ELL Quiz 2: Academic Language

Academic Language

• Academic language enables engagement, production, and discussion of school-valued texts.
• Essential for acquiring new knowledge, describing abstract ideas, and developing conceptual understandings.

Three Dimensions of Academic Language

• Discourse/Genres: Involves linguistic complexity, register, organization, and cohesion in oral or written communication.
• Sentences: Focus on grammatical structures shaping meaning.
• Words/Expressions: Includes vocabulary development through morphology, tenses, colloquial expressions, and nominalizations.

Model Performance Indicators (MPIs)

• Components include language function (action), content stem (context), and support (visual/graphic aids).
• Example: Define (FUNCTION), what a verb is (CONTENT STEM), using a chart (SUPPORT).

Differentiating Objectives

• Content Objective: Specifies knowledge and skills students will acquire.
• Language Objective: Outlines how students will demonstrate mastery through reading, speaking, writing, or listening.

English as a Second Language Instruction

• Focuses on teaching English to non-proficient learners emphasizing listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and communicative competence.
• Guided by state English language development/proficiency standards.

Sheltered Instruction

• Aims to make content-area instruction comprehensible for ELLs while promoting English language development.
• Covers various subjects like language arts, math, and sciences, adhering to state or consortia content area standards.

Krashen's Five Hypotheses

• Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis: Distinguishes between subconscious acquisition and conscious learning.
• Natural Order Hypothesis: Language is acquired in a predictable order, immune to deliberate teaching.
• Monitor Hypothesis: Language use based on acquired competence with conscious learning acting only as a monitor.
• Input (Comprehension) Hypothesis: Language acquisition occurs via comprehensible input (i+1).
• Affective Filter Hypothesis: Affective factors like anxiety or low self-esteem can hinder comprehension.

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development

• Emphasizes cooperation and interaction in learning a second language.
• ZPD: A metaphorical space where learners reach higher knowledge levels with support from knowledgeable peers.
• Scaffolding provides necessary assistance within the ZPD to enhance language acquisition.

Content-Based Instruction (CBI)

• Utilizes English for instruction, integrating language with content focus and emphasizing language development.

Interaction and Cognitive Theories

• Interaction Hypothesis: Interaction is crucial for second language acquisition (SLA).
• Comprehensible Output Hypothesis: Speaking encourages learners to confront language limits and improve expression tools.
• Noticing Hypothesis: Learning occurs when students notice input features.
• Processability Theory: Acquisition sequence is based on processing difficulty.
• Input Processing Model: Effective acquisition requires exposure to and processing of communicative input.

Key Concept Summary

• i + 1: Represents a learner's current proficiency level and the necessary input slightly above that level for progression.
• Active interaction is fundamental in acquiring a second language, with a significant emphasis on contextual understanding and communication.