Academic Language and Thinking
December 16, 2010
Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations
at New Mexico Highlands University
Overview
• What is Academic Language and Thinking?
• Why should students engage in purposeful, focused
and extended academic talk?
• What are key features of academic language and
academic conversations?
• How can we support academic language and
thinking?
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Academic Language and Thinking?
(3 min.)
•What is academic language and thinking?
• What does academic language and thinking “look
like” and “sound like”?
•How can district and school leadership support
academic language and thinking?
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Defining Academic Language and Thinking:
What the Researchers Say
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP): CALP
is the language students are exposed to during content
lessons, in course materials, textbooks, and standardized
assessments. Cummins suggests that it generally takes an
ELL student up to 2 years to acquire BICS and 5-7 years to
acquire the linguistic skills associated with CALP (Cummins
1981).
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
(TESOL 2007) define academic language as, “Language
used in the learning of academic subject matter in formal
schooling context; aspects of language strongly associated
with literacy and academic achievement, including specific
academic terms or technical language, and speech registers
related to each field of study”.
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Defining Academic Language and Thinking:
What the Researchers Say
• Zwiers (2005) defines academic language as, “…the set of
words and phrases that describe content-area knowledge
and procedures; language that expresses complex thinking
processes and abstract concepts; and language that creates
cohesion and clarity in written and oral discourse”.
• Scarcella (2008) defines academic language as the
language of power. Students who do not acquire academic
language fail in academic settings.
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“Brick and Mortar”
Dutro and Moran, 2003
• "Brick" words are the vocabulary
specific to the content and concepts
being taught and include words such
as: government, mitosis, metaphor,
revolt, arid, revolution, etc….
• "Mortar" words are the words that
determine the relationships between
and among words.
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What is Academic Language?
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
Terms that
travel across
disciplines
Grammar &
organization
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
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What is Academic Language?
Hypothesize
Evidence
Analyze
Justify
Critique
Compare
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
Terms that
travel across
disciplines
Grammar &
organization
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
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What is Academic Language?
Hypothesize
Evidence
Analyze Justify
Critique
Compare
Academic
Metaphors
~300/hour!
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
Terms that
travel across
disciplines
Grammar &
organization
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
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What is Academic Language?
Hypothesize
Evidence
Analyze Justify
Critique
Compare
Academic
Metaphors
~300/hour!
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
Text structure
Transitions
Terms that
Grammar &
Pronouns
travel across
organization
Clauses
disciplines
Word order
U-turn terms
Punctuation
Content vocabulary
(bricks)
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Students need chances to authentically
talk about:
Abstract concepts
Complex
ideas
Higherorder
thinking
processes
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Watching for Academic Language
By the 1880's, steam power had dramatically
shortened the journey to America. Immigrants poured in
from around the world. They came from the Middle East,
the Mediterranean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and
down from Canada.
The door was wide open for Europeans. In the
1880s alone, 9% of the total population of Norway
emigrated to America. After 1892 nearly all immigrants
came in through the newly opened Ellis Island.
Families often immigrated together during this era,
although young men frequently came first to find work.
Some of these then sent for their wives, children, and
siblings; others returned to their families in Europe with
their saved wages.
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Academic Language and Thinking
Strategies Where?
Speaking
Listening
Communication
Literacies
or
Language
Domains
Writing
Reading
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3 Ingredients for Acquiring Language
Input
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3 Ingredients for Acquiring Language
Visuals
Gestures
Verbal
Input
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3 Ingredients for Acquiring Language
Visuals
Gestures
Verbal
Input
Output
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3 Ingredients for Acquiring Language
Visuals
Gestures
Verbal
Input
Output
Sentence stems
Pair-shares
Presentations
Improvs (pro-con)
Questions (build)
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3 Ingredients for Acquiring Language
Input
Output
Co-construction of Meaning
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The Need for Meaningful Talk
• 85% of class time was devoted to lecture, question
and answer, and seatwork. (Nystrand, 1997)
• Teachers encouraged elaborations, but only 16% of
the paired interactions were beneficial to learning.
(Staarman, Krol & Vander Meijden, 2005)
• English learners spent only 4% of the school day
engaged in talk; and 2% of the school day discussing
focal content of the lesson. (Arreaga-Mayer &
Perdomo-Rivera, 1996)
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Academic Language in Action
Academic English is not a natural language.
It must be explicitly taught not merely caught.
( Kinsella, 2006)
Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations at
New Mexico Highlands University
 Understand the concept of sheltered instruction
 Understand the importance of lesson preparation and
the integration of content and language objectives
 Develop a working knowledge of the new ELD
Standards
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 Participants will recall and list topical information
from readings, previous trainings and personal
experiences.
 Participants will articulate and listen to various points
of view related to the day’s topic.
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 Individually and in groups begin to synthesize the
day’s information through dialogue and reflection.
 Participants will work in groups to apply the
knowledge of the day in the creation of a lesson plan
that takes into account the realities of the classroom.
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“Sheltered instruction is an approach for
teaching content to English Language
Learners in strategic ways that make the
subject matter concepts comprehensible
while promoting the students’ English
language development.”
Echevarria, Vogt and Short, Making Content Comprehensible for
English Language Learners, 2004, 2007, 2010
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
In many of our classrooms the level of the
textbook we are teaching from does not
match the academic language level of our
students.

