1. Dr. Melanie Hundley Vanderbilt University
Implementation Conference
November 2, 2012
Academic Language 101
Dr. Melanie Hundley
Vanderbilt University

2. Task How do you define academic language?
vocabulary of content
vocabulary of school
How should teachers address academic language in their classes?
teachers should pay attention to the words kids need
tell the students the definitions of the words that are hard
2 Questions

3. Setting the Stage—Student Voices What is Academic Language?
Agenda
Two Questions
Setting the Stage—Student Voices
What is Academic Language?
Multiple areas of academic language
Academic Language in planning
Academic Language in assessment
Resources for Academic Language
Overview of Academic Language in edTPA
Define academic language in the big picture—school and classroom

4. School is where you go to learn a secret language but they don’t tell you that it’s there. You have to figure it out on your own. It’s like an initiation to a secret club. Maya, 8th grade.
Student Voices
Secret Language

5. Language is the primary vehicle for learning, instruction, and overall intellectual development. It is not only a means for communicating information, it is also a vehicle for deepening their understanding of important ideas. Kersaint, Thomspon, & Petkova, 2009, p. 46.)
Research Voices
Language of School

6. Academic Language Definition
the language of the discipline that students need
to learn and use to participate and engage in meaningful ways in the content area
the oral and written language used for academic purposes
the means by which students develop and express content understandings.
SCALE
edTPA

7. Academic Language Challenge
The more experience we get with our content area, the more expert we become; the harder it is to “see” academic language.
blind spot
familiarity
Academic Language Challenge
Cathy Zozakiewicz
SCALE
edTPA

8. Academic language is the oral and written language that students need in order to
understand (read, listen, think)
communicate (listen, speak, write, connect)
perform (think, read, write, listen, speak, create)
Academic Language is necessary to participate in the content
think
question
talk
learn
Definition
If we think about academic language as the oral and written language that students need in order to understand (read, listen, think), communicate (listen, speak, write, connect), and perform (think, read, write, listen, speak, create) in the specific subject areas taught in schools, we realize that it is complex and complicated. We are teaching our students ways of participating in the content—how to think about it, how to question or talk about it, how to learn it.

9. Zwiers’ describes academic language as “the set of words, grammar, and organizational strategies used to describe complex ideas, higher-order thinking processes, and abstract concepts” (p. 20).
Research Voices
Terms
Linguistic Processes
Patterns
Set of words
Grammar
Organizational Strategies
Thinking through the tasks
ELA Lesson Plan Questions
Math Lesson Plan Questions

10. Academic Language
What are the words & structures that students need to know to understand & make meaning in your content area?
Set of words
Grammar
Organizational Strategies

11. I eventually figured it all out but, for a while there, all these words and terms and names that I didn’t understand were flying around. I felt pretty clueless. Amy, professional year
Pedagogy. Curriculum. Unpack. Reflect. I was pretty lost in my first education classes. I needed the secret decoder ring or something. Sam, professional year
Student Voices
Pre-Service Teachers
One goal was to think about the academic language that is part of our work.
How could we model for our students the work we needed them to do for their students?
All this work paying attention to the language of the school & class & content really helped me see where my students might struggle. I figured out where I struggled and how I figured things out. Miles, professional year

12. Academic Language Program Examples
Think about your program.
What terms, ideas, structures do you use?
What terms/structures are unique to your program?
Context—The Program
Context—The School
Observation Example
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Example 1
Lesson Plan Example 2

13. Academic Language Common Core State Standards
Emphasis on texts & writing across content areas
Developmental
vocabulary of discipline
tools
trajectory
CCSS Writing Standards
CCSS 3 Text Types

14. Academic Language
“What I realized as I worked with my content was that I really had to show my students how to organize the stuff they were learning. ” (Scott, 2011)
Social Studies
Thinking through the tasks
Set of words
Grammar
Organizational Strategies

15. I was wrong. I thought that y’all were just over-emphasizing something that students really just knew if they just paid attention. So, I assigned a writing prompt and the students wrote almost nothing. It was like they didn’t understand what I was asking them to do. (Ben, 2010)
Student Voices
What my students needed to be successful

16. Writing Prompt Discuss Steve and Frankenstein.

17. Student Work They are books.
Monster is about a boy. Frankenstein is about a monster.

18. I revised the prompt thinking that just doing that would solve the problems. I was careful about the verbs I chose to replace discuss. I wanted to be more specific about what they were actually going to do in the writing.(Ben, 2010)
Student Voices
What my students needed to be successful

19. Writing Prompt Discuss Steve and Frankenstein.
Compare and contrast Steve in Monster and the monster in Frankenstein.

