Language Acquisition and Academic
Language Development
Introduction: What do we know about
English Language Learners (ELLs)?
9
 One in ___public
school students in K-12 comes
from a home where a language other than English is
spoken.
 In 1990 the figure was only 1 in 20, and by 2025 it
4
will be 1 in ___.
5
 1990-2005: Increase from 2 to ___
million
• This represents a 150% increase
• General K-12 increase was 20%
• Greatest growth states: SC, NC, TN, GA, IN---400% increase in ELLs
5 and ___
7 years to learn English.
 It takes between __
 What do the following acronyms stand for?
• EL, ELL, LEP
Think of your own experience of learning
another language (or ask someone who has):
• When did you learn it?
• Where did you learn it?
• How did you learn it? Or who taught you?
• How well did you learn to read, write, speak,
and listen?
• What factors influenced your second language
learning?
• What do you think could have helped you
master another language?
Factors that Affect Second Language
Acquisition
• Language
•
•
•
•
language distance
level and type of L1 proficiency
previous experience and knowledge of L2
L1 status
• Learner (Internal)
o
o
o
o
motivation and attitude
age
personality
disabilities
• Learning process (external)
– Access to the language
– Quality of instruction
Stages of Language Acquisition
Stage
(ELDA -1)
Preproduction
(ELDA -2)
Early Production
Characteristics
Student
Time Frame
•
Has minimal comprehension
0–6 months
•
Teacher Prompts

Show me…Circle the...
Does not verbalize

Where is...?
•
Nods “Yes” and “No”

Who has...?
•
Has limited comprehension

Yes/no questions
•
Produces one- or two-word responses

Either/or questions
•
Participates using key words and
familiar phrases

One- or two-word answers

Lists, Labels

Why...? How...?
(Source: Adapted from Krashen and Terrell (1983)
6 months–1 year
•
Has good comprehension
•
Can produce simple sentences

Explain...
•
Makes grammar and pronunciation
errors

Phrase or short-sentence answers
(ELDA 3-4)
Intermediate
Fluency
•
Has excellent comprehension

What would happen if...?
•
Makes few grammatical errors

Why do you think...?
(ELDA 4-5)
Advanced Fluency
•The student has a near-native level of
speech.

Decide if...

Retell...
(ELDA 2-3)
Speech Emergence
1–3 years
3–5 years
5–7 years
Academic Language:
Activating Prior Knowledge
K-W-L-H
• Think about and write
the following:
 What do you know about
Academic Language (AL)
 What do you want to know
about AL
• Pair with a neighbor.
• Share your responses.
Defining Academic Language
Conversational (everyday) Language
Academic Language
•BICS ( Basic Interpersonal Communication
Skills)
•“playground English” or “survival English.
•CALP (Cognitive Academic Language
Proficiency)
•CALPS is the language ability required
for academic achievement in a contextreduced environment
•The language is embedded in a rich
context.
•Topics for discussion are not cognitively
demanding.
•Academic language is more
cognitively demanding than social language
•Often abstract
•There are few clues as to the meaning of
the
communication apart from the words
themselves.
Everyday versus Academic Language
Everyday versus Academic Language
• T-chart
• What are the differences
between everyday language
and Academic Language?
Defining Academic Language
Activity: Look at the iceberg diagram and match
language skills from the slide onto either BICS
or CALP section of the iceberg.
Are these BICS or CALP?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
A student asks permission to see the nurse. BICS
A student describes what he or she did over the weekend during the circle
time. BICS
A student writes a paragraph comparing and contrasting a rectangle and a
parallelogram. CALP
A student is able to understand a movie about a futuristic event. CALP
A student asks for clarification in Science class. CALP
A student describes his or her favorite president. CALP
A student evaluates which president is the best. CALP
A student is able to understand a lecture on photosynthesis. CALP
A student is able to write a letter of apology to another student. BICS
WIDA Standards Framework
Features of Academic
Language
Performance
Definitions
Standards
Matrix
Appendix 10
Activity:
Translate the two sentences on your own.
A. Meine Mutter ist intelligent.
B. Wenn meine Mutter nicht intelligent wäre,
würde ich traurig sein.
Math Proficiency: Language of Math
Math as a Language
Word/
Phrase
Level
Semantics
•Knowing definitions;
•Connotations of
words based on the
context;
•Ability to translate
Sentence
Level
Syntax
•Three is greater than
“n”;
•If “n” is greater than
five, then…
Discourse
Level
Mathematical
Discourse
•More extensive reading
and writing;
•Cognitively demanding;
•Uses specific linguistic
functions like:
persuading, arguing,
hypothesizing
Math Vocabulary (Types of Words)
• Contextual (Difficult
vocabulary that describes
the context of a problem)
• Content (Math words and
phrases)
• Functional (Action Verbs)
Aunt Alice and the Silver Coins
Aunt Alice gave each of her three nieces a
number of silver dollars equal to their ages. The
youngest felt that this was unfair. They agreed to
redistribute the money. The youngest would split
half of her silver coins evenly with the other two
sisters. The middle sister would then give each of
the others 4 silver coins. Finally, the oldest was to
split half of her dollars equally between the two
younger sisters. After exchanging money, each
girl had 16 silver dollars.
How old are the sisters?
Discuss these questions:
 What is a content objective?
 What is a language objective?
 What is the purpose of having
language and content objectives?
 What should the relationship be
between language and content
objectives?
Content and Language Objectives:
Content Objectives:
• Know / Do
– Concepts and/or skills
– For ELLs
• Focus on essentials
• Simplify wording not content
• Chunk
Language Objectives:
• Show
– Using academic language
• Receptively (L then R)
• Expressively (S then W)
– For ELLs
• Scaffold support
– Sentence frames
“An estuary has _______ water,
but an ocean has _______
water.”
Analysis of language
• What language does the student
need to…?
Forms and
Conventions:
Future tense
(e.g., I predict
the ice will
melt…”
Make
predictions
on states of
matter with
a partner.
Vocabulary
Usage:
Liquid, solid,
gas, states of
matter
Linguistic Complexity:
Uses expanded clauses (e.g., I
predict the ice will melt
when exposed…”
Sample language
objectives
• Students will use the future tense to make
predictions of change in states of matter.
• Students will produce expanded
sentences using clauses to make
predictions of change in states of matter.
Let’s practice! Write a language objective for your
ESOL students for your next class.
Decide what key
vocabulary, concept
words, and other
academic words
Consider the language functions
related to the topic of the lesson (e.g,
will the students describe, explain,
compare, or chart information)