The academic content and language of the
text is difficult for students to negotiate.
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
Watering down the curriculum allows
students to read the curriculum.
…but

The richness of the content concepts are
lost.
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“Sheltered Instruction
is good for ALL students
but it is IMPERATIVE for students
with a language or learning
challenge!”
Mary Ellen Vogt, 2004; 2007
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 Preparation
 Interaction
 Building
 Practice /
Background
 Comprehensible
Input
 Strategies
Application
 Lesson Delivery
 Review /
Assessment
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What:
For maximum learning to
occur, planning must
produce lessons that enable
students to make
connections between their
own knowledge and
experiences, and the new
information being taught.
Why:
Lesson planning is critical to
both a student's and
teacher’s success.
When:
Every lesson
How:
Adaptation of content
Meaningful activities
Supplementary materials
Plan for language
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 What are they?
 Why use them?
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 What are they?
 Why use them?
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Content Objectives: Focus of the Lesson (What
students should know and be able to do.)
Language Objectives: Focus on Language
Development, Language Needs & Language Use
for the Lesson (How Listening, Speaking, Reading and
Writing will be incorporated into the lesson.)
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Content objectives
are the
Language objectives
are the
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 compare
recall
revise
 contrast
recite
pre-write
list
draft
elaborate
publish
define
predict
apply
write
 sequence
infer
identify
 synthesize
justify
negotiate
 listen
 respond
 interpret
 describe
 observe
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
Listening: process, understand, interpret, and evaluate
spoken language in a variety of situations

Speaking: engage in oral communication in a variety of
situations for a variety of purposes and audiences

Reading: process, understand, interpret, and evaluate
written language, symbols and text with understanding
and fluency