20. Student Work
Steve in Monster got no future in the world he in. He broke the law got caught in a store spent jail and on trial. His future done gone away tho he ant convcicted. It don’t matter that he might notta done it. He got nothin now jail done shaped him. He cant escape his maybe action. Like the monster in Frankenstein he got no choice in what people do. Both Steve and the momster shaped by they society.

21. The response was better
The response was better. The students kind of knew what to do but there was still something missing. So, this time I used several scaffolds to help the students. A Venn Diagram. Sentence frames. Sentence Combining. (Ben, 2010)
Student Voices
What my students needed to be successful
Venn Diagram
Sentences

22. Revision
Steve, the main character in Walter Dean Myer’s novel Monster, was not convicted of the crime he was accused of but he still has no future because of the appearance of being a convict. He is in a world that judges young men by the color of they skin. News stories about them. It will not matter to society that he was not convicted; he will always be a monster because of who he is. As a young, black man who has been in jail and on trial. He will be judged as monstrous because of how society will see him. He will always have the stigma of both trial and jail and won’t be able to escape that. Similarly, the monster in Frankenstein will always be judged by his outward appearance. He looks scary and people don’t know what to expect from him. Both Steve and the monster are products of their society and are judged and condemned by their society. It doesn’t matter that they may be innocent; they have the appearance of being monsters by society’s standards. Neither one of them will be able to escape the views of society.
Compare and contrast Steve from Monster and the monster from Franksenstein.

23. I can do the work for a class as long as I know what the teacher means by what she says and what she asks. When a teacher makes things clear for me, I think I am a good student. Leah, 12th grade
Student Voices
Making Academic Language Visible

24. “When we teach a subject, or any topic or text within that subject, we must teach the academic vocabulary for dealing with it—not just the words, but also the linguistic processes and patterns for delving deeply into and operating upon that content” (Wilhelm, p. 44).
Research Voices
Terms
Linguistic Processes
Patterns
Terms
Linguistic Processes
Patterns

25. Support for Language Tasks
Students need to be able to participate in the learning environment in order to be successful.
Access
Vocabulary
Command Terms
Scaffolds/Tools
Structures for making meaning
Student Notes
Task Practice
Command Terms
Burke Term List

26. Most of the time I don’t even know how to start or what to do
Most of the time I don’t even know how to start or what to do. It’s more than just sometimes not knowing the words in the directions. It’s knowing what I am supposed to use when I talk in the class or when I write something for class. Matt, 12th grade
Student Voices
Making Academic Language Visible

27. List command terms that you might use in your classroom that could cause students problems.
Annotate
In English—you add notes and/or commentary to text, usually explaining something or going deeper into the specific meaning, make connections, identify and/or explore key literary elements
In Science—add brief notes to a diagram or graph
Task
Think about when you were in middle and high school. What words in the directions caused you problems?
Think about your content area. What words could cause student problems?

29. Student Notes Example

30. So? How do we put it together?
Academic Language in Planning and Assessment

31. Focus on Student Learning
edTPA
Planning
Use knowledge of students
Build content understanding
Design assessments to monitor student learning
Instruction
Student engagement
Student thinking
Subject-specific pedagogy
Assessment
Analysis of student learning
Provide feedback
Academic Language
Justifying instructional decisions
Vision of Teaching
Academic Language
Analyzing Teaching
Language is a tool used to perform functions in an academic setting.
How & what language we use i
Students need to develop fluency using this tool.
Academic Language
Using data to inform instruction

