Author(s): DiCerbo, Patricia A., Kristina A. Anstrom, Lottie L. Baker, Charlene Rivera
Published: September 2014 in Review of Educational Research
URL to article
Research Focus Area: English Language Learners: instructional strategies, assessments, developing academic language
Abstract:
Academic English (AE) refers to the language used in school to help students acquire and use knowledge. This article reviews current literature to determine what is known about the nature of AE within the context of K-12 schooling. It describes how AE is conceptualized in the education research literature, how these conceptualizations are realized in instructional practices, and the implications of these conceptualizations for teacher education and professional development. The student population that is the primary focus of the article is English language learners, but the findings have implications for all students who struggle with learning AE. The article raises critical challenges in defining and operationalizing AE for instruction and suggests areas for further inquiry.
Research Question(s):
What is known about the nature of Academic English (AE) within the context of K-12 schooling? How is AE conceptualized in the education research literature, and how are these conceptualizations realized in instructional practices? What are the implications of these conceptualizations for teacher education and professional development?
Methods:
Literature Review
Setting:
K-12 American Schools
Key Findings:
- Conceptualizations of Academic English
- Academic English (AE) refers to the language used in school to help students acquire and use knowledge
- The notion of AE as a specialized register for school developed from research conducted in the late 1970s and early 1980s that examined the linguistic challenges for children from diverse backgrounds. Researchers of this era brought attention to the notion of AE as an additional register in children’s developing linguistic repertoire and established that a language of school exists and that this language is foundational to academic success.
- Bailey and Heritage (2008) broaden the conceptualization of school language use by breaking AE down further into School Navigational Language (SNL) and Curriculum Content Language (CCL), where SNL is the language students use “to communicate with teachers and peers in the school setting in a very broad sense”—the language of classroom management—and CCL is “the language used in the process of teaching and learning content matter.
- Bailey and Colleagues distinguish AE from “everyday” English on three key levels:
- The lexical or academic vocabulary level
- The grammatical or syntactic level
- The discourse of organizational level
- Over the past 10 years, much of the AE literature has focused on the importance of vocabulary as a component of AE.
- At its broadest level, academic vocabulary consists of words students must comprehend in order to access the concepts associated with a particular discipline
- Researchers face high complexity in conceptualizing AE, but a consensus on the defining features is beginning to emerge, as evidenced by the CCSSO’s recent Framework (2012).
- A consistent message is that any definition of AE must consider a variety of linguistic dimensions including, but not necessarily limited to, vocabulary, grammar, discourse, and the disciplinary contexts in which AE occurs.
- In general, researchers agree that AE registers vary from social registers in the ways they develop logical reasoning, organize information, and integrate interpretation.
- The common themes of context, multiple varieties of language, and integration of language features and modalities are central to most of the frameworks discussed.
- Research on Academic English Instruction
- Recent research on academic vocabulary emphasizes the importance of instruction in general and content-specific vocabulary, including the multiple meanings of words within and across content areas, and explicit teaching of word morphology and word origin.
- According to multiple authors, general academic vocabulary (Tier 2 words) is frequently neglected in both language and content instruction. These words are used across academic disciplines (e.g., conclusion, evidence, represent) and often have “everyday” counterparts that are suggestive of but not as precise as the academic terms, ie., ending versus conclusion. This general academic vocabulary is critical for students to understand the concepts associated with academic content and demonstrate their understanding.
- Beginning in the late 1970s with the development and widespread use of more communicative language teaching methods, explicit grammar instruction was often deemphasized in ELL instruction. Current second language acquisition research has refocused attention on the importance of grammar instruction, and particularly grammar feedback, as necessary for ELLs to attain high levels of English proficiency.
- Research has found that it is highly important for ELL learners to be provided with extended oral and written interaction.
- Research does not yet provide a definitive reading of what constitutes best AE instruction or even whether AE can be successfully taught.
- Instruction may be influenced by the view of AE held by a particular teacher or school community.
- There are differences in AE across content areas that must be accounted for instruction.
- The literature demonstrates the importance of instruction that provides opportunities for students to use AE as it is used in professional and academic communities, and to develop students’ metalinguistic awareness of AE features.
Implications:
- Teachers need to “think and act linguistically”, meaning they need to know the linguistic features and discourse structures of their academic disciplines as they relate to the AE tasks required of students.
- Authors contend the addition of significant coursework to prepare teachers to become linguistically knowledgeable.
- School districts must provide comprehensive, long-term professional development programs that extend teachers’ ability to support ELLs in AE
- Research on professional development provides support for a functional linguistics approach to examining teaching and learning of AE.
- Teachers need deeper knowledge of AE features within subject area domains to address ELL writing difficulties
- An important consideration for future research is how AE is defined and operationalized within professional development interventions.
- Improving students’ AE is a concern not only for educators of ELLs but also for educators from subject areas such as science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts.
- Educators should carefully examine the effect of their classroom dynamics on AE acquisition.
Limitations:
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