ACADEMIC LANGUAGE VS. SOCIAL LANGUAGE: A FOCUS ON VOCABULARY

By: Karen Crooks , Alea Pena, and Kathie Wingrove

Decatur ISD

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FOCUS OF INQUIRY

How does SLA affect the vocabulary used in academic

language and social language within the Math & Science

classrooms?

Vocabulary knowledge is important for speaking and reading,

in Math and Science, as well as the other content areas. 

When children do not understand vocabulary, they cannot

make meaning out of directions or problems they read.

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WHAT IS ACADEMIC LANGUAGE?

The language that is spoken in the classroom or other academic contexts in

order to acquire knowledge (Chamot & O’Malley, 1994).

CALP- Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

This includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing about subject area

content material. This level of language learning is essential for students to

succeed in school. Students need time and support to become proficient in

academic areas. This usually takes from five to seven years. Recent research

(Thomas & Collier, 1995) has shown that if a child has no prior schooling or has

no support in native language development, it may take seven to ten years for

ELLs to catch up to their peers.

© 1998-2007 Judie Haynes, www.everythingESL.net

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WHAT IS SOCIAL LANGUAGE?

According to expert Jim Cummins, Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

are language skills needed in social situations. It is the day-to-day language needed

to interact socially with other people. English language learners (ELLs) employ BIC

skills when they are on the playground, in the lunch room, on the school bus, at

parties, playing sports and talking on the telephone. Social interactions are usually

context embedded. They occur in a meaningful social context. They are not very

demanding cognitively. The language required is not specialized. These language

skills usually develop within six months to two years after arrival in the U.S.

Problems arise when teachers and administrators think that a child is proficient in a

language when they demonstrate good social English.

© 1998-2007 Judie Haynes, www.everythingESL.net

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Academic language is spoken in the classroom and across the disciplines.

The academic vocabulary associated with particular content areas is usually so abstract that they are semantically opaque. Words such as sum, multiplication, or report have no visual for students to use so that the meaning can be made clear.

A student’s ability to master academic language is dependent on their opportunities outside of school to acquire more academic vocabulary. Second language learners may be limited in their ability to create mental models of math problems due to their limited knowledge of academic language.

(Hague, Heppt, et. al. 2013)

Second language learners' performance in mathematics: Disentangling the effects of academic language features, Learning and Instruction

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“We shouldn't just teach words because they are on lists; words are tools to be used for building understanding.” (Zwiers, 2008)

Getting Your Hands On Learning: Manipulative Tools                      in Content

ESL/EFL Instructions

Kathleen Corrales encourages the use of manipulatives as a key component of learning and retaining academic vocabulary. Teachers should create manipulatives that are self-correcting and include a worksheet that allows students to record what they are learning. Puzzle pieces, matching cards, sequencing strips are all examples of manipulatives that can be created for specific vocabulary and used frequently to build retention. (Corrales, 2008)                                            

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General Beliefs and Changes Over Time

One can accept the perspective that literacies are multiple, contextually-specific, and constantly evolving (Street, 2008).

Research by Cummins as well as Virginia Collier suggest that it typically takes language learners 1-3 years to develop BICS if they have sufficient exposure to the second language.

Cummins’ and Collier's research suggest that K-12 students need 5 to 7 years to acquire CALP in the second language if the learner has native language literacy. Learners who do not have strong native language literacy often need 7-10 years to acquire CALP in the second language.

Both vocabulary and the academic language of math need to be directly taught.

Current research supports a focus on creating instructional and learning environments that maximize the language and literacy development of socially marginalized students (Street, 2008).

Opportunities for collaborative learning and talk about text are also extremely important in helping students internalize and more fully comprehend the academic language they find in their extensive reading of text (Street, 2008).

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SNOW & FILLMORE, ELLIS, AND SPADA

We need to get children engaged and “talking math” in an authentic way. 

 Engaging in activities focused on creating meaning is intrinsically motivating for learners. (Ellis, 2008) 

Flexible teaching approach involves a variety of learning activities. (Ellis, 2008)  

Classroom Example: A small group activity when the children are “playing store”, but have the children use

the words sum when the merchandise is totaled and difference when change is made.  The children can come

up with more math vocabulary to be included in this unit.

Authentic Grammar Lessons:

The teacher or student notices a need for instruction during a classroom activity.  The teacher then presents

explicit instruction as a way to address this need.  There is controlled practice after the lesson where the

students can demonstrate the new knowledge.  These exercises should help anchor the information so that

the students can apply it in conversation and in written activities. (Spada 2008)

Classroom example: A student asks the teacher which form of the word to use: two, to, or too during a

writing exercise.  The teacher makes a mental note and addresses this need with an interactive lesson on

homophones.  She makes sure to focus on the rules of grammar, which the students then write in their

journal.   The students apply the knowledge to a close passage and finish up with a writing activity using each

of the homophones in several sentences.

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SNOW & FILLMORE, ELLIS, AND SPADA

Acquisition rich classrooms; the right kind of interactions to

nurture acquisition

Small group work allows students to interact with each other and it increases

discourse.   When students have a reason to use the language to express their own

personal meanings it promotes an acquisition rich classroom. (Fillmore & Snow, 2000) 

Introduce new vocabulary in related groups.  Teach all of these words together:

Mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather plus aunts and uncles.

When the student uses free constructed response (the students restate the learning in

their own words) teachers can best access learning. (Ellis, 2008) 

Classroom Example:  After the (above) lesson on family members, the students can

draw a picture of each of their family members and label each.  A follow up activity

would be to write a story of a family get-together using at least 3 of the people labeled

with their title. 

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Describe technical operations from an

objective point of view

Understand “multiple meaning” words

such as graph, slope, power, etc.