32. edTPA
There are language demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning of content, which include:
Vocabulary
Language functions
Syntax
Discourse

33. Academic Language Discourse Language Demand Language Functions Syntax
edTPA Terms
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax

34. Academic Language Oral and written language used for academic purposes
edTPA Terms
Academic Language
Oral and written language used for academic purposes
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax

35. Discourse Structures of written and oral language
edTPA Terms
Discourse
Structures of written and oral language
How members of the discipline talk, write, and participate in knowledge construction
Discipline-specific
Distinctive about features/way of structuring language (text structures)
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax
In mathematics, language structures include (pull from handbook to use for notes. P. 39

36. edTPA Terms
Language Demands
Specific ways that academic language is used by students to participate in learning tasks
reading
writing
listening and/or speaking
demonstrate/perform
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax

37. Language Functions content and focus of the learning task
edTPA Terms
Language Functions
content and focus of the learning task
Represented by action verb within the learning outcome (describing, comparing, summarizing, etc.)
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax

38. edTPA Terms
Syntax
Set of conventions for organizing symbols, words and phrases together into structures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables)
Academic Language
Discourse
Language Demand
Language Functions
Syntax
Each genre generally has one or more corresponding linguistic features.
Retell an event - regular and irregular past tense verbs
Describe people/things - adjectives
Describe place - prepositions
Describe actions - adverbs and -ing verb endings
Compare/Contrast attributes -er and -est endings
Give/Carry out commands - imperative verbs
Generate hypotheses - if…then
Justify or persuade - logical connectors (however, furthermore, therefore)

39. Yet another consideration…
Characteristics of textual resources

40. In social studies, long sentences with multiple embedded clauses are common.
Frequent use of pronouns it and they as referents.
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.
Social Studies

41. Long noun phrases serving as subjects or objects
Use of passive voice
Multiple embeddings
Long noun phrases serving as subjects or objects
If…then constructions and logical connectors (if, because, however, consequently)
The Calvin cycle is sometimes referred to as the “light-independent reactions” because, unlike the light reactions, it does not require light to begin. However, this does not mean that the Calvin cycle can continue running in a plant kept in the dark. The Calvin cycle requires two inputs supplied by the light reactions, ATP and NADPH.
Science 41

42. Mathematics
Comparatives:
6 is greater than 4
María 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.

43. Vocabulary Narrative Structures Literary Response
Text, character, plot, theme, thesis, characteristics, genre, metaphor, simile, gerund
Narrative Structures
Quotatives
Descriptors
Inferential language in metaphors
The use of “like” or “as” in similes
Literary Response
Generating/Justifying an opinion
Citing evidence
English Language Arts

44. Teacher Candidate Rephrase
What are the key words and phrases my students will need to understand, read and use in the learning activity?
Which of these words/phrases will be new to my students? 
Which of these words/phrases have different meanings in other contexts? Which might be confusing for students?
Is there a non-jargon, student-friendly way to explain this to students?
English/
Language Arts Terms & Phrases
Adapt Handout
Handout

45. Teacher Candidate Rephrase
How (i.e., for what purpose) will students be using language in the learning activity?
What key words/phrases will students need to understand in order to follow the directions in the learning activity?
What key words/phrases will students need to understand in order to work with texts in the learning activity?
What key words/phrases will students need to understand in order to
talk about the texts?
write about the texts?
create similar texts?
Teacher Candidate Rephrase
Terms
Phrases
Using Language
What are you doing with language in the lesson?

46. Math Example (Emily)
What are the key mathematical words and phrases my students will need to understand and use in the learning activity?
Which of these words/phrases will be new to my students?
Which of these words/phrases have different meanings in informal/non-mathematical conversations?
What are “kid-friendly” ways of describing each of these?
Mathematical Vocabulary & Representations
Handout
Emily’s Notes

47. Math Example (Emily)
Which new mathematical representations (including notation) will students need to learn to “read” and use in the learning activity?
What “non-mathematical” words or phrases will my students need to understand in order to make sense of the task scenarios in the learning activity?
Mathematical Vocabulary & Representations

