Academic Language in Math?
Academic language can best be defined as “the language used in school to help students acquire and use knowledge” (Schleppegrell, 2012). To take a deeper dive, it is "specialized vocabulary, grammar, discourse/textual and functional skills associated with academic instruction and mastery of academic materials and tasks" (Kinsella, 2010).
Academic language is often considered using a three tiered model, as developed by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan (Tyson, 2013). Everyday language would be considered a "Tier 1" word, whereas complex mathematical language would fall under a "Tier 3." While all of the disciplines have various "Tier 2" words in common, "Tier 3" words are specific to a given discipline. For example, "radicand" is a "Tier 3" mathematical vocabulary word.
When considering academic language, discipline teachers should be aware of words that have different meaning across disciplines, and work to provide students with a deep understanding of these words. For example, math teachers need to be aware that “expression” is a tier-two word. It is seen not only in math, but in English. However, in math it means a sentence with a minimum of two numbers and at least one math operation, and in English it means the process of making known one's thoughts or feelings. Explicitly teaching students the difference between words as they appear in various contents is vital.
When educators think of academic language, we often think of the vocabulary in our content areas.
While many educators are comfortable with vocabulary being a part of academic language, there are many facets. Take for example, writing.
Having students read and write are the basic staples to literacy. But this is only the surface. We need to make sure our students are actively discussing their thoughts with one another.
As we display posters for our students to reflect and build upon, we also need to display their work. Encouraging students to create visuals allows them to think about how they themselves learned the content.
Academic language is often considered using a three tiered model, as developed by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown, and Linda Kucan (Tyson, 2013). Everyday language would be considered a "Tier 1" word, whereas complex mathematical language would fall under a "Tier 3." While all of the disciplines have various "Tier 2" words in common, "Tier 3" words are specific to a given discipline. For example, "radicand" is a "Tier 3" mathematical vocabulary word.
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| Image from Scholastic |
When educators think of academic language, we often think of the vocabulary in our content areas.
While many educators are comfortable with vocabulary being a part of academic language, there are many facets. Take for example, writing.
Having students read and write are the basic staples to literacy. But this is only the surface. We need to make sure our students are actively discussing their thoughts with one another.
As we display posters for our students to reflect and build upon, we also need to display their work. Encouraging students to create visuals allows them to think about how they themselves learned the content.
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