Investigation A
Choose a section from a book that you plan to use with learners for curriculum-related purposes. Examine the section and find specific examples of academic language, as described above. Note these down, and then rewrite the section in ordinary, conversational English.
Ask your class to do the same thing. Divide the class into groups and get them to examine the section of text for meaning. What structures, sentences, concepts, or words do they understand or not understand?
Note what the students identify, and use it as a basis for future teaching of specific academic language or for teaching about the characteristics of academic language. Ask them to rewrite the section of text, as they understand it, in ordinary English – as if they were explaining what it says to a friend or relative. Compare and contrast this with your own rewritten section to identify your students’ needs in this area.
