we provide additional references for those who wish to dive in deeper on any concept presented and examples to see it applied to instruction and assessment. We also offer challenges throughout each chapter to invite you to take action on your new knowledge along with questions for reflection. Finally, we offer myriad resources, which include templates of activities and tools ready for you to use.
The following is a detailed description with an exemplar of how each section of our chapters unfolds within a specific phase of the inquiry cycle based on perspectives of academic language use.
Ask
We begin each chapter by posing a question related to key uses of academic language. As an example, for this prelude, we ask the question, Why focus on academic language use? We explore each chapter’s question from four perspectives that are presented in a diagram in the “Ask” section, such as the one shown in Figure P.2. Here, we highlight four perspectives in the quadrant—(1) teaching and learning theory, (2) academic achievement, (3) educational equity, and (4) global interconnectedness—to offer a rationale for focusing on academic language use.
Figure P.2 A Rationale for Focusing on Academic Language Use
We conclude this section with a list of chapter objectives, as we invite educators to take the DARE (discuss, argue, recount, and explain) to guide conversations around the central question. For this set of perspectives offered in the quadrant, we DARE teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators to do the following:
Discuss the literature and research bases on the role of language in teaching and learning.
Argue for the importance of mastery of academic language in academic achievement.
Recount the function of academic language as an agent of educational equity.
Explain how academic language can serve as a home–school connector.
Explore
This section addresses the overarching question and each perspective stated in the “Ask” section. It also invites the reader to implement the ideas and concepts discussed. In this prelude, we illustrate how each perspective contributes to the rationale for increased intentional academic language use in elementary school classrooms.
Teaching and Learning Theory
For a long time, language has been recognized as a vehicle for learning (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1934/1962). The ways in which language is used by students, teachers, and families have an impact on how children learn. Some researchers, for example, have attributed how well students do in school to the particular language patterns used by the social groups to which they belong (Bernstein, 1970; Brice-Heath, 1983). These studies highlight the unique ways in which language is used in school and the need to socialize children into those ways so that they can be successful. In spite of the existing research on the critical role that language plays in school, language development has not been fully integrated into the learning taking place in our classrooms.
Many of our current teaching approaches come from sociocultural theory, which sees learning as a social activity. This theory proposes that learning happens through social interaction, with assistance from teachers and peers who are more knowledgeable, and as they engage in culturally meaningful tasks (Vygotsky, 1978). In this social and interactive perspective, language plays a central role; it is a tool for negotiating meaning, for problem solving, and for making sense of the world, individually and with others. Language is not seen as an abstract system of linguistic forms or an individual form of activity, but instead, it is a continuous generative process that is learned through dialogue (Bakhtin, 1986). This dialogue takes place within particular social contexts and cultures that impact the ways in which people use languages (Martin, Christie, & Rothery, 1994).
For example, the ways one uses language when writing an e-mail, when filling out an application, or when producing a book report are very different. Because of the many contexts, thinking about goals or purposes for language use without a framework can become overwhelming. Key uses of academic language afford us the opportunity to focus and organize teaching and learning in a more manageable manner and, at the same time, to better and more purposefully integrate language and content instruction.
In sum, learning theory highlights the important role of language for students to be able to access and achieve content-related ideas and concepts. Further, since learning is social in nature and not an individual endeavor, language provides opportunities for students to engage meaningfully with others in learning activities. A focus on key uses of academic language ensures that all students possess the means to be able to internalize and share what they learn in school.
Take the DARE
Throughout the book, we challenge you to take the DARE by posing questions, providing activities, and offering resources for you to reflect on in each section. Whether you are reading this book on your own or with colleagues, each activity is aimed at helping you identify ways to focus on academic language use in your practice.
As an example, in this section, we ask you to engage in deep reflection about language by answering the following questions:
1 How do you define academic language use?
2 What is your teaching and learning philosophy? Does it include academic language use? If so, how? If not, how might you include it?
3 What common beliefs about academic language development do you share with colleagues?
4 What role do you believe academic language use has in teaching and learning?
5 How do you include discussions about language use in your classroom or promote them in your school?
Academic Achievement
In the previous section, we explored what theory has to say about the role of academic language in learning; in this section, we focus on identifying the impact language has on academic achievement. We define academic achievement as students’ success in meeting short- or long-term goals in education in relation to their performance outcomes and challenging state academic standards. In this continuing era of assessment and accountability, educators need to be able to show evidence of academic achievement of all of their students.
Recently, research has emerged that connects academic language to academic achievement (Bailey, 2007; Francis, M. Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & H. Rivera, 2006; Heppt, Henschel, & Haag, 2016; Schleppegrell, 2004). This research points to the fact that students who master the use of academic language are more successful in accessing the knowledge and information in textbooks, academic resources, and assessments (Francis et al., 2006). While students may be able to accrue knowledge without the use of academic language, as information becomes more complex, so too does language. Therefore, students who have not had experiences with using academic language have a more challenging time engaging with content in school than children who have had exposure to its use early on.
The scope of academic language is not limited to discipline-specific vocabulary but also includes grammatical forms and ways of organizing oral and written information in academic-specific ways. These conventions have been established and look differently from one discipline to
