1 © 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium Presenter: Margot Downs WIDA Certified Consultant

1© 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium www.wida.us

Presenter: Margot DownsWIDA Certified Consultant

ACCESS for ELLs®, W-APT™, and ELP Standards Trainer

Dec. 13, 2010Maine Department of Education ESL/Bilingual Programs

Professional development online webinar

Understanding Academic Language

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Resources• English Learners, Academic Literacy

and Thinking by Pauline Gibbons (2009)• Building Academic Language by Jeff

Zwiers (2008)• Content Area Conversations by

Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Carol Rothenberg (2008)

• WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards

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What is Academic Language?

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Everyday vs. Academic Language(Gibbons 2009)

• A lot of artists at that time painted pictures of everyday life.

• Magnets attract metal that contain iron.

• There was no food and many people starved and died.

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Everyday vs. Academic Language (Gibbons 2009)

• A lot of artists at that time painted pictures of everyday life.

• Urban scenes were popular among artists of the area.

• Magnets attract metal that contain iron.• Magnetic attraction occurs between magnets

and ferrous materials. • There was no food and many people starved

and died.• Famine caused mass starvation.

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Social Language Proficiency

Academic Achievement

Academic Language Proficiency

Gottlieb (2003)

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Academic Language Proficiency

• Language-based • Reflective of the varying

stages of second language acquisition

• Representative of social and

academic language contexts • Tied to a state’s English

language proficiency standards (WIDA)

Academic Achievement

• Content-based

• Reflective of conceptual development

• Representative of the school’s academic curriculum

• Tied to a state’s academic content standards

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Register (Halliday and Hasan [1985] and Gee [2000])

• Field - topic

• Tenor - Relationship between speaker and listener or reader and writer

• Mode - the channel of communication (spoken or written)

Using appropriate terminology is integral to the concepts being learned. Understanding concepts isn’t simply a question of learning new vocabulary. Academic literacy means being able to express more concisely and precisely the complex ideas and concepts that are embedded in the context of a subject. (Gibbons 2009)

Academic language proficiency refers to the abilities to construct meaning from oral and written language, relate complex ideas and information, recognize features of different genres, and use various linguistic strategies to communicate.

Dutro &Moran (2003)

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WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards

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Five WIDA ELP Standards

Standard 1 – SIL: English language learners communicate for SOCIAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL purposes within the school setting.

Standard 2 – LoLA: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of LANGUAGE ARTS.

Standard 3 – LoMA: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of MATHEMATICS.

Standard 4 – LoSC: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SCIENCE.

Standard 5 – LoSS: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of SOCIAL STUDIES.

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Four Language Domains

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, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency Writing ─ engage in written communication in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and audiences

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Criteria for Performance Definitions

ENTERING BEGINNINGDEVELOPINGEXPANDING BRIDGING

54321 6

REACHING

• Linguistic Complexity: Expectations of the quantity and organization of the student’s verbal response

• Vocabulary Usage: Expectations of the student’s use of appropriate vocabulary for grade level and proficiency level; refers to language quality

• Language Control: Expectations of the student’s control of English grammar, word choice in context, and the English sound system; refers to language quality

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Linguistic Complexity(Level 1) What is this? Who is this? What are they doing?“A cake. A cookie. Baking.”Expectation: Single words(Level 2) What is happening in this picture?“They are cooking. They are making a cake.”Expectation: Short phrases or sentences(Level 3) How are cookies and cakes similar/different?“They are both sweet, but cookies are usually smaller than cakes.” Expectation: Simple conjoined sentences with descriptors use of cohesion.

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Vocabulary UsageThe Language of Social Studies

General Language: people

Specific Language: population

Technical Language: demographics

The Language of Language Arts

General Language: person

Specific Language: character

Technical Language: protagonist

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Navel Orange

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The navel orange is one of the few remaining staples in the produce bins that remains untouched by globalization.(New York Times Jan 21,2007 Kim Severson)

The navel orange is one of the few remaining staples in the produce bins that remains untouched by globalization.

