Everybody’s Talking!Helping Students Build Academic
Language
Alfredo Schifini, Ph.D.
August 6, 2014
Alfredo Schifini, Ph.D.Co-author:
In this section we will explore
• The construct of Academic Language
• The importance of oral language development and implications for instruction
• Examples of Best Practices for structuring academic student talk and building vocabulary
Best Practices for EL
Rooted in what we know about…
Learning TheoryLanguage Arts ResearchLinguistics
The Academic Language Journey
• ELs typically make rapid progress in social language and literacy development in early grades
• Academic vocabulary and other linguistic challenges demand high-order language skills - especially as they relate to reading comprehension
The Academic Language Journey
• A strong oral base in scholastic English is an invaluable tool in positioning students for academic achievement (for not only English Learners
Rationale for Enhanced Oral Language Development
• Oral language development and proficiency is critical to literacy…and is often overlooked in instruction
• Well-developed language ORAL proficiency is associated with well-developed reading comprehension skills August and Shanahan, 2006
Quick Reflection
Think about your own personal
language learning experiences…
• What worked and what didn’t?
• Did it result in proficiency?
• Why or why not?
• Relevance to your teaching today???
• Think (30 sec) Share (1 min)
Language Learning
Action-based perspective•Language development occurs when actions are well planned and scaffolded by the teacher•Activities require lots of student language USE•Reflection: What do you already do to get kids to use language?
(1 min Share)
Importance of Academic Language
• Student achievement is influenced to a great extent by one’s academic language proficiency
• express complex ideas orally • to write coherent, cogent paragraphs• formulate answers to complex questions• read with deep comprehension requires• engage in higher order linguistic / cognitive
tasks
Academic Language
Think about it…
What is this thing called “Academic Language”? What’s your definition of Academic Language?
Academic Language
Not just…
•Vocabulary
•Talking in complete sentences
•Using stems or frames
•Discrete teaching of forms/ functions and grammar
•More group/oral work or academic projects
Basis of Academic Language
• Prior knowledge (world and content specific)
• Conceptual base (content specific information)
• Vocabulary
• Pragmatics
• Syntax
Academic Language
Register of language used in academic discourse
• Text Level - ways of writing (persuade, describe, explain)
• Sentence Level - (complex sentences showing relationships of ideas)
Academic Language
Vocabulary Level:• Content Specific - (mitosis, paranoia)• Varies across disciplines
• General Terms - (analysis, myopic, feedback)
• Signal Words - (however, on the other hand, as a result of, in summary)
Structured talk
Foster the discourse skills to engage fully in:
• planning, researching, discussing, co-constructing, presenting of academic work
• Using challenging material/text as vehicle to enhance high order oral and written language skills
Language Functions
• Academic tasks require use of higher order language functions (argue persuasively, evaluate differing pts. of view, synthesize info, hypothesize, etc.)
• Functions are tied to abstract and complex content and appear in a variety of contexts
• They form the language basis for reading with deep meaning
Group Activity
Use the following pix to:
•Analyze language demands (even w/non-academic material)
•Explore language development possibilities and ways to scaffold and extend language
•Reflect on the ramifications for instruction
Practice
With a partner, compare/contrast the two photos
•List signal/transition word(s) to Compare/Contrast the two photos (but, both, etc.)
•Organize the words by two language proficiencies (B/I and Adv)
Practice
Compare/Contrast
•Like, both, but, however, unlike… (B,I)
•Just as, by comparison, as opposed to, whereas, one distinction between … (Adv)
Pair and Practice
Inferences: Who do you suppose these people
are? Why do you think they are playing?
• Share your answer to each question and share with your partner
• Write an adv level phrase to make an inference ( e.g. I surmise… I assume)
Pair and Practice
Inferences: Who do you suppose these people are? Why do you think they are playing?
• I imagine that…based on X…I think that… (B,I)
• I assume…I believe…I guess…I don’t know for sure, but…
• I surmise…I deduce…• I intuit…reading between the lines… (Adv)
Pair and Practice
Interpretation:
• Come up with one word that describes the sentiment in this picture (e.g.sweet, delightful,etc.)
• Share your word with your partner
Pair and Practice
Interpretation:• Possible words that describe the sentiment
in this pix (sweet, delightful, charming, tender, adorable, engaging, captivating)
• Pick a word and tell how you have heard it used before: (candy is sweet; the baby is adorable)
• Tell why you chose the word to describe the sentiment in this pix
Pair and Practice
With your partner:
• list as many phrases as you can in 1 min to describe the soccer player’s mood/emotions upon scoring the winning goal
Pair Practice/Possibilities
• Tickled pink• Gone wild/crazy / gone nuts• On cloud nine• Thrilled to death• Over the top
Complete: (He is on cloud nine) …because…
Pair Practice
Crazy, happy, gone wild, thrilled (B, I)
Elated, euphoric, frenzied, overjoyed (Adv) Pick one of the ADV words •Describe one of the words above: tell what “it is” …and what “it isn’t”• share one word that “it isn’t”
Extension:
•Share a personal experience that depicts the expression using the following
is
is
is
example
non examplenon example non example
is not
is not
is not
example example
Word Mapis
is
is
example
non examplenon example non example
is not
is not
is not
example example
Word Map
word
synonym
synonym
synonym
antonym
antonym
antonym
illustration illustration illustration
non- illustration non- illustration non- illustration
Schifini & Tinajero, TESOL Conf
Teachers’ Turn
Choose a function/structure you would you focus on in using the previous pix (generalizing, inferring, predicting, speculating, synthesizing, etc.)•With a partner, write a question to get the kids to use language related to the function•Write one sentence frame/stem to scaffold the language
Possible Frames/Stems
• I appears that…
• It seems to me…
• I predict that the boy…but on the other hand the girl…
Sample Questions for Language Function of Classifying
• Which of these go together? Why?
