How Well Are You Teaching Academic Language?

This post explores Dr Robin Scarcella’s research on academic language and offers some ideas and resources to support your school to ensure academic language is a core aspect of your curriculum.

Dr Robin Scarcella outlines that academic language is:

• the language used in the classroom and workplace;

• the language of texts;

• the language of assessment;

• the language of academic success; and

• the language of power.

This means that students who master academic language are more likely to succeed within and beyond the classroom. Those who do not, are more likely to struggle academically.

There are many different facets to academic language instruction: vocabulary, phonology and spelling are some of the areas that should be explicitly taught to students.

Knowledge of vocabulary plays a key role in a students’ ability to comprehend what is going on in the classroom and when being assessed. Second language learners require ongoing, systematic instruction of the vocabulary used in each subject and in the curriculum as a whole, and must be able to understand what a word means as well as how to use it.

It’s vital that teachers identify which vocabulary is crucial for students to know in order to understand the concept being taught, as well as anticipating which words students are most likely to find a challenge, and make the time to explicitly teach and reinforce these words alongside lesson content.

For first language English students, a definition of this vocabulary might be sufficient. For EAL students, they will need:

• to understand the definition and how to use the word correctly;

• to produce accurate language with the word;

• to understand the definition of related words; and

• to read and discuss a text using this word.

Dr Robin Scarcella’s Reading Rockets: Academic Language for English Language Learners.

Questions for Senior Leaders to Consider:

• Do all of your teachers confidently understand the concept of academic language and explicitly teach this as part of the core curriculum?

• Does the teaching of academic language feature in every subject/year group development plan?

• In which subjects might students find understanding the language of learning more difficult? Could additional support be offered in these subjects/to teachers of these subjects?

Questions for EAL Teachers/Coordinators to Consider:

• Are EAL students given the opportunity to pre-learn vocabulary for their mainstream lessons? How could this be facilitated if not?

• How can intervention lessons, homework and student buddies help EAL learners to teach and consolidate academic vocabulary?

Questions for Mainstream Teachers to Consider:

• Consider how often you are explicitly teaching academic language to your students. When do you do this, before a unit or during it? Is this academic language revisited throughout a unit? Consider how using a “flipped classroom” model for homework could support this.

• Are you consistently modelling good use of language with your students? Are you supporting students to self correct in a supportive way when they make errors with their language? Be aware of the quality of language being used in your classroom and consider how this could be elevated.

Resources to support:

Activities to Teach Vocabulary