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The _______ is one of the few remaining _________ in the ______________that remains untouched by _______________.

The Ginkgo is one of the few remaining trees in the United States that remains untouched by gypsy moths.

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When an animal hibernates, it breathes very slowly, its heart beat slows down, and its body gets colder. (Click Magazine Dec. 2010)

When an animal exercises, it breathes very quickly, its heart beat increases, and its body gets warmer.

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What does it mean to be “Concise and Precise”?

Vocabulary Usage

We want energy that will be there for us when we want it.

Fossil fuels are a resource that will not last forever.

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What does it mean to be “Concise and Precise”?

Vocabulary Usage

We want energy that will be there for us when we want it.

We want reliable energy sources.

Fossil fuels are a resource that will not last forever.

Fossil fuels are a finite resource.

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Linguistic Complexity

We use large amounts of oil. We will be without oil in 30 to 40 years.

Alternative energy is our best solution. Alternative energy can meet our future energy needs.

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Linguistic Complexity

We use large amounts of oil. We will be without oil in 30 to 40 years. If we use large amounts of oil, we will be without oil in 30 to 40 years.

Alternative energy is our best solution. Alternative energy can meet our future energy needs.Alternative energy is our best solution and can meet our future energy needs.

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Language Control (How well do you control the use of academic English? Does one idea connect to another idea? Do you use the appropriate work in the correct manner?)

• Using transitions to connect and organize ideas (furthermore, as a result, however)

• Taking risks with language (good v. nutritious)

• Correct word forms (significant/significance, contribute/contribution)

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Elements of Model Performance IndicatorsThe Model Performance Indicator (MPI) consists of

three elements:

•The language function describes how students use language to demonstrate their proficiency

•The example topic specifies the context for language instruction, derived from state content standards

•The support includes instructional strategies or tools used to assist students in accessing content necessary for communication; can be sensory, graphic, or interactive

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Grade 9-12 Reading Science Level 3

Biome Climate Temperature Soil

Tundra dry -20º - 40º F Mainly frozen

Taiga average -10º - 55º F Rocky

Temperate Forest

average 0º - 80º F Rich and deep

Tropical

Forest

wet 45º - 95º F Poor and thin

Based on the information from the table, which biome has the widest temperature range?

(A) Tundra (B) Taiga (C) Temperate Forest (D) Tropical Rain Forest

(MPI: Extract information on the use of data presented in text and tables)

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Additional Features of Academic Language

• Collocations (to commit a crime)

• Polysemous words: multiple

meanings (table)

• Nominalization/Nominal Groups

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• When people clear land for houses and roads they change the environment. They destroy the forest and bush and then many animals lose their homes. More houses and roads will pollute the environment even more. Some animals have become extinct because their homes have been destroyed.

• Clearing and development of land often results in the destruction of the natural habitat of many local species. It may also increase the level of pollution. Loss of habitat has already led to the extinction of many species of animals.

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The Talking to Writing Continuum (Gibbons 2009)

(1) “Face to Face Interactions”

• Look, it’s making them move.• That’s not going.• Those ones are going fast.

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(2) “Oral Retelling”

• We found out the pins stuck on the magnet and so did the iron filings. Then we tried the pencil but it didn’t stick.

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(3) “Written Summary”

• Our experiment was to find out what a magnet attracted. We discovered that a magnet attracts some kinds of metal. It attracted the iron filings and the pins, but not the pencil.

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(4) “Academic Text”

• The magnet is a piece of metal that is surrounded by an invisible field of force which affects any magnetic material within it. It is able to attract a piece of iron or steel because it is magnetic field flows into the metal, turning it into a temporary magnet. Magnetic attraction occurs only between ferrous materials.

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“Because we are immersed in an ocean of academic language daily, it’s hard to notice the habits we automatically engage in to comprehend such language…When we become aware of our own habits and strategies, we can model them and make them available to our students.” (Jeff Zwiers 2008)

Engaging students in more explicit language production creates a “bridge” between the everyday language and the more abstract and formal language associated with academic literacy.

