Using Science Activities for Developing Academic Language (part 2)

Most children have had countless first-hand experiences with objects, toys, and the outdoors by the time they arrive at school for their first day of Kindergarten. The greatest number of high utility words can be mastered through these events. However, the quantity of pre-Kindergarten first-hand experiences has decreased significantly in the last decade with the advent of handheld technology.

More children today have a greater involvement with "in silico" experiences (not of the real world). Classroom practitioners have noticed a sharp decline in linguistic ability as a result of children spending more time playing with technology toys rather than having the normal "serve-and-receive" language exchanges with caregivers and older more language-capable children. 

Research tells us that of the most common language interactions used, 400 to 600 high frequency words are used most often out of the nearly 90,000 most widely-used English words (actual figure = 86,741): 

1. Children's books contain 627 of the high utility words
2. Primetime children's TV shows use 543 of the high utility words
3. Conversations among non-college graduates typically deploy only 496 of the high utility words 
4. However, science reading use 4389 of the high utility words rendering science the richest source for developing academic vocabulary (and it simultaneously teaches students how to think scientifically).

 

It is through discourse during active experiences with others that children learn syntax and vocabulary usage. When they are engaged in science activities and investigation, children have a opportunity to practice and further develop their proficiency in syntax and vocabulary. The chart below summarizes how such experiences can enhance language competency.

Vocabulary	Content-specific terms (atom, germ, osmosis, photosynthesis) Polysemous words (multiple meanings) Morphology (prefixes, suffixes, root words and other parts of words) General academic terms (analysis, argument, connotation, resolution, aspect, etc.) Everyday vocab., specialized vocab (life cycle, metamorphosis, pupa, chrysalis, larva), and technical academic words and expressions   Understand and use abstract words/concepts (chaos, energy, fragile, principle) Functional language (making requests; giving advice, etc. - “If I were you, I would…) Figurative speech ("So hungry I could eat a bear.")
Syntax	Sentence structure (simple, compound, complex) and length Transitions/connectives (e.g., however, because, therefore,) Complex verb tenses (imperative verbs: preheat, combine, mix, etc.) Passive voice (“Magnetism is one of the four major forces in our universe.”)
Discourse	Posing arguments using claims and evidence Drawing conclusions High amount and density of speech/written text Using discipline-specific language Understanding that voice, perspective and audience can change Clarity and cohesion of ideas across longer sentences/paragraphs Transitions of thoughts Variety of sentence types

No offense intended towards English majors, but the purpose of developing competencies in language is to understand how to use them in disciplines/contexts like science and social science.

 

 

 

 

Developing Academic Language (part 1)

Many students struggle in school due so much to the difficulty in understanding complex concepts, but instead due to the unfamiliar and specialized language used when presenting the concept. As most parents and educators realize, everyday language skills do not translate into successful academic experiences.

Research from Jim Cummins is among the most comprehensible on this topic. Cummins divided language into to easily digestible categories.

The first is "Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills" (BICS), and the second is "Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency" or CALP.

•         BICS (also referred to as "communicative competence") is highly contextualized with lower cognitive demands to understand, and includes the listening and speaking skills that students tend to acquire quickly as they learn a language or as they learn a new language (within the first few years). The young learners master the language in order to communicate with others as they engage daily in ordinary social interactions, such as asking someone for his/her name, asking for directions, requesting food from a menu. BICS are often beneficiaries of non-verbal cues, gestures, facial expressions, and objects that can immediately be referred to (including pointing to them).

•        Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP): describes the academic language and the cognitively demanding language skills necessary for success in a formal classroom setting. CALP typically requires 5-7 years to develop, but longer for students with less native language proficiency. CALP is far less contextualized. Lectures, classroom conversations, teacher-student discussions, research projects and complex language skills such as summarizing, analyzing, extracting and interpreting meaning; evaluating evidence; composing; and editing are heavily dependent on a student's mastery of CALP, where one's language proficiency does the heavy lifting (listening or reading) without the assistance of environmental clues or cues.