructions Logical connectors (if, because, however, consequently)

Fluency Fluency (Dutro & Moran, p. 242) The facility with which a speaker, reader and writer uses language. Developed through focused and deliberate engagement with a range of uses of language (both oral and written), and many opportunities to practice the newly learned forms in different contexts.

What can you do? Select an academic content standard you work with and identify the academic language required for student mastery of that standard. What strategy would you use to teach the academic language in that standard? Select an academic content standard you work with and identify the academic language required for student mastery of that standard. What strategy would you use to teach the academic language in that standard? Further reading: Further reading: – Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms. Zwiers, Jeff. Jossey-Bass Teacher a John-Wiley imprint pages.

Sources Slides – PACT Implementation Conference, November 14, 2008, Ann Lippincott, Laura Hill-Bonnet, Teacher Education Program - UCSB Outlook/2005/nov_dec/ELLOutlookITIArticle1.htm Outlook/2005/nov_dec/ELLOutlookITIArticle1.htm 08.htm 08.htm Teaching Learning Strategies and Academic Language, Anna Uhl Chamot &Jill Robbins, PowerPoint Teaching Academic Vocabulary to English Language Learners: Where do we start?, author unknown, PowerPoint.