Writing: engage in written communication in a variety
of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences
New Mexico ELD Standards 2009
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 Why are the language domains important?
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“Children are capable of high level thinking
regardless of their language level.”
Margo Gottlieb, Ph.D., WIDA Lead Developer, 2009
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 Who gets to see them?
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Should be:
 Stated clearly and simply in student
friendly language; and
 Posted and referred to before, during
and after the lesson.
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Content Objective:
9-12.G.1.2 Find the area and perimeter of a geometric figure composed
of a combination of two or more rectangles, triangles, and/or
semicircles with just edges in common.
Language Objectives:
With your learning partner you will use mathematical vocabulary
to explain the process for finding the area and perimeter of
geometric figures.
During a carousel activity, your group will construct a Venn
Diagram to contrast and compare the area and perimeter of one
geometric figure to another.
Work in pairs to solve and justify statements about the area and
perimeter of geometric figures.
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 What is our schema related to standards?
 What have you heard and what do you know about the
NMELD Standards?
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 The NMELD Standards are unlike anything we have
experienced in New Mexico.
o They are first and foremost language standards.
1. Social and Instructional Language
2. The Language of Language Arts
3. The Language of Mathematics
4. The Language of Science
5. The Language of Social Studies
 Meant to be flexible and adaptable.
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English language development standards are the
bridge to enable learners to access the content
requisite for academic success through language
(Academic Language and Thinking).
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 Framework
 Entering
 Formative
 Emerging
 Summative
 Developing
 Language Proficiency  Expanding
Level
 Bridging
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 Language Domain
 Language Function
 Grade Level Cluster
 Example Topic
 Genre
 Support
 Model Performance
 Transformation
Indicator (MPI)
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 2 Frameworks
 5 English Language Proficiency Standards
 5 Grade Level Clusters
 4 Language Domains
 5 Levels of English Language Proficiency
 200 Example Topics and Model Performance Indicators
(MPIs)
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 No numbers but rather an emphasis on language,
content and support. (Mindfully prodding you
towards Content and Language Objectives)
 Make it topic or subject specific. Make it real for you!
Make it work for you!
 You are never held to what is in the box – this can
change!
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 Step 1: Determine English Language Learners’ current
language profiles
 Step 2: Analyze the language demands of a content
topic
 Step 3: Match ELD standards to language demands,
and decide whether and which transformations are
necessary.
 Step 4: Develop content and language objectives.
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 Step 5: Differentiate instructional and assessment
activities by the students’ levels of English language
proficiency.
 Step 6: Plan for instructional supports and vary the
supports used.
 Step 7: Review evidence of language learning and
decide next steps.
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What is the intent?
What is the intent?
• What part of our professional routine(s) are the new ELD
standards intending to affect?
• How?
• For whom?
• Is this extra?
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Lesson Planning Through
a Different Lens
• For whom? All children!
• How? Consider the language demands of the content
of the lesson.
• Why? Content and language have had and will
continue to have an inseparable relationship that is
rooted in the fundamental use of language as the
means of sharing information.
• When? Always!
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A Typical Lesson Plan begins with a …
Focus:
Content
Objectives
Language
Objectives
Aligned to
Standards
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A Typical Lesson Plan Includes …
Instruction:
Through the lens of the language
demands of the content.
Student Centered
• Prior Knowledge
• Building of Background
Knowledge
Frontloading,
Scaffolding,
Sheltering
• Bricks
• Mortar
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A Typical Lesson Plan Includes …
Guided Practice:
Reading
Listening
Writing
Formative Assessment
Opportunities
(Informal and Formal)
Speaking
Opportunity for
Interaction: Enhancing
Academic Language
Discourse
Sheltered
& Rigorous
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A Typical Lesson Plan Includes…
Independent Practice:
Reading
Listening
Writing
Speaking
Sheltered
& Rigorous
Formative Assessment
Opportunities
(Informal and Formal)
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A Typical Lesson Plan Includes …
Closure/Assessment/Evaluation
• How did they do?
• How did you do?
• How do you know?
• How will this affect what you do tomorrow?
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Let’s apply our knowledge!
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Listen
Identify
Classify
Collect
Distinguish
Categorize
Match
Show
Select
Construct
Assemble
Arrange
Name
Recall
Give Examples
Draw
Organize
Decide
Describe
Create
Dramatize
Locate
List
Underline
Review
Compose
Dictate
Point out
Record
Report
Predict
Express
Plan and
Evaluate
Relate
Generalize
Demonstrate
Restate
Interpret
Outline
Summarize
Suppose
Estimate
Judge
Explain
Debate
Illustrate
Infer
Revise
Rewrite
Assess
Justify
Critique
Compare
Contrast
Question
Map
Observe
Sequence
Synthesize
Recite
Elaborate
Define
Apply
Pre-write
Draft
Publish
Write
Negotiate
Discriminate
Respond
Verbs for Language Objectives
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Thank you!
Adrian Sandoval
aisandoval@cesdp.nmhu.edu
Phone: 505-243-4442
Center for the Education and Study of Diverse Populations
at New Mexico Highlands University