Registers of Speech
Academic | Social
Registers of Speech
Registers of speech refers to the different language and levels of formality used in different situations and scenarios. Many students need practice in how to identify times when more formal academic language should be used versus informal social language. Key factors that students need to be aware of in regards to selecting language registers include audience, topic, purpose and location.
Academic Language
Academic language is formal and can be defined as 1) the language used in the classroom and workplace, 2) the language of text, 3) the language of assessments, 4) the language of academic success and 5) the language of college and career.
Social Language
Social language is the informal language most often used in casual everyday settings when communicating in oral and written forms. Examples include:
- when students are talking to their friends on the playground, cafeteria or on the school bus
- when you and your students are having an informal face-to-face conversation
- when your students go to the grocery store and read the shopping list
Differences?
Academic language and social language are not two separate languages. Academic language is more demanding and complex than social language. An ELL student with social English proficiency may not necessarily have the academic language proficiency. This an important distinction to identify. Academic language is the language necessary for success in school. It is related to a standards-based curriculum, including the content areas of math, science, social studies, and English language arts.
