Language Awareness in Teaching: A Toolkit for Content and Language Teachers

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Language Awareness in Teaching A Toolkit for Content and Language Teachers The Cambridge Teacher series

Timothy Chadwick

WORKING WITH

cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107618282 Š University of Cambridge International Examinations 2012 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the copyright holder.

First published 2012 4th printing 2013 Printed in the United Kingdom by Printondemand-worldwide, Peterborough A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-107-61828-2 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents Acknowledgements About the author Foreword: Why this Toolkit? by Paul Ellis Preface

iv v vi viii

Introduction Section 1: Classroom Section 2: Co-ordination Section 3: Exams

1 8 35 43

Answer key Afterword: First language awareness by Maurice Carder Afterword: How to create interlingual classrooms by Eithne Gallagher Index

54 69 72 75

Acknowledgements We are grateful to the following for their comments on the Toolkit: Peeter Mehisto (certain sections) Justyna Proksza, Prywatne Liceum Ogólnokształca˛ce im. Melchiora Wan´kowicza, Katowice, Poland We would like to thank Maurice Carder and Eithne Gallagher for their contributions.

We would also like to thank colleagues at University of Cambridge International Examinations and at Cambridge University Press for their valuable input.

We very much hope that you find this Toolkit to be a useful companion when considering the academic language demands and support you provide in your school classrooms.

If you would like to give your views on this Toolkit, please email international@cie.org.uk (Subject: ‘To Education Division: Language Awareness in Teaching’).

For further information about University of Cambridge International Examinations, please visit the website: www.cie.org.uk.

About the author Timothy Chadwick has been actively involved in education in a range of countries, working in language teaching and testing in Greece, Ecuador, Slovakia, Russia and Germany. Tim became interested in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) while employed at Bahrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost medical university where students needed an integrated English language programme to support them with their medical studies. He went on to work as a high school teacher in Bulgaria, where core subjects were delivered through English. Tim then became a senior trainer on a large CLIL project in the Middle East co-operating with Science and Maths teachers. He has recently worked as a schools inspector for bilingual schools, also in the Middle East, and has been involved in teacher training in Colombia, Germany and the UK.

Foreword: Why this Toolkit?

Language is a key issue for any classroom. All of us have needed support throughout our education in understanding new jargon and concepts, whether our first language is English or not – an appreciation of language needs cannot be separated from that of content.

This Toolkit has grown out of expertise, experience and research, and seeks primarily to act as a support and catalyst to the teacher working with students who are non-native speakers of English. The lessons learned should be equally useful for a teacher whose first language is not English, and could also be adapted to any modern foreign language situation where content is taught through that language.

The idea for this Toolkit emerged from internal research at University of Cambridge International Examinations, which highlighted the need for greater language awareness in content subjects. The first piece of research1 built a profile of the academic language used in Cambridge IGCSE®2 Geography, History and Biology. The second piece of research3 identified some of the cognitive-academic language skills needed to achieve in Cambridge IGCSE History and recommended language awareness guidance.

We have commissioned this Toolkit to be written in a tone to make it feel like a workshop on paper. We hope that you will take the opportunity

Investigating the Relationship Between Performance in Language Assessment and Other, Non-Language IGCSE Subjects, Phase 1: Analysis of question papers and mark schemes & Phase 2: Analysis of candidate output (Stuart Shaw, University of Cambridge International Examinations internal research report, 2011).

1

2 Cambridge IGCSE® is the registered trademark of University of Cambridge International Examinations.

Calpability: Achieving in Content Through Language: Teacher Perceptions, Examiner Expectations and Student Performance in Cambridge IGCSE History (Helen Imam, unpublished MA thesis sponsored by Cambridge Assessment, 2010).

3

Foreword: Why this Toolkit?

vii

to reflect on the ideas contained within it, using your own background and knowledge to emerge as a more confident teacher, more able to innovate and engage with your students. Whilst this Toolkit focuses on second language awareness, the two Afterwords raise the importance of first language awareness in multicultural contexts and provide some practical suggestions. We hope you will soon discover the vital importance of language and its use in the classroom. paul ellis Head of Curriculum Strategy Education Division University of Cambridge International Examinations

Preface Welcome to the Language Toolkit.

This Toolkit aims to help you, as content and English language teachers, support your students in developing the academic language skills they need to be successful in those content subjects that they are studying through English.

Who is the Toolkit for?

This Toolkit is primarily intended to help those of you who teach students through English and for whom English is not their first language. English may well be a second language for you, too.

It is also for those who teach English to students who study some, or all, of their content subjects through English.

What is its purpose?

The Toolkit aims to help you to become more aware of the language issues your students face when they study content subjects like Science or Maths through English. It provides you with strategies to help your students, in both the content and English language classrooms. In particular, the Toolkit seeks to support teachers in helping students to better understand and engage with complex concepts in content classes that are taught through English.

It also aims to raise awareness of how content and English teachers can work together to support students and colleagues in a more integrated way.

Many of the strategies in this Toolkit are compatible with a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach.1 For further information on CLIL, see, for example, Coyle, D., Hood, P., and Marsh, D. 2010.

CLIL. Cambridge University Press; Mehisto, P., Marsh. D., and Frigols, M. J. 2008. Uncovering CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning in Bilingual and Multilingual Education.

Macmillan; and https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/teachingqualifications/clil

1

Preface

ix

Finally, the Toolkit looks at language issues specific to subjects of the Cambridge IGCSE – the International General Certificate of Secondary Education taken by 16-year-old students.

How can the Toolkit be used?

The Toolkit focuses on Geography, History, Science and Maths. The sample classroom activities typically target students aged 13 to 16 years. However, the information and guidance in the Toolkit is just as useful for teachers of other subjects and age groups. This means that all sections of the Toolkit aim to include ideas of use to teachers of a wide variety of subjects.

An important component of this Toolkit is the co-operation between the content teacher and the English language teacher. The Toolkit in its entirety seeks to support English language teachers by providing a window on the content classroom. In turn, this can help English language teachers to better support students in developing the academic language they need for their content classes. Similarly, the Toolkit offers content teachers an insight into what takes place in the English language classroom.

The Toolkit is divided into three sections and an introduction: The Introduction outlines key language issues and the reasons why language needs to be supported in the content classroom.

Section 1: Classroom is a practical and interactive guide on how to identify the language demands being placed on students during a given task in the content classroom, and on how to support students in using and learning that language.

Section 2: Co-ordination looks at practical ways for content and English language teachers to work together to build language support for students.

Section 3: Exams focuses on language issues that relate directly to Cambridge IGCSE subjects. This section identifies common word- and sentence-level problems students have in exams, and how students can be helped to make the best use of their language knowledge during exams.

The Toolkit includes a series of objectives accompanied by tasks. There are two types of task: ‘Reflective Tasks’ and ‘Practical Tasks’. The Reflective Tasks encourage you to think about your own particular students and school, while the Practical Tasks provide an opportunity to consider and practise some of the strategies suggested in the Toolkit. Ideally, you would carry out these tasks with other content and English language teachers. Refer to the Answer key on pages 54–68 for some suggested answers.

Introduction Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start by looking at different types of language in the classroom and what exactly is meant by academic language. We will then look at the key questions we should be asking ourselves when planning language support in our content classes.

Reflective task 1 Imagine that you have several students in a content class who seem to be very good at English. If you ask them what they did at the weekend, they answer enthusiastically and use English fluently. However, when you check their written work from a content subject, their writing seems to be basic and inappropriate in style. Also, their writing doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t properly demonstrate whether they have understood the lesson.

Why is this? Are they just not very good at this content subject? Perhaps they are a bit lazy?

Think about why students who can talk fluently about their everyday lives may find it difficult to express themselves when talking or writing about a content subject. Make some notes. You will find some suggested answers later in the Introduction.

Objective 1: Investigating language issues in the content classroom The language that your students use and experience can be divided into three types. The terms that are often used to describe them are: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), Classroom Language (CL) and

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Toolkit for content and language teachers

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The three types can be represented as follows:

BICS

CL

CALP

The language becomes more and more specific to the content subject.

BICS is our students’ social language and is a type of language that they get a great deal of exposure to. School English language classes, general English as a Foreign Language courses, summer school, the internet, online social networking, text messaging, chatting with friends, and so on, will all help students develop their BICS. A student’s social language proficiency is usually high in comparison to his or her CALP. BICS is also present in the content classroom. Social language is the foundation for academic language. For example, teachers will try to use everyday language to introduce a concept before introducing more specialised terminology. Also, BICS may form part of a teacher’s ‘affective’ management of a class when chatting to students informally at the start of a lesson before moving into the content.

Classroom Language ‘frames the lesson’. It involves routines such as eliciting existing knowledge, giving and checking instructions, assigning roles for group work, and so on. This language and related activities are by nature repetitive and so students become familiar with the language through repeated exposure.

CALP is the academic language of the content lesson and is at the heart of this Toolkit. It is the language that is needed for understanding and applying new concepts and ideas, and it is this language that supports creative thinking skills. In short, CALP is the academic language that students need in order to be able to listen actively, to speak and write in a thoughtful way, and to read in an engaged manner. It is the language that will help them learn content and that will help them demonstrate their learning.

At word level, CALP includes the specific, specialised vocabulary students need – for example, from a geography lesson on weathering: freeze, thaw, attrition, abrasion, erosion, corrasion, and so on.

At both word and sentence level, CALP can involve functional language and specific grammatical structures that will help students with a cognitive process.

Introduction

3

For example, if you want your students to make a prediction, the functional language that goes with that process could be a first conditional – if-clause + present + will. Thus, for a prediction in a Science experiment, the teacher might expect the students to write something like this: If we heat the mixture, we think that carbon dioxide will be released.

Another teacher may want his or her students to state facts and describe a process in Geography. In this case, the present simple tense for facts and passive forms to describe a process are useful: Weathering occurs because the limestone is subjected to rapid freezing followed by rapid thawing.

To support students as they construct and present arguments in an academic essay, you can provide them with a writing frame that includes transition words such as: however, moreover, nevertheless, also, in conclusion and so on.

Don’t worry if, as a content teacher, you don’t know the names of such grammar structures – terms like ‘first conditional’, ‘passive’ and so on. Just think about the kinds of sentences you want your students to produce.

Why does the difference between BICS and CALP matter?

Fluency in BICS does not mean proficiency in CALP. All students need support with academic language as this is the language they mostly experience in school. You can see from the examples above that academic language has a particular style and tone. It is more exacting and precise than spoken language and avoids slang. It is this language that students need for success in school.

Even when English is the students’ first language, they require the systematic support of teachers over several years in order to develop academic language proficiency. Content teachers have a dual responsibility: to teach content and to support language. English language teachers are the best resource a school has to help facilitate this.

Often teachers who teach content subjects do not receive any training in how to identify the component parts of academic language, let alone in how to make academic language visible and accessible to students. Content teachers are also often not taught how to assess students’ language level and language needs. It might seem logical for such teachers to assume that a student who is fluent in social language can also use academic language effectively.

To look back at Reflective task 1, when a student with good social language hands in a piece of written work that is weak, it may lead the teacher to the

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Toolkit for content and language teachers

false conclusion that the student did not try hard. In fact, the student may simply not have received adequate support in school for developing CALP. By being aware of how to support students in building academic language skills, content teachers are better placed to support their students in learning their subject’s contents. Similarly, English language lessons can support students in learning language and content by making connections to those content classes taught through English.

Language is clearly something all teachers need to think about at the lesson planning and preparation stages.

To find out more about the BICS and CALP mentioned above, see the work of Jim Cummins.

Planning language support in content lessons Putting language support into a content lesson plan is simply a matter of adding a few extra steps to the way a content teacher already plans his or her lessons. The simplest approach is to plan the various steps of the lesson that will achieve the content aims and objectives, and then to go back through the lesson plan and identify the language demands and the support the students will need. This can be done using three sets of questions:

1. Content vocabulary

2. Functional language

3. Language skills

• What content vocabulary will my students need for the tasks in my lesson?

• How will I help my students with this vocabulary?

• What are my students actually doing? What are the cognitive processes and creative thinking skills that they are using?

What is the functional language that goes with these skills?

• How will I help my students with this language?

• What language skills are the students using? Do I want them to read, write, speak and/or listen?

• How will this affect the support I provide?

Introduction

5

Here are some examples:

1 Content vocabulary The content lesson will probably contain vocabulary which is specific to a particular subject. This vocabulary will need to be identified. The content teacher must then think about how they can help the students with it.

A ‘pre-using’ or ‘pre-teaching’ stage can be added to the lesson near the beginning, when the meaning of these words is checked.

2 Functional language If, in Science, students are studying materials which conduct electricity and materials which don’t, then they are likely to be asked to classify as well as describe these materials. Once you have identified the thinking skills that your students are using, students will benefit from being given the functional language that goes with them. In this example, students will need language for classification and language for comparing and contrasting – for example: Copper belongs in this group / category because …

Wood has similar / different properties to y in that …

Plastic is … while y is not.

Aluminium is … than y.

Many more examples of thinking skills linked to language will be given throughout the Toolkit.

3 Language skills There are four language skills: • • • •

listening reading speaking writing.

The type of language support a teacher provides, and the way a task is designed and scaffolded, can change depending on the language skill demanded of the students.

For example, if a teacher gives a detailed explanation of a concept in their lesson, then the students are listening, and the teacher needs to be sure that the students understand the concepts. There are techniques that can be used to make this easier for students such as grading language (that is, a teacher keeping their language clear and simple), using visuals, providing a simple task such as some true / false comprehension questions as they listen, and so on. If a teacher wants the students to speak about a concept, they can be given some sentence stems on the whiteboard, like the ones relating to conductors above.

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Toolkit for content and language teachers

Practical task 1 Brainstorm answers to the following questions (if possible, work together with colleagues). For each of the following, name three ways in which you can support students: 1 2 3 4

reading and engaging with one page of challenging / longer text writing an essay orally comparing and contrasting two things / issues / concepts listening to and engaging with a video clip presented in class.

Refer to the Answer key on pages 54–55 for some suggested answers.

Addressing the concerns of the content teacher Changing the way in which a teacher plans and delivers their content classes is likely to cause concern to some colleagues. Here are some of the most common objections:

There’s no time!

The curriculum is demanding enough without adding all this language support …

I’m not a language teacher!

I don’t even know the names of the grammatical structures …

Content teachers may worry that in dealing with language, they will not have enough time to deal with the content, which is, after all, their main focus. A content curriculum is usually challenging enough as it is. Unfortunately, few schools are willing or able to reduce the content of a curriculum, or to extend the time spent on its delivery, to allow for the time it takes to support language.

However, as teachers we have to accept that we are teaching the students according to their individual and class needs rather than the curriculum per se.

Introduction

7

Without an adequate focus on academic language support, we seriously reduce the effectiveness of the curriculum.

Teachers are sometimes concerned that this approach gives issues of language more importance than issues of content. This should not be the case.

What we are trying to do is to make sure that