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It is important for educators to keep in mind that academic language is both receptive (seen/heard) and productive (spoken/read). Receptive and productive descriptions of language are also called language modalities. The acronym SWRL ("swirl") helps in remembering to consider each of the language modalities needed for learner success; SWRL stands for Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening. It is beneficial for candidates to consider all language modalities when thinking about how learners will be asked to meet the lesson's content goal or objective (Goldenberg, 2013; Vogt, Echevarria, & Short, 2010). Building candidate awareness of academic language is important for the support and success of all learners, but is of crucial importance for multilingual learners.
Multilingual Learners
Multilingual learners refer to all children and youth who are, or have been, consistently exposed to multiple languages. It includes learners known as English language learners (ELLs) or dual language learners (DLLs); heritage language learners; and students who speak varieties of English or indigenous languages. Ensuring that academic (English) language is clear helps students be successful with lesson activities and objectives, thereby increasing overall student achievement.
WIDA, a non-profit language and educational research consortium, shares this a summary of guiding principles which are important to keep in mind regarding academic language development:
Multilingual learners can use their languages as an asset; Languages Other Than English (LOTE) can be utilized in teaching academic language.
- Multilingual learners’ languages and cultures are valuable resources to be leveraged for schooling and classroom life; leveraging these assets and challenging biases help develop multilingual learners’ independence and encourage their agency in learning (Little, Dam, & Legenhausen, 2017; Moll, Amanti, Neff, & González, 1992; Nieto & Bode, 2018; Perley, 2011).
- Multilingual learners’ development of multiple languages enhances their knowledge and cultural bases, their intellectual capacities, and their flexibility in language use (Arellano, Liu, Stoker, & Slama, 2018; Escamilla, Hopewell, Butvilofsky, Sparrow, Soltero-González, Ruiz-Figueroa, & Escamilla, 2013; Genesee, n.d.; Potowski, 2007).
- Multilingual learners use their full linguistic repertoire, including translanguaging practices, to enrich their language development and learning (García, Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017; Hornberger & Link, 2012; Wei, 2018).
Multilingual learners connect new academic language to their prior linguistic and experiential knowledge.
- Multilingual learners use and develop language when opportunities for learning take into account their individual experiences, characteristics, abilities, and levels of language proficiency (Gibbons, 2002; Swain, Kinnear, & Steinman, 2015; TESOL International Association, 2018; Vygotsky, 1978).
- Multilingual learners use and develop language through activities which intentionally integrate multiple modalities, including oral, written, visual, and kinesthetic modes of communication (Choi & Yi, 2015; Jewitt, 2008; van Lier, 2006; Zwiers & Crawford, 2011).
- Multilingual learners use and develop language to interpret and access information, ideas, and concepts from a variety of sources, including real-life objects, models, representations, and multimodal texts (Ajayl, 2009; Cope & Kalantzis, 2009; Jewitt, 2009; Kervin & Derewianka, 2011).
A full summary of WIDA's guiding principles, including supporting research, is available at: https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/Guiding-Principles-of-Language-Development.pdf or by clicking on the PDF embedded here for your convenience:
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It is also helpful to remember that language acquisition is an individual process that occurs over time, in different "stages." This four-minute video provides a quick review of the stages of language acquisition and their average timelines, as researched by behavioral linguists. It can help both learners and teachers to know how quickly an average student learning a new language might progress. Language acquisition is a complex process, and that there can be many variations due to individual factors and influences, including prior educational history and motivation.
Now, we will take a look at how we communicate and talk about academic language in instructional planning by further defining academic language and how to identify it in relationship to your lesson's learning goal and subject specific content.
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