• How are these put together?
• How are these alike/different?
• What could you call this group?
• Tell me about all the things you put in this group?
• How could you rearrange them differently?
Sample words that show relationship for Language Function of Classifying
• Above/ under/ behind/ next to/ close by/ far away from/ near/ between/ among/ beside/ in front of/ adjacent/ alongside/ in relation to/ parallel
• Sample Frames:
The________ are next to the _______ (might become)
Among these items are___ and ___ and ___. Alongside (or adjacent to ) them are ____ and ___. They are organized by color, but these others are grouped by_____
Possible Adjustments
Language Scaffolding
• Contextualization (focus ques, brief narrative, pixs, videos)
• Provide more en route checking for understanding
• Pose a variety of question types to promote extended talk
Possible Adjustments
• Paraphrase student responses
• Support responses with frames/structures/charts
• Set up opportunities for structure talk in a variety of group settings
Application
• Skim the handout Ideas Section
• Put a + next to the language scaffold you use well
• Put a * next to the one you will work on this year
• Share with your partner
Possible Extensions
• With a colleague, walk thru one unit in TE and place sticky notes next to each language scaffold you find
• Share with a colleague one strategy you may use the scaffold interactively to build language
Structured Student Structured Student TalkTalk
Content EmphasisContent Emphasis
ScaffoldedScaffolded
Serious Vocabulary WkSerious Vocabulary Wk
InterdisciplinaryInterdisciplinary
Text TalkText Talk
Pairs/ Sm GroupsPairs/ Sm Groups
L/S L/S
StructuredStructuredTasks/ActionTasks/Action
DECODING COMPREHENSIONWord
Recognition Strategies
Fluency
• John Shefelbine/Developmental Studies Center [See p. 20 in CA Reading/ELA Framework]•
Framework for ReadingFramework for Reading
Academic Language
Comprehension Strategies
MOTIVATIONP
hon
em
ic
Aw
are
ness
Ph
on
ics
Vocab
ula
ry
Vocabulary in Language Development
Vocabulary Taught Directly• Explicit, intentional teaching of
new words
Word Selection: • Critical to the passage• Useful in future readings• Consider “Tier Two” words for
direct instruction
Vocabulary Tiers
• Tier One : Familiar/basic words for native speakers. Do not require instruction in a school setting. However, beginning ELs may not know them.(e.g., bad, some, baby, clock)
• Tier Two : Likely to appear in a variety of texts, but whose meanings they are less likely to know. Words that can be defined and associated with words already familiar to students. High utility words.(e.g., tell – inform; surprised – astonished; lucky- fortunate)
Beck, McKeown and Kucan, 2002
Vocabulary Tiers
• Tier Three: Words of limited use related to a specific content area(e.g., chlorophyll, mitochondria) Because they are specific to a particular content, students can use context of texts to establish meaning.
Beck, McKeown and Kucan, 2002
Tier Two Words
• Importance – appear frequently across a variety of texts
• Instructional Potential – can be worked to make connections and deepen understanding of other words and concepts
• Conceptual Understanding- provide precision in describing a concept
Vocabulary in Language Development
Teaching word learning strategies • Prefix/Suffix • Greek and Latin Roots • Cognates• Inter-relationship among words
• Use of reference aides• Use of context clues
Most Frequent Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Key Word
anti- against antifreeze
de- opposite defrost
fore- before forecast
inter- between interact
trans- across transport
NOTE: Not all language groups are familiar with the concept of prefixes and suffixes! This concept is alien to some language
groups.
Most Frequent Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Key Word
-en made of wooden
-ful full of careful
-less without fearless
-ment action/process enjoyment
Key Vocabulary Strategy: Morphological Clues
• A high percentage of words have easily identifiable structures – they can be broken into parts
• There is great value in teaching roots, prefixes, and suffixes for purposes of vocabulary development
• Use common Latin roots to link known words in Spanish to new ones in English
Spanish-Academic English Connections
• VALIENTE = valiant, valor
• SUFICIENTE = suffice, sufficient,
• OCUPAR= occupy
• SIGNIFICAR = significance, significant
• ALIMENTAR = aliment
• ENAMORADO = enamored
Getting Started
• Look at the curriculum-embedded assessments in a themes/unit & content Stds.
• Examine the TA for opportunities for interaction
• Capitalize on visuals, text features and ancillary materials to scaffold student talk
HAMPTON-BROWN
A B A B A B
THINK SHAREPAIR
Think, Pair, Share
• Share something new that you learned.
• What do you plan to do differently?
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