Academic Language
Academic Language is the language typically found in textbooks, used daily in our classrooms, and presented on tests that our students are asked to take. It is the language that students must master in order to succeed in any content area. It is comprised of discipline-specific vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and applications of rhetorical conventions and devices that are commonly used in a content area.
Mastering Academic Language is a challenge for all students. Any student in your classroom may struggle with tasks that require proficiency with Academic Language, such as reading, writing, speaking and listening. Research clearly shows that it is especially challenging for students with limited exposure to that language outside of school. For these children, under-developed Academic Language skills are largely responsible for poor reading comprehension, a keystone in mastering any content.
More specifically, Academic Language is believed to be one of the most important factors in the academic success of English Language learners (ELLs), and it has been shown to be a major contributor to achievement gaps between ELLs and English-proficient students.
The Common Core State Standards place significant Academic Language demands on students as a whole, and is even more daunting for ELLs. These language demands include: reasoning abstractly and quantitatively; constructing viable arguments and critiquing reasoning of others; constructing explanations and designing solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; and asking questions and defining problems.
As a result, the Common Core Standards require effective teaching of both Academic Language skills as well as the specific subject area content.
Information retrieved from: http://www.seenmagazine.us/Articles/Article-Detail/articleid/3537/the-importance-of-academic-language-in-achieving-content-area-mastery
Below is a variety of resources to help build academic language for students.
