Austin Peay State University September 28.2012 Academic Language 101 D r. M e l a n i e H u n d l e y Va n d e r b i l t University Task 2 Q u e s t i on s How do you define academic language? How do you learn the “academic language” of your classes? Two Questions Setting the Stage—Student Voices Agenda 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 Student Voices Secret Language 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, 8 grade. th Research Voices 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. K er sa int, T h o ms p on, & Petko va , 2 009 , p . 46.) Language of School Student Voices Secret Language I knew I was gone fail that test when I got to the third question and I didn’t even know what they was asking me. K arah, 11 grade th It ain’t that I don’t know nothin’, it’s that I can’t say it right. Mitch, 7 grade th So the test question asked for my hypothesis about the character’s behavior and I got confused cause I hadn’t done no experiment. Emmet, 10 grade th Student Voices Secret Language Academic language is the oral and written language that students need in order to Definition 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 Language Use Purposes of Language Set of words Grammar O r g a n i z at i on al S t r a t eg i e s purposeful intent Language is used to accomplish something in formal & informal settings for social & academic purposes. Task What are the language purposes at work here? Social Purposes for Language Exchanging greetings Making jokes Indicating agreement/disagreement Retelling stories Participating in personal conversations Persuading Social Purposes: Exchanging greetings Making jokes Indicating agreement/disagreement Retelling stories Persuading Task Choose one of the social purposes listed here. Select a social language purpose from the list. What are some ways to express it? Write a “sentence frame” for this social purpose. Seek Information - use who, what, when, where, how Academic Language Purposes Chamot and O ’ M a l l e y, 1 9 7 4 Inform - recount information or retell Compare & Contrast – identif y similarities & differences Order - describe timeline, continuum or cycle Classif y - describe organizing principles Analyze - describe features or main idea Infer - generate hypotheses to suggest cause/outcomes Justif y & Persuade - give evidence why “A” is important Solve Problems - describe problem-solving procedures Synthesize - summarize information cohesively Evaluate - identif y criteria, explain priorities, etc. Academic Purposes: Seek Information Inform Compare & Contrast Order Classify Analyze Infer Justify & Persuade Solve Problems Synthesize Evaluate Task Choose one of the academic purposes listed here. Select an academic e purpose from the list. What are some ways to express it? Write a “sentence frame” for this academic purpose. Teachers and students use language in specific ways to participate in learning and assessment tasks: Instructional Language Language to p a r t ic i p a t e another facet o f a c a d e m ic l a n g u ag e discussing ideas and asking questions summarizing instructional and disciplinary texts following and giving instructions listening to or presenting a mini-lesson explaining something giving reasons for a point of view writing essays to display knowledge on tests communicating behavioral expectations (“raise your hands”) 15 15 If we accept that teachers & students use language in specific ways to participate in learning and assessment tasks, what are some ways to express the following? Discussing ideas and asking questions Summarizing instructional and content texts Giving instructions Listening to or presenting a mini-lesson Explaining something Giving reasons for a point of view Communicating behavioral expectations Task Choose one of t h e c l a s sroom p r a c t ic e s f ro m the list. Create an ex a m p l e f ro m your content area. What are the ke y s t r u c t u re s ( w o r d s, p h r a s e s, p u n c t u a t io n , etc.) that are part of this? Academic Language Te r m s L i n g u i st ic Pro c e sse s Pa t t e rn s “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). Academic Language Set of words Grammar O r g a n i z at i on al S t r a t eg i e s 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). What are the words & structures that students need to know to understand & make meaning in your content area? Instructional Language Verbs Terms used in directions Blooms Expanded Chart “Command” Terms example Student Voices 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 . L e a h , 1 2 g r a d e th Making Ac a d em ic Language Vi s i b l e Student Voices Making Ac a d em ic Language Vi s i b l e 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. M a t t , 1 2 g r a d e th 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 h i g h s c h oo l. What words in t h e d i r e c t i on s c a u se d y o u p ro b l e m s? Think about your content area. What w o r d s c o u ld c a u se s t u d e n t p ro b l e m s? Student Notes Example Developing Academic Language Academic language development is making the language explicit to expand students’ control over language and improve their language choices according to the purpose and audience for the message. Academic language also involves discipline-specific vocabulary and language structures for understanding and expressing, explanations, evaluations and analyses. Providing purposeful opportunities for students to develop and use academic language. This provides access to the “language of school” and supports academic success. So? How do we put it together? Academic Language in Planning and Assessment Focus on Student Learning Planning edTPA Vi s i o n o f Te a c h i n g 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 edTPA Terms Discourse Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s Language Functions S y n t ax Syntax Academic Language edTPA Terms Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s S y n t ax Oral and written language used for academic purposes Discourse edTPA Terms Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s S y n t ax 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) Elementary