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Students also need to be taught and need to demonstrate use of forms of language. Forms are new words, (including content-specific vocabulary). When you think of form, think about words used to convey the message, words used to build or convey the concept, multiple meaning words, or words that will be important to understand the overall meaning of the text. You will need to identify these for (or with) students at the beginning, and throughout the lesson. Also, provide opportunities for students to use this vocabulary during the lesson to demonstrate their understanding of the vocabulary. Though content area vocabulary lists are often long, identifying academic language forms informs instructional goals by narrowing down to 1-3 words, selected because of their great impact on communication and learning.
A commonly used metaphor for the academic language term "form" would be that of the bricks used to build a building or architectural structure, as discussed in the video "Bricks, Mortar, and Buildings". We can further extend the metaphor by imagining that these "bricks" are created by all the things that make up words. How do you make bricks? Well, you must combine clay and water within a frame or brick form before baking it. In a similar fashion, the building blocks of the term "form" in academic language include the sounds of words (phonology), the meaning of words (semantics), and the parts of words (morphology).
Working alone or with a partner, take a moment to reflect on an example for each that would connect to your instructional goals. You can use this equation as a frame to help you focus on the reasons why these particular forms are terms that some students need explicitly taught in order to be successful in your content area:
- Form: Phonology (word sounds) = _______________________________ (commonly misheard word from your content area; includes misspelled words)
- Form: Semantics (word meaning) = ______________________________ (commonly misapplied or misunderstood word from your content area)
- Form: Morphology (word parts) = ______________________________ (a commonly incorrect prefix, suffix, or root word part from your content area)
Syntax
Syntax refers to structure of words, phrases and sentences. When you think about syntax, think about sentence structure and length, transitions and connectives such as ‘because’ and ‘however’. Syntax also include a myriad of grammatical constructs and elements, including but not limited to verb tenses, passive voice, pronoun references, order of words in sentences, conventions of print, and musical, mathematical, and scientific notations. Consider how syntax may affect students’ understanding and communication of important content and concepts through analyzing how students will SWRL throughout your intended instructional sequence.
To continue our metaphor from above, syntax would be like the mortar of a construction project. It is the cement, or glue, that holds the bricks in place so that the structure can begun to be built. We can think of the mortar much like the grammar that holds our language together so that we can communicate our thoughts and ideas.
For practice, think of a phrase or sentence that you would like your students to be able to understand or produce that relates to your lesson objective or content area and share it here:
- _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now, complete the following objective using the provided sentence frame to demonstrate your skills and celebrate your syntax!
- I can identify the syntax related to my content area using ______________________________________________ (name a language structure used above), such as ___________________________________________________________ (your example of this structure) with the support of this sentence frame and lesson plan handbook guided notes.
Note that in the above example objective frame, the underlined form "identify" communicates the academic language function and the phrase "this sentence frame and guided notes" communicates the supports or tools provided to assist in developing language use and understanding. An example of completing the above syntax might be: "I can identify the syntax related to my content area using grammatical terminology, such as 'phrases' with the support of this sentence frame and lesson plan handbook guided notes."
This exercise does illustrate how providing a support such as a sentence frame can extend syntax, but more importantly first illustrates that the instructor needs to reflectively think through and describe the academic language that is necessary to meet demands of the lesson objective.
Discourse
Discourse is the broadest of the four language demands. Discourse refers to how we talk in our specific disciplines. To engage in the discourse of the discipline, students need to know the terminology and way of speaking in the discipline in order to be successful. We also use a different discourse when we speak in reading class than we do in social studies or music class. Did you know that nonverbal gestures are even a part of discourse-specific language? Discourse describes a more holistic view of the academic language for communication that is required, or the largest conceptual segments of language.
When trying to define the needed holistic language to complete an academic task, it is helpful to think about the text types and genre labels given to different types of discourses. There are many ways to classify discourse. There is both written and spoken discourse. There is also monologic (produced by one speaker or writer), dialogic (produced by two speakers or writers), and multi-party (with three or more contributors). The types of discourse used can be classified according to communicative purpose, style, intended audience and formality within the given text or genre. Taken together, these classifications acknowledge that different language is typically used for a poem, a science lab report, an organized tutorial video, a persuasive essay, an orchestral piece, an artist's biography, or a small group discussion. Preparing students to recognize and engage in appropriate use of discourse will help them be successful in the lesson.
Relative to further classifying the formality of discourse students will need which is typical of academic language, we must also consider "register" and helping students "switch registers" to meet the language goals. Register is the linguistic term meaning that we use different discourse patterns when we speak or write to different groups or contexts. For example, we speak differently when talking casually with friends than we do when giving a formal presentation. We also speak differently when we summarize than when we debate. We can explicitly teach students what discourse type, genre, or register is needed to communicate in the given context.
Extending our architectural metaphor yet again, discourse would be like the building that is created. Just as there as many distinct types of buildings, there are many distinct types of discourses. Imagine that your subject-specific content is filled with buildings of various shapes and sizes that relate to the prevalence of specific discourses used most often in your field of study to interact, learn, and complete projects or tasks.
Rather than list all the possible types that exist, it is potentially more helpful to identify discourse that is most often used within your content area major. Label the "buildings" below with 4 types of discourse that are used most often to communicate in your subject-specific area, related to the language domains (SWRL). The first one is done for you, but feel free to think of your own example as well.
Speaking Discourse: Writing Discourse: Reading Discourse: Listening Discourse:
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Syntax
Syntax refers to structure of words, phrases and sentences. When you think about syntax, think about sentence structure and length, transitions and connectives such as ‘because’ and ‘however’. Syntax also include a myriad of grammatical constructs and elements, including but not limited to verb tenses, passive voice, pronoun references, order of words in sentences, conventions of print, and musical, mathematical, and scientific notations. Consider how syntax may affect students’ understanding and communication of important content and concepts through analyzing how students will SWRL throughout your intended instructional sequence.
Discourse
Discourse is the broadest of the four language demands. Discourse refers to how we talk in our specific disciplines. To engage in the discourse of the discipline, students need to know the terminology and way of speaking in the discipline in order to be successful. We also use a different discourse when we speak in reading class than we do in social studies or music class. Did you know that nonverbal gestures are even a part of discourse-specific language? Discourse describes a more holistic view of the academic language for communication that is required, or the largest conceptual segments of language.
When trying to define the needed holistic language to complete an academic task, it is helpful to think about the text types and genre labels given to different types of discourses. There are many ways to classify discourse. There is both written and spoken discourse. There is also monologic (produced by one speaker or writer), dialogic (produced by two speakers or writers), and multi-party (with three or more contributors). The types of discourse used can be classified according to communicative purpose, style, intended audience and formality within the given text or genre. Taken together, these classifications acknowledge that different language is typically used for a poem, a science lab report, an organized tutorial video, a persuasive essay, an orchestral piece, an artist's biography, or a small group discussion. Preparing students to recognize and engage in appropriate use of discourse will help them be successful in the lesson.
Relative to further classifying the formality of discourse students will need which is typical of academic language, we must also consider "register" and helping students "switch registers" to meet the language goals. Register is the linguistic term meaning that we use different discourse patterns when we speak or write to different groups or contexts. For example, we speak differently when talking casually with friends than we do when giving a formal presentation. We also speak differently when we summarize than when we debate. We can explicitly teach students what discourse type, genre, or register is needed to communicate in the given context.
Identifying Academic Language Demands
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