Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: Definitions and Contexts

Ensure your school speaks the language of success!  With the rigorous content of College and Career Readiness standards, academic language use has moved to the forefront of educational priorities. School leaders and teachers must ensure that academic language becomes the focus of new curricula, instruction, and assessment, with special attention to linguistically and culturally diverse students. The author’s six-book series on academic language is already the definitive resource on the topic. This companion volume provides a concise, thorough overview of the key research concepts and effective practices that underlie the series. Including: Definitions and examples of the dimensions of academic language. A step-by-step template to incorporate academic language use into plans for student learning. Graphic models that illustrate the construct of academic language and its classroom application.  Language is the most fundamental building block of education. Be sure your school is as strong as it can be with this indispensable book. "This book brings language learning in the classroom alive!  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."  —Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA

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

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 3rd 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 (PhD 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.

Review :
"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." "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." "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." "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."