Academic language, or language that includes “sophisticated
or academic vocabulary, including precise terms not commonly found in casual
conversation; extensive use of complex syntax and embedded clauses; specific
discourse functions; and decontextualized talk” has been linked to literacy
achievement and shown to deepen content area understanding (Barnes,
Grifenhagen, & Dickinson, 2016).
These benefits and the fact that students come to school with vastly different
levels of academic language proficiency, have led experts (e.g., Schleppegrell,
2012) to suggest that teachers of all grade levels emphasize academic language as
it naturally fits into common early childhood experiences. Below are three ways
in which teachers of children in grades PreK to 3 can organically incorporate
academic language lessons into already established practices according to a
recent article by Barnes, Grifenhagen & Dickinson (2016):
Read Alouds:
During read alouds, teachers can “point out specific features of academic
language such as descriptive language (adjectives and adverbs) and formulaic
openings (‘Once upon a time’)” in an effort to demonstrate how academic
language differs from conversational language (Barnes et al., 2016, p.43).
Additionally, high quality children’s literature presents new vocabulary in
sentences that are typically more grammatically complex than conversational
talk. This provides an opportunity for teachers to transform the author’s words
into more familiar language which builds understanding of both vocabulary and
advanced syntax.
Content Instruction:
Whole-class and small-group content lessons provide opportunities to submerge
students in “conceptually rich conversations” that incorporate “sophisticated
and diverse vocabulary” (Barnes et al., 2016, p.44). More specifically, an
abundance of domain-specific academic vocabulary is present in science, social
studies and math texts. Such texts bombard students with nouns and
domain-specific academic vocabulary; these experiences present an ideal
opportunity to emphasize relationships between terms in an authentic context.
Sharing Time/Show-and-tell:
During sharing time, students have the opportunity to express their experiences
in oral narrative form. Educators can encourage students to use academic
language while they share personal stories by probing for specificity in an
effort to promote consideration for the audience’s understanding. Additionally,
teachers can scaffold the use of ordinal words to emphasize sequencing, making
the story easier for the audience to follow. Finally, educators can suggest
that the narrator carefully choose key vocabulary words to further enhance the
audience’s understanding.
Do you promote academic language in your classroom? If so,
which strategies have your found to be most successful?
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2012). Academic language in teaching
and learning. Elementary School Journal,
112(3), 409-418.
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