LLED 360

How would you mark this?

These questions are meant to get you started. You need not follow them, for your brief post about this chapter, but if you need a place to begin, here are some ideas….

1.. On page 87, Zwiers provides an excellent chart, with the steps of scientific inquiry and the related language for each step. What are some of the “steps” in your own discipline, and what is the language you might use?

2. What subregisters of academic language did you excel in in your own education, and why? Where did you struggle, and what strategies would have supported your learning?

3. What are some general academic terms and phrases used across content areas? Does your discipline share meaning with another discipline for particular academic terms and phrases? Where, in your discipline, is there language that might mean something else outside of <home ec> or <algebra> or <theatre>?

As a Social Studies teacher focusing on History, I believe firmly that History at its most rich and vibrant, is about meaning-making. There is a constructive and creative element involved. It is a discipline that aims to infer, interpret, and understand what happened in the past. Therefore to make meaning of what happened and to build an interpretation of the past, requires an adept mastery of language. History, at its most banal is about “one damn fact after another.” For students who are ELL, if history is taught in this boring way and simply as a transmission of facts, then they truly miss out on the richness of history and the power and art of words to help plunder that richness. However, the reality is that the discipline deals at times with abstract concepts, long textual passages, and a difficulty of demonstration. Therefore it is crucial to make history tangible and coherent for ELL and all learners.

Schleppegrell, Achugar, & Oteiza offer some practical but challenging avenues to do this. They emphasize encouraging students to make connections through different types of meaning. Experiential meaning is to identify the events and the themes involved. The interpersonal meaning will help clarify who and to whom action is happening to or coming from. The textual meaning is to take all this information and put it together in an organized manner. As a teacher, I can model and co-construct with the class the building of, the organization of, and the presentation of history. Instead of doing this in an essay format or by breaking down long passages, perhaps I could do a storyboard format ––allowing the students to more visually and graphically express and organize their thoughts. I think there is potential in using language through a more concrete and creative element of story rather than disconnected facts. History has the potential to be a discipline in which effective language learning can happen, and where fruitful content can be explored through the beautiful usage of words.

Michael Yang

Chapter four introduces the readers to four different disciplines of academia where different language needs to be used. As stated in the chapter, it is very important for teachers to develop pedagogical content knowledge, and really understand how a novice learner feels when they are learning the discipline’s language. It is important for teachers not to lose site of the fact that their students are at a different level than they are, and that teachers need to teach to the novice learner.
Although the chapter focused on learning language for Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, and History, I believe that these concepts can be used in my discipline of Physical Education. For instance when teaching team games, cause and effect is very important to understand the tactics and strategies surrounding sport. An example of cause and effect that a teacher could use would be:

T: “Ok Jimmy, if Matt is advancing towards the goal line with the ball, where would the best place for you to move to as a support player?”
S: “I should go beside Matt.”
T: “Ok so if you move towards Matt, where will your defender go?”
S: “He will follow me.”
T: “Correct he will follow you towards Matt and the ball, and then there will be two defenders on Matt, his and yours. What about if you moved away from Matt towards the sidelines to provide width, where would your defender go?”
S: “He would follow me, and then Matt would only have one defender on him.”
T: “Exactly, so because Matt would only have one defender on him, he would have more time and space with the ball to look for the best passing option.”

It is important that when teaching, teachers use different cue words and specific language to help direct student’s thinking. Physical Education is an example of a discipline where teachers can use different language strategies to help students understand the concepts. As well as cause and effect, interpretation would also be good to help students understand what their opponent’s team is doing. All in all, it is really important for teachers to understand that learning language does not only happen in English, but it must be continuously incorporated into all subject matter.