Explain the process by which they perform

an operation

See and explain relationships

Understand and be able to explain

conditional situations (if … , then …)

Be able to identify extraneous information

Describe technical experiences from an

objective point of view

Describe procedures

Connect abstract ideas to

understand/communicate concepts

Build/a vocabulary of “big” words which

are often nominalizations and which

include lots of -ation words (nouns that

grew out of verbs such as pasteurization)

Ability to ask good questions

WHAT DOES ACADEMIC LANGUAGE ALLOW THE STUDENT TO DO?

In the Math Classroom: In the Science Classroom:

(Zwiers, 2008)

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Interactive Reading Logs help

students expand note-taking

skills, build understanding of core

content, and make the transition

to using academic vocabulary in

their own writing. Students can

monitor and take ownership of

their learning and begin to see

connections between “what is

taught” and “what they learn.”

CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS

Word Maps are designed for

teaching the definition of key

vocabulary concepts by focusing on

the key components of a concept

(characteristics, examples,

comparisons, and category). It helps

students develop a rich

understanding of a concept through

the use of a graphic organizer and

provides an opportunity to consider

the various properties of concepts.

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INTERACTIVE READING LOGS

Provide the structure for the notebook to your students (See below).

Offer other ways to represent information—thinking maps and

graphic organizers to engage students in critical thinking and writing.

Monitor student notebooks to assess student understanding.

Engage students in authentic writing tasks, allowing for opportunities

to utilize the academic vocabulary recorded in their student notebooks.

EvidenceI saw/heard/read

InterpretationI thought/wondered/kn

ow

Photosynthesis enables plants to make food.

Plants need sunlight to survive.

High calorie foods increase the chance of acquiring

heart disease.

Healthy eating can lead to a better quality of life.

(San Diego County Office of Education)

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Students will be able to

expand note-taking skills.

Students will build

understanding of core content

as seen in their writing.

Students will begin to use

academic vocabulary in their

own speaking and writing.

Provide scaffolding as needed by

assigning topics or advanced organizers to

help frame student thinking.

Notebooks can be used to review

information, key vocabulary, concepts, and

skills throughout the year.

Students have been known to take such

ownership over their notebooks as to use

them in following years to review concepts

and vocabulary as it relates to their new

course content.

INTERACTIVE READING LOGS

When it works Things to Consider

(San Diego County Office of Education)

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WORD MAPS

Introduce the vocabulary term to students in the center of the Word Map. Have

students repeat the term.              

Tell students the verbal representation of the term.

Show students multiple examples of the term. (Include non-examples when

appropriate.)

Guide the students in completing the Word Map by asking the following: • What is this? (verbal explanation/category)• What is it related to? (related terms/associations/analogies)• What are some examples? (examples)• What does it look like? (visual/graphic examples)

Have students use textbooks and glossaries to contribute information for the Word

Map.

Together write a class description of the term.                  

(San Diego County Office of Education)

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Students demonstrate

understanding of difficult

concepts.

Students understand

vocabulary critical to content

knowledge.

Students are able to

complete the Word Map.

Teacher modeling is appropriate to

ensure student success with this activity.

To provide scaffolding, the teacher may

wish to assign categories to groups/pairs.

Extended learning opportunities from

this activity include, but are not limited

to… • asking students to provide reasoning

behind their choices• having students practice using the

language within their small groups• writing about a vocabulary word in

detail

WORD MAPS

When it works Things to Consider

(San Diego County Office of Education)

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VOCABULARY LESSONDue to large file size, please click on the link below to view video

from YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPeAIW2YHbI

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ESL VOCABULARY STRATEGIES TO USE

Inside-Outside Circle; a Kagan Cooperative Learning

Structure• In concentric circles, students rotate to face new partners

and then answer or discuss teacher questions. • Click link for video example:

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=3293 Information and demonstration on how to use

Semantic Feature Analysis and Concept Circles in a middle school mathematics classroom.

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=261640

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REFERENCESChamot, A. U., & O’Malley, J. M. (1994). The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive

academic language learning approach. Reading, MA: Addison –Wesley.

Corrales, K. (2008). Getting Your Hands-on Learning: Manipulative Tools in Content ESL/EFL

Instruction. Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 1(1), 60-65.

doi:10.5294/laclil.2008.1.1.7

Cummins, J. (1998).  Immersion education for the millennium: What we have learned from 30

years of research on second language immersion. In M.R. Childs & R.M. Bostwick

(Eds.) Learning through two languages: Research and practice. Second Katoh Gakuen

International Symposium on Immersion and Bilingual Education. (pp. 34-47). Kaloh Gakuen,

Japan.

 

Nicole Haag, Birgit Heppt, Petra Stanat, Poldi Kuhl, Hans Anand Pant, Second language

learners' performance in mathematics: Disentangling the effects of academic language features,

Learning and Instruction, Volume 28, December 2013, Pages 24-34, ISSN 0959-4752,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.04.001.

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475213000315)

 

 

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REFERENCES CONT’D

Haynes, Juie. Everything ESL. Retrieved July 20, 2013 from http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/bics_calp.php

San Diego County Office of Education. Get Vocal. Retrieved July 20, 2013 from http://kms.sdcoe.net/getvocal/220.html

San Diego County Office of Education (2005). Math language that works: Teaching and learning essential mathematics

vocabulary Grade 6-Algebra I. San Diego, California.

Street, B. & Hornberger, N.H. (Eds.). (2008). Encyclopedia of Language and Education,  2nd Edition, Volume 2:

Literacy. (pp. 77-83). New York: Springer Science + Business Media LLC.

YouTube. Teaching Math Vocabulary Effectively. Retrieved July 18,2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

SPeAIW2YHbI

Zwiers, Jeff. (2008). Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms. San Francisco, CA: John

Wiley & Sons, Inc.