Mathematics English Math Science Social Studies Language Demands edTPA Terms Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s S y n t ax Specific ways that academic language is used by students to participate in learning tasks reading writing listening and/or speaking demonstrate/perform Are the language demands high or low? High = lecture, writing a paragraph, reading from a content text or primary source document. Low = dramatization, illustration, filling in a graphic organizer or labeling with a word bank Language Demands In order to demonstrate their understanding of terms that can be used to describe geographical features, the learners will write a paragraph summarizing the geography of Italy. The learners will find the roots of a quadratic equation by factoring. Given a word problem with a quadratic equation, the learners will be able to find maximum or minimum values. Sample Objectives W h a t s u p p ort s m i g h t a s t u d en t need? If the language demand is high, you will need to state specifically how you are going to provide scaffolding and support for students who need it. For example: Re-write text or condense text Provide sentence frames or stems Provide graphic organizers Provide a template or model for students to imitate CLOZE note-taking guide for lecture What are some other ideas? Scaffolds In order to demonstrate their understanding of terms that can be used to describe geographical features, the learners will write a paragraph summarizing the geography of Italy, using both words from the vocabulary worksheet and a list of adjectives they will have generated. Sample Objectives Language Functions edTPA Terms Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s S y n t ax content and focus of the learning task Represented by action verb within the learning outcome (describing, comparing, summarizing, etc.) English Math Science Social Studies Syntax edTPA Terms Ac a d em ic Language D i s c ou r se Language Demand Language Fu n c t io n s S y n t ax Set of conventions for organizing symbols, words and phrases together into structures (e.g., sentences, graphs, tables) Purpose: Compare/Contrast Content-Specific vocabulary Have lungs Vertebrates Have gills Live births Excellent swimmers Hatch from eggs Warm blooded Mothers produce milk Marine Mammals Live in groups Cold blooded Do not produce milk Ocean Fish Linguistic Features sentence frames Providing sentence frames will allow students to express compare/contrast. ________ have __________, whereas________ have _____________. Marine mammals have lungs, whereas ocean fish have gills. Building Words/Structures Although hydrogen is explosive and oxygen supports combustion, a compound of them puts out fires. Unless hydrogen and oxygen form a compound, they are explosive. If hydrogen and oxygen form a compound, they lose their original properties of being explosive and supporting combustion. Ty r e , P. ( 2 0 1 2 ) . T h e w r i t i n g r e v o l u t i o n . T h e A t l a n t i c . Yet another consideration of language demands… Characteristics of textual resources 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 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 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. Mathematics Vocabulary 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 Teacher Candidate Rephrase E n g l ish / Language Arts Te r m s & Phrases 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? Handout Teacher Candidate Rephrase Te r m s Phrases Using Language 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? Math Example (Emily) Mathematical Vo c a b u l a r y & Representations 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? Handout Emily’s Notes Math Example (Emily) Mathematical Vo c a b u l a r y & Representations 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? Math Example (Emily) Genre (i.e., Pu r p ose ) a n d L i n g u i st i c Fe a t u re s 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? Academic Language Tools Sentence Fr a m e s Sentence Stems Phrases 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) Generate hypothesis Academic Language Tools Looking at one task Sentence Fr a m e s 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 Identifying Cause/Effect in Language Arts Sentence Frames Tex t u a l t o o l s 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 ________. Teacher candidates must reflect on how language is used for a range of purposes in their lessons. Premises Restated Teacher candidates need to identify the essential academic language purpose/genre required of students in order for them to access texts and express their developing understanding of the newly learned content. Students must be provided with opportunities to use and practice the new language in order to develop fluency. Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity Focus of edTPA 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 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 Pre-Service Teachers are asked to: Academic Language— edTPA 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? TPA Glossary: Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity Resource Slides 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 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 Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language serve a particular function within each subject area. Discourse— Science 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 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 Discourse: Structures or ways of organizing oral or written language serve a particular function within each subject area. Discourse— Math 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 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 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 Language Functions: The function is the purpose the language is intended to achieve in the learning task. Language Functions— Science 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 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
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