48. Math Example (Emily)
How (i.e., for what purpose) will students be using language in the activity?
Which key words/phrases will my students need to understand in order to follow directions during the learning task, and which of these will be new to my students?
Write some sentences (to develop into sentence frames) that capture how you expect students to be using academic language to achieve a particular purpose during the learning segment.
What are “kid-friendly” ways of describing each of these?
Genre (i.e., Purpose) and Linguistic Features

49. Academic Language Tools
Sentence Frames are tools that can help give students the words and the structures to use as they are initially developing fluency.
Since the square root of __ is __, then __ squared must be ___. (Math)
The __ is an important symbol for __ because __. (ELA)
In the experiment, the __ acted on the __ and caused a __ . (Science)
The war was caused by __ , __ , and __ because __ .(Social Studies)
Sentence Frames
Sentence Stems
Phrases
Sentence frames can give

50. Academic Language Tools
Generate hypothesis
Language Arts
Math
Social Studies
Science
In order to do this task for each content area, requires that students
Know what a they are being asked to do
Have something to say
Have the words to say it, or
Have the structures to write it
Looking at one task
Sentence Frames

51. Identifying Cause/Effect in Language Arts
Sentence Frames
Identifying Cause/Effect in Language Arts
I think the character did that ________ because ________.
Even though many people thought that the cause was ________, I believe it was ________.
Each ________ played a key role. First, ________ did ________. Then, ________ did ________.
Textual tools
Add handouts

52. Academic Language for edTPA
Planning Commentary
Teacher candidates must identify a language function essential to the central focus.
English Example
Math Example
Science Example
Social Studies Example
Identify a key learning task that provides students with opportunities to practice using the language function

53. Academic Language for edTPA
Planning Commentary
Additional language demands
Given the language function & identified task, identify associated language demands
Vocabulary
Syntax
Discourse
Language Supports
Instructional supports that will help students UNDERSTAND and USE language function & identified language
What do students already know? What is new to them? What are they struggling with?

54. Focus of TPAC Assessment
A meaningful chunk of instruction around a big idea or essential question for the students in the class
Support for both content and academic language development
Strategies and materials tailored to the students in the class

55. Conceptual Framework of Assessment
What? – candidate describes plans or provides descriptions or evidence of what candidate or students did
So what? – rationale for plans in terms of knowledge of students & research/theory, explanation of what happened in terms of student learning or how teaching affected student learning
Now what? – what candidate would do differently if could do over, next instructional steps based on assessment, feedback to students

56. Academic Language—edTPA
Pre-Service Teachers are asked to:
Select one key language function essential for students to learn within the central focus.
Identify a key learning task from plans that provide students opportunities to practice using the language function.
Language Demands (consider language function & task) describe the language demands (written or oral) students need to understand and/or use.
Vocabulary
Syntax
Discourse
Language Supports: Describe instructional supports that will help students understand and use language function & additional language demands.
Assessments: What formal and informal assessments will provide evidence of students’ understanding and fluency?
Academic Language—edTPA
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

57. Resource Slides

58. In English-language arts, language forms include
Discourse— English
Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language serve a particular function within each subject area.
In English-language arts, language forms include
expository, narrative, poetic, theatric, journalistic, film, and graphic print materials;
video and live presentations.
Language forms can be at the sentence level, paragraph or genre level. If the function is to interpret character development, then appropriate language forms could include literacy essays or a set of sentence frames like “The author used (action, dialogue, and/or description) to introduce (main character). One example of (action, dialogue, and/or description) was ________, which suggested that the character was __________.”
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

59. Discourse— Elementary Mathematics
Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language to serve a particular function within each subject area.
In mathematics, language forms include
symbolic representations such as numbers, equations, and two-column proofs (which can be translated into words),
tables and graphs (which are shorthand language for summarizing complex sets of data),
and narrative (e.g., explanations of problem solutions).
If the function is to compare, then appropriate language forms could include Venn diagrams or pattern sentences like “The _____ is longer/larger/heavier than the ______.”
If the function is to explain, then students might use sentence starters like “First, I…”, “Then I…” to structure the explanation, and use “Finally I…” to signal the conclusion.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