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Instructional Implications• Go from the everyday, familiar, and concrete

to the subject specific, unfamiliar and abstract• Link students’ real world experiences to

school experiences• Sequence teaching and learning activities to

move towards the specialized language of written texts, rather than starting with the written texts

• Structure classroom discourse and interaction so that it bridges to written texts

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Increasing Interaction to Build Fluency

• Model the language and the interaction• Have students process information individually• Have students process information in pairs• Have students process information in small

groups• Compare/Contrast information to source (reading) • Apply information to a new task (writing)

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Building Background Knowledge Marzano (2004)

Effective processing of information depends on …

• The number of times information is processed

• The detail that is added• The associations that are made

with other information

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Instructional Strategies to Build Academic

Language

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Amplify language rather than simplify.

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Thinking SheetsProcedure Focus Math Problem Example

Structured prompts that help students articulate their thinking to a group while engaged in cognitive tasks such as solving a problem, planning how to do something, or working out an explanation using precise language.

• Requires students to make their reasoning visible by talking aloud.• Through talk, students clarify the questions, suggest alternative ways of solving problems and justifying a decision.• Oral rehearsal of language

• What are the key words in this question?• Write down another way of saying the same thing.• What mathematical processes will you need to use?• Solve the problem as a group.• Write down the steps you followed as you were finding the answer.

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(-2, -3) and (2, 6)

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A flag is a ________.

a) person b) place c) thing

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Concept SortProcedure Focus Linguistic Frames

Students sort single words, phrases, or sentences into categories that relate to the concept they are studying. Sorting may be open or closed (eg. category, sequence, characteristics)

• Manipulating cards is a physical response that can enhance language learning• Students make deeper connections with concepts and language • Keep records of sorts for reference (written/digitally)

• I think ___ belongs in this category because ___.• I don’t think ___ belongs in this category because it doesn’t ___.• ___ should be (first, second, next) because• These belong in the same category because_____• What is the difference between ___ and ___?

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Person Place Thing

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Flexibility

• The ability of joints to move through their full range of motion.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

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Flexibility

• The ability of _____ to move through their full range of motion.



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Flexibility

• The ability of _____ to ____ through their full range of motion.



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Flexibility

• The ability of _____ to ____ through their ____ range of motion.



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Flexibility

• The ability of _____ to ____ through their ____ range of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ ability of _____ to ____ through their ____ range of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ ability of _____ to ____ through ____ ____ range of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ ability of _____ to ____ through ____ ____ _____ of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ _____ of _____ to ____ through ____ ____ _____ of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ _____ of _____ to ____ _____ ____ ____ _____ of _____.



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Flexibility

• ___ _____ ___ _____ to ____ _____ ____ ____ _____ of _____.



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Vanishing ClozeProcedure Focus Example

Write a sentence on a key item of knowledge students need to practice. Students read text together. Erase one word from the text. Students read the whole text again, supplying the missing word. Repeat the process with another word.

•Repeated readings of complex grammatical structures and vocabulary to build fluency• A strategy to build student autonomy

• Flexibility is the ability of joints to move through their full range of motion.• Flexibility is the ability of joints to _______through their full range of motion.• Flexibility is the ability of joints to _______ through their full range of _________.• Flexibility is the ability of _____ to ____through their full range of ______.

School General academic language for knowing, thinking, reading, writing and visualizing

Language of Music

Language of Mathematics

Language of Science Language of

Language Arts

Language of Social Studies

Student Learner assets, home and community

language, and cultural factors

Researched Based Teaching Strategies and Instructional Activities

Formative and Summative Assessment of English Language Proficiency

Adapted from Jeff Zwiers (2008) and WIDA

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Thank you for your interest in this webinar.

Maine Department of EducationESL/Bilingual Programs

[email protected]

Documents

1 © 2009 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the WIDA Consortium Presenter: Margot Downs WIDA Certified Consultant