Читать книгу Language Power - Margo Gottlieb - Страница 30

What is the nature of key uses of academic language? What is the language associated with each key use?

The overhaul of academic content standards in 2010 and beyond across the United States has increased the rigor of the curriculum, assessment, and instruction in classrooms. Consequently, students need to possess the language to think about and engage with content in classroom activities intended to mediate their learning. In reviewing the existing academic content standards, instructional materials, and linguistic theories, particular purposes for academic language use emerge: namely, discuss, argue, recount, and explain (DARE). These are the overall purposes we equate with DARE, and in doing so, we DARE teachers and school leaders to advocate for advancing key uses of academic language as an educational tool of practice.

Figure 1.1 depicts the four uses of academic language that form DARE and frame this book.

Figure 1.1 Key Uses of Academic Language

Key uses of academic language are a focal point for organizing and promoting student interaction with content and with one another. In this chapter, we identify the linguistic features of each key use and point to how these defining characteristics are useful indicators of different genres across school disciplines. We use the term genre in this context to refer to the socially constructed ways in which we communicate for academic purposes. Examples of written genres in college and career readiness (CCR) standards in which key uses of academic language are strongly embedded, for example, include narrative, argumentative, and informational text. To guide our conversation, we invite teachers to take the DARE and do the following:

 Discuss the concept of academic language use and its connection to academic achievement

 Argue for DARE as a conceptual tool to enhance educators’ focus on academic language use in planning curriculum, assessment, and instruction

 Recount the individual and collective features of key uses of academic language

 Explain how to highlight key uses of academic language across different contexts and activities

As we explore DARE-specific key uses of academic language, it is important to note that these are not the only purposes for language use in school. We have created these umbrella categories to ease educators into the practice of thinking about language use and its power when engaging in teaching complex academic concepts.