I found this chapter to be quite relatable to my personal experience of learning the different subject areas.  I remember taking a class in Grade 5 called “Language Arts” not knowing when the subjects actually transitioned to “Language Arts”.  I didn’t know what “Language Arts” meant but for some reason, I always did well in that subject.  I remember a keen emphasis from the teacher in regards to the grammar, punctuation, and spelling that we were learning.  I absorbed this information with ease but realized that as I advanced on to the higher grades, success in the lower grades (in Language arts, math, and sciences) did not necessarily translate into success in the higher grades.  The big shock came when I entered into Grade 8 math class.  I was enrolled in an enriched math class, unbeknownst to me, by my Grade 7 teacher.  The very first day we had to take an assessment test that I was not prepared for.  After receiving a dismal mark, my self-esteem plummeted.  We were told that if we passed with a 50%, we were able to skip Grade 8 math and move onto Grade 9.  Luckily (or not so luckily), I passed the assessment test and I was thrown into Grade 9 math.  Starting off that year with a poor mark signaled to me that I was not ready for Grade 8 math let alone Grade 9.  I struggled greatly because of the unfamiliar terminology that was used.  The teacher’s style of teaching was very fast and weeded out the not-so-smart ones like myself.  There was no effort made to teach any of the abstract concepts or borrowed “mathematical” terms to us.  It was assumed that either you knew it or you didn’t.  Needless to say I dropped out of that class to be in a “normal” math class but my confidence was already shattered.  Being behind and now having to “catch” up in a regular math class took adjustment and an effort on my part to retrain myself to think in the language of mathematics.  I found that with independent study, I could finally understand how diagrams with abstract concepts worked together.  My grades began to improve and suddenly, I could be “OK” at math again.  I just needed a bit of tutelage and a new way of framing math problems to succeed.

I also struggled with chemistry but I was very good at biology.  Chemistry required some more complex manipulations and not just rote memorization.  I had been trained my whole life to regurgitate facts so when it came time to apply what I had learned, I would fail.  High school was a difficult time in many ways but it was also a time when I understood that success in different disciplines required looking and approaching them in their own way.  The ability to grasp technical terms was crucial in aiding my understanding of big concepts.  In this chapter, Zwiers really demonstrates the need for all teachers to be language teachers first, then discipline specific application second.

The famed hawk moth and star orchid are truly the pinnacle example of species evolution and the drastic results that can arise under years of coevolution. Now for you non-bio people out there, this is a perfect example of the utmost need for vocabulary knowledge within a subject field. Without a vocabulary to fall back on you can’t even begin to comprehend the deeper take home message, which in this case is coevolution. Vocabulary is a tricky thing, it’s one thing to memorize a word based on its definition found on dictionary.com, its another thing to be able to apply that word correctly within the appropriate context. It is here that I believe a teacher should focus their energy the most when it comes tot he topic of vocabulary. I remember my teachers handing me “vocab lists” which I was expected to study diligently and regurgitate onto a quiz which simply said: “please define 10 of the 15 words”. After this quiz the words faded from my mind without a thought. This in itself lies the problem, whats the point of learning vocabulary, if your not going to use it. Its like telling someone to learn German and then never speak German to anyone, useless.

In addition to this point, a teacher should strive to make connections between words and challenge students on a regular basis with various exercises that require them to apply the vocabulary they learn to familiar and unfamiliar scenarios. Learning the definition of a word will give you no insight to the true meaning of the word, applying to real situations is what gives the word meaning and significance. By teaching a student this, you are building a vocabulary that they can use and will likely follow them through life. Even if they go on to do things complete opposite of the subject you teach, at the very least when that vocabulary is seen in newspapers, magazines, online or in books they can recognize its meaning and understand the context from which it comes. Giving them better insight in the world and allow them to perceive what they read with a more educated mind. BOOM!

“Just as birdwatchers are always on the look out for important birds, [teachers] must be on the lookout for key terms and phrases in [their] texts, tasks, tests, and talk (p.99).”

I enjoyed looking at various branches of academic language used in the four main school disciplines. Even though I’m in Business Education discipline, it was helpful for me to take a look the language used in math discipline since much of Accounting and Economics involves mathematical skills. Like math, accounting mostly involves solving problems, working with others to solve problems, and working alone to solve problems. The conversation between the Student F and teacher, however, made me realize that solving problems require as much language skills as mathematical skills. If the student does not understand the brick terms in a given problem, student will not be able to solve the problem, no matter how good he or she may be in math.

The the quote above made me reflect on my previous view in teaching Business courses. I associated Marketing with language skills and Accounting and Economics with mathematical skills. I realize that, despite which course we teach, we must always be aware of key terms and phrases in our teaching.

Zwiers mentions that she now does not remember the facts she learned in school, but the thinking skills she has acquired in school still serves her in a variety of ways – in courses, jobs, and life challenges. When I begin teaching, I want to go beyond teaching facts and equations – I want to teach my students critical thinking skills that will help them overcome challenges in life.

Fang and Schleppegrell’s article highlights the importance of giving students the tools to identify discipline based language patterns, which will aid their overall academic comprehension. I found this article very practical and informative, because I just recently struggled with understanding the academic context of the word “affect” for one of my class readings. I had no previous understanding of the word, and when I looked it up, there was a different meaning provided for each context (philosophy, psychology, or linguistics) that was used. Because it was an art education paper, I still was not sure how to insert and interpret ‘affect’ in the article. About half way through the paper I was able to make use of the academic language tools I have learned over the years and associate ‘affect’ with its proper meaning within the art education lens.

Although an art class usually involves more hands on activities than literature, there is still important art history and theory reading that I would want to introduce to my students. This writing is typically subject specific and can be difficult to understand if the reader does not have a solid grasp on art vocabulary words before they begin. The structure that Fang and Schleppegrell suggest would be a great place to start when working with students to decipher academic texts, no matter the subject area. I appreciate that their approach is portable because it would give students the knowledge to work through texts in different subject areas on their own.

Fang, Z., & Schleppegrell, M. J. (2010). Disciplinary literacies across content areas: Supporting secondary reading through functional language analysis. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53, 587–597. doi:10.1598/JAAL.53.7.6

Chapters 1,2, and 3

Growing up in small towns in northern BC, I rarely interacted with kids whose first language was not English. Even my high school was fully comprised of English speakers, and it wasn’t until I graduated and started travelling that I discovered the discouragement that can arise when trying to overcome language barriers. Because of this background, I have realized I will need to be very cognisant of the language backgrounds of my students and careful to include the needs of English language learners in my classroom. I have found the first few classes to be highly informative and they have encouraged me to think about the way I personally use language on a daily basis, as well as consider the kind of approach I want to take towards language as a teacher. I found it especially helpful to reflect in class on how different I felt in situations when navigating outside the realm of my first language, and how I often felt like I was being left out of some sort of club. It will be important for me to remember those experiences as I begin to teach.

I am interested in how we as teachers can equip students with the language skills needed to succeed, while valuing and affirming their own language and culture. The text mentions that while we encourage their progress in English, we “must be willing to push back against society’s narrow-minded expectations (often evidenced through tests, writing samples, and grading practices) and limited perceptions of our students’ abilities” (Zwiers, 2008, p. 12). Because I am not very well acquainted with curriculum yet, I am curious just how much flexibility there really is when a teacher wishes to adjust grading practices to better work with ELL students.

The text gives practical examples that illustrate the way teachers can build their student’s understanding of academic language while encouraging participation. I would never want to discourage or shut down a student struggling to comprehend, but I can see how I could get frustrated in a large class with students of varying language abilities. The tools highlighted in the text will be very important in combating impatient responses like that, and while it will take time to put this into practice, I feel more confident having identified these different language techniques.

Zwiers, J. (2008). Understanding how students use language. In Building academic language: Essential practices for content classrooms (Ch. 1, pp. 1-17). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Time and time again this course surprises me. I never realized how important it is to focus on language in the courses we teach. So often in the biology world I feel so removed from the realm of language and rules of punctation etc (which is generally evident in a lot of undergraduate research papers). Yet when I reflect on my language use in biology I realize how different it is in comparison to how I write essays, or blogs, or letters or anything for that matter. I definitely take my language repertoire I have gained over my 5 years in biology. Scientific speech is extremely difficult to follow, very descriptive and highly subject-specific. I personally, with a background in evolution, find a molecular genetics or a biochemical paper extremely difficult to read versus an ecology based paper on angiosperm coevolution. The fact of the matter is, whether you’ve studied science, math, history, languages, art or any other course, you yourself are very familiar with your subjects vocabulary and you take for granted the time you have personally put into gaining this vocabulary and your ability to use this language in a professional and even social context.

It is for this reason that we must be so conscious of how we use our own “language” while teaching. I remember to this day, a very specific subject we were covering in high school biology. It was on genetic transfer between species over generations. I was so hopelessly lost! The teacher went on and on about this homozygous male breeding with this heterozygous female and they produce a mixture of blah blah blah. It wasn’t until second year university when I finally understood this concept in full and looking back on myself and thinking man I was dumber than a sack of hammers. However the main point to this story is that, you can’t learn a subject without first learning how to apply the vocabulary.

This course is opening my eyes to the great need of focusing learning on the language of science. At first it seems like its a lot of extra work in an already very busy curriculum, but i believe with the right attention and focus it will actually encourage your students, giving them confidence and a foundation to work off and flourish. Like beautiful little butterflies hatching from cocoons hahaha.