Mastering Academic Language: A Framework for Supporting Student Achievement

The achievement gap is a language gap—and you can bridge it! As teachers, we take the language of school—academic language—for granted. But for many of our students, academic language is more than a new language. It is the "make or break" skill for school success. This exciting and much-needed book shows how teachers can help students become fluent, confident speakers of academic language. Debbie Zacarian shares a step-by-step, research-based approach to scaffolding K-12 instruction for students who do not have the language and literacy skills that are needed in school. Readers will find Practical teaching strategies based on the four key facets of academic language fluency Richly detailed case studies about students’ experiences with academic language across the content areas Guidance on family involvement Thought-provoking study questions, along with performance assessment tools An ideal resource for school- and district-wide Common Core initiatives, this book provides teachers with the foundation and tools to ensure an equitable education for all students. "This book engages teachers in active reflection on the nature of academic language and how it is used in different content areas across the curriculum. It represents an extremely useful tool for school communities to promote academic learning for all students." —Jim Cummins, Professor OISE/University of Toronto "Mastering Academic Language provides a practical look at the sociocultural foundations of academic language, relevant classroom and student examples, and a helpful framework for organizing and enacting the complex processes of developing language across a variety of contexts." —Jeff Zwiers, Researcher Stanford University, CERAS 527

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction 1. A Call for Reframing 2. Using a Four-Pronged Framework 3. Learning as a Sociocultural Process 4. Learning as a Developmental Process 5. Learning as an Academic Process 6. Learning as a Cognitive Process 7. Engaging in Parent Partnerships 8. Making Data-Driven Decisions Index

About the Author :
Dr. Debbie Zacarian, founder of Zacarian & Associates, provides professional development, strategic planning, and technical assistance for K-16 educators of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She has served as an expert consultant for school districts, universities, associations, and organizations including the Massachusetts Parent Information Resource Center and Federation for Children with Special Needs. Debbie has worked with numerous state and local education agencies and written the language assistance programming policies for many rural, suburban, and urban districts.  Debbie served on the faculty of University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she co-wrote and was the co-principal investigator of a National Professional Development grant initiative supporting the professional preparation of educators of multilingual learners.  Debbie also designed and taught courses for pre- and in-service administrators and teachers on culturally responsive teaching and supervision practices, multilingual development, and ethnographic research.  In addition, she served as a program director at the Collaborative for Educational Services where she provided professional development for thousands of educators of multilingual students and partnered with Fitchburg State University in co-writing and enacting a National Professional Development initiative that supported STEM education. Debbie also directed the Amherst Public Schools bilingual and English learner programming where she and the district received state and national honors.  The author of more than 100 publications, her most recent professional books include: Beyond Crises: Overcoming Linguistic and Cultural Inequities in Communities. Schools and Classrooms; Responsive Schooling for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students; Teaching to Empower: taking action to foster student agency, self-confidence, and collaboration; and Teaching to Strengths: Supporting Students living with Trauma, Violence and Chronic Stress.  

Review :
"This book engages teachers in active reflection on the nature of academic language and how it is used in different content areas across the curriculum. It highlights the need for instruction to connect to students′ lives, stimulate their intellectual curiosity and cognitive growth, and expand their power to use multiple forms of language in creative and powerful ways. It represents an extremely useful tool for school communities to promote academic learning for all students." "Mastering Academic Language provides a practical look at the sociocultural foundations of academic language, relevant classroom and student examples, and a helpful framework for organizing and enacting the complex processes of developing language across a variety of contexts." "This book is a must read for teachers and administrators. It provides a comprehensive approach to helping EL students learn academic language, key to success in the content areas. This book provides an excellent opportunity for leaders as a book study with its guidance and reflections throughout the chapters." "Educators of all levels and expertise will enjoy this easy read which connects every aspect of student achievement from vocabulary acquisition to assessment to individualizing instruction." "Mastering Academic Language artfully weaves together vignettes with high-quality research while providing a new lens with which to see schooling and the achievement gap."