60. In science, language forms include
Discourse— Science
Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language serve a particular function within each subject area.
In science, language forms include
symbolic representations such as chemical equations (which can be translated into words),
graphic and tabular representations (which is shorthand language for complex sets of data),
lists (e.g., materials lists), and
narrative (e.g., analysis and conclusions sections in a lab report).
Language forms can be at the sentence, paragraph, whole text, or symbolic levels.
If the function is to draw conclusions, then appropriate language forms to structure the content could include charts of investigative results or sentence starters to structure an analysis such as “The results of the investigation show…” “This suggests that…”
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

61. Discourse— Social Studies
Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language to serve a particular function within each subject area.
In the history-social studies, language forms include expository, narrative, journalistic, maps, and other graphic print materials; presentations of data in text, charts, and graphs; video and live presentations.
Language forms can be at the sentence level, paragraph or symbolic level.
If the function is to develop a document-based argument, then appropriate language forms could include written essays with specified formats and pattern sentences like “The two main causes of _____________ were ____________ and____________. For example, the (author of) (document) stated that _______________ (citation).”
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

62. In mathematics, language forms include
Discourse—Math
Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language serve a particular function within each subject area.
In mathematics, language forms include
symbolic representations including numbers, equations, and two-column proofs (which can be translated into words),
graphic representation (which is shorthand language for complex sets of data), and narrative (e.g., to describe or compare).
If the language function is to compare, then appropriate language forms could include Venn diagrams or an equation like x < 7.
If the language function is to prove, then appropriate language forms include formal two-column proofs as well as informal explanations that begin with a statement of the problem and known information, followed by a series of statements like ”And then, I know _______ because _______”, ending with what it to be proved.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

63. Language Functions—English
Language Functions: The function is the purpose the language is intended to achieve in the learning task.
Functions are associated with verbs found in learning outcome statements.
Common language functions in the language arts include:
reading/listening for main ideas and details;
analyzing and interpreting characters and plots;
writing narrative, informational, or poetic text;
using presentation skills to present a play, a speech, or do a dramatic reading;
evaluating and interpreting an author’s purpose, message, and use of language choice, setting, mood, tone, and other literary strategies;
comparing ideas within and between texts,
making sense of unfamiliar vocabulary through pictures, word parts, and contextual clues.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

64. Language Functions—Math
Language Functions: The function is the purpose the language is intended to achieve in the learning task.
Functions are associated with verbs found in learning outcome statements.
Common language functions in mathematics include
describing mathematical phenomena,
predicting from models and data,
comparing based on common attributes,
summarizing mathematical information,
justifying conclusions,
evaluating data and mathematical representations,
classifying based on attributes,
explaining phenomena and processes,
drawing conclusions based on data,
representing mathematical information and mathematical models, etc.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

65. Language Functions—Science
Language Functions: The function is the purpose the language is intended to achieve in the learning task.
Functions are associated with verbs found in learning outcome statements.
Common language functions in science include
reading investigative procedures, diagrams, figures, tables, graphs, and dense authoritative text;
writing or presenting causal explanations; modeling scientific phenomena;
predicting from models and data from scientific inquiries;
comparing based on common attributes, summarizing scientific data from inquiries;
justifying conclusions with scientific evidence;
evaluating data and investigative procedures;
classifying based on attributes;
describing processes and procedures;
drawing conclusions based on investigative results, etc.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity

66. Language Functions—Social Studies
Language Functions: The function is the purpose the language is intended to achieve in the learning task.
Functions are associated with verbs found in learning outcome statements.
Common language functions in history-social studies include
reading/listening for main ideas and details in narrative, expository, and persuasive text;
reading/interpreting maps, graphs, and data tables;
evaluating and interpreting an author/presenter/historian’s purpose and message;
corroborating an author’s claims;
examining evidence an author/presenter/historian uses to support claims;
analyzing arguments in favor of a perspective; writing/presenting persuasive arguments;
analyzing and/or describing causes of historical, economic, geographic, and political events;
supporting written or spoken claims with evidence and warrants; etc.
TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity