Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Definitions and Contexts

by Margo Gottlieb, Gisela Ernst-Slavit

Overview

Ensure your school speaks the language of success!

Since the introduction of the Common Core, schools realize the necessity for a deep understanding of academic language as a stepping stone to academic achievement. The expectations for more robust curriculum, instruction, and assessment require administrators, teachers, and students to retool for academic success.

This companion volume to Margo Gottlieb and Gisela Ernst-Slavit’s six-book series on academic language provides a thorough overview of key concepts and effective practices. Optimized for curricular planning and in-classroom reference, with particular attention to linguistically and culturally diverse students, the book includes:

• Definitions and examples of the dimensions of academic language.
• A step-by-step template for teachers to incorporate academic language into their planning for student learning.
• Graphic models that illustrate academic language use across the content areas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452234786
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/22/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Margo Gottlieb, Ph.D., has been a bilingual teacher, coordinator, facilitator, consultant, and mentor across K-20 settings. Having worked with universities, organizations, governments, states, school districts, networks, and schools, Margo has co-constructed linguistic and culturally sustainable curriculum and reconceptualized classroom assessment, policy, and practice. As co-founder and lead developer of WIDA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, Margo has helped design and contributed to all the editions of WIDA’s English and Spanish language development standards frameworks and their derivative products. She has been appointed to national and state advisory boards, served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, and was honored by the TESOL International Association in 2016 for her significant contribution to the field. An avid traveler, Margo has enjoyed keynoting and presenting across the United States, territories, and 25 countries. Having authored, co-authored, or co-edited over 100 publications, including 22 books, Margo's 3^rd edition of Assessing Multilingual Learners: Bridges to Empowerment (2024) and Collaborative Assessment for Multilingual Learners and Teachers: Pathways to Partnerships (with A. Honigsfeld, 2025) are the latest additions to her Corwin compendium.

In 2025, Margo was inducted into the Multilingual Education Hall of Fame.

Dr. Gisela Ernst-Slavit (Ph D University of Florida) is a Professor Emerita at Washington State University with an active program of research. Dr. Ernst-Slavit is a native from Peru who grew up languaging in Spanish, German and English at school. She is the author, co-author, or co-editor of 12 books and over 100 articles and chapters, and she frequently speaks at regional, national, and international conferences on multilingual learner education, with a particular focus on teacher preparation for multilingual youth. Dr. Ernst-Slavit has served as President of the Washington Association for English to Speakers of Other Languages and as an officer in several professional organizations, including the American Educational Research Association, the Council of Anthropology and Education, and TESOL International Association.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Authors
In the Beginning….
1. What is Academic Language?
The Role of Language in Schooling and Beyond
Different Registers
The Nature of Academic Language
Evolving Perspectives of Academic Language
Academic Language Versus Social Language Perspectives
Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspectives
Language Skills Perspectives
Sociocultural Perspectives
Language as Action Perspectives
Academic Language Learning as a Developmental Process
Considerations for Students with Disabilities
Oral and Written Languages
Oral Language as a Vehicle for Promoting Academic Language Development
Oral Language as a Bridge to Literacy
Multiliteracies and Multimodalities as Sources of Academic Language
Raising Awareness of Academic Language
Academic Language and Social Justice
For Further Thinking
2. What Are the Dimensions of Academic Language?
Identifying Academic Language Within and Across Content Areas
Analyzing Academic Language Within Discourse
Balance Between Informational and Literary Texts
Differences Between Nonfiction and Informational Texts
Examining Sentence-Level Structures
Language Functions as Expressions of Sentence-Level Meaning
Identifying Vocabulary—Words, Phrases, and Expressions
Development of Academic Vocabulary
Teaching Academic Vocabulary in Authentic Contexts Through Meaningful Interactions
Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners
For Further Thinking
3. How Do Standards Define and Shape Academic Language Use?
The Impact of the New Standards on Shaping Academic Language
Bringing Standards Together: Content Learning Through Language and Language Learning Through Content
Content and Language Learning for English Language Learners
The Impact of Standards in Shaping Grade-Level Language for Academic Purposes
Academic Language Within Content Standards
Resources for ELLs for the New Content Standards
Examples of Academic Language in Content Standards
Academic Language in English Language Development/Proficiency Standards
Academic Language Use in Language Standards
The Impact of Home Language on Academic Language Development
Suggestions for Redefining Teaching and Learning Around Academic Language Use
For Further Thinking
4. How is Academic Language Used in Content Areas Schoolwide?
Seeing Academic Language Throughout the School Day
Listening in the Music Classroom
Moving From a Physical Education Class to the Arts
Looking Into Mathematics Classrooms
Entering an English Language Arts Class
Visiting a Science Class
The Language of Science Textbooks
Exploring Academic Language in a Social Studies Class
The Specialized Language of Social Studies Texts
Effective Instruction in Content Classrooms Around a Unit of Learning
For Further Thinking
5. How Can Academic Language Be Integrated Into Instruction and Assessment?
Maintaining a Focus on Academic Language: A Historical Perspective
Planning a Unit of Learning Around Academic Language Use
Capitalizing on Linguistic and Cultural Resources
Deciding on a Theme for a Unit of Learning
Matching the Theme to Standards
Academic Language Use in Learning Targets and Differentiated Objectives
Infusing Academic Language Into Unit Targets and Differentiated Lesson Objectives
Instructional Activities and Tasks
The Relationship Between Assessment and Instruction
Placement of Assessment Within a Curricular Framework
Assessment Across Lessons of a Unit: Measuring Standards and Learning Targets
Assessment Within Lessons: Measuring Differentiated Objectives
Crafting Instructional Activities and Tasks
Reflecting on Teaching and Learning
Teacher Reflection
Student Reflection
For Further Thinking
6. How is Academic Language Situated in Curricular Design and Infused Into Professional Learning?
A Theoretical Basis for Curricular Frameworks
Early Thinking on Curriculum
Recent Thinking on Curriculum
Conceptual Frameworks That Integrate Language and Content
The Value of an Integrated Curricular Framework for Diverse Schools and Districts
A Curricular Framework That Features Academic Language Use
The Role of Professional Learning in Understanding and Promoting Academic Language Use
Implementing Professional Learning: From Two Participants to District Level Participation
Making School a Meaningful Experience for 21st Century Students
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning
Transformation of Schools
Promoting Academic Language for All Students and Teachers
Seeking Advocacy Within the Educational Community
For Further Thinking
At the End….
Resources
A. CCSS for Mathematics and Related Academic Language
B. Examples from the CCSS for English Language Arts of Related Academic Language
C. A Curricular Framework Highlighting Academic Language
Glossary
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This book brings language learning in the classroom alive! While there is plenty of theory and research to ground the practices the authors describe, this is not a dry book about language learning. Against a backdrop of new standards, the authors skillfully take the reader through detailed vignettes of classroom practice that support students’ development of academic language, while at the same time discussing why the practice is effective. For those who are interested in learning more about academic language and how to help students develop it, this book is a must read. "

Margaret Heritage

"This detailed and richly exampled book provides a comprehensive framework for both pre-service and practicing teachers to dig deeply into the nature and development of the language skills necessary for academic success. It emphasizes the need to move beyond a narrow conception of academic language as vocabulary words to an exploration of the nature of instructional and assessment practices that develop language and thinking at the conceptual and discourse levels. The classroom-based examples from across the curriculum, including the arts and physical education, illuminate the nature of the language demands unique to and common across each discipline. I highly recommend this book as a vital tool to guide curriculum planning and renewal at every level. "

Nancy Commins

"Academic Language weaves content and language teaching as a focus for designing viable units of learning throughout the school year. By providing students with linguistic tools to understand and use academic content, it enhances their opportunities to meet the rigor of the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. The authors offer explicit examples of how to build students’ language development using a framework with clear learning targets that lead to effective teaching practices. "

Janeen A. Kelly

"This book provides a promising vision on how to teach academic language to diverse learners including English Language Learners (ELLs). The authors present a comprehensive framework that combines learning content and language in ways that engage students to learn key ideas and concepts, link concrete knowledge and abstract knowledge, and promote critical thinking. The specific steps on how to create differentiate language objectives for ELLs at different levels of English language proficiency is particularly helpful. I highly recommend this book for general education and English as-a-second language teachers who work as a team to provide effective instruction for diverse learners. "

Maria del Rosario (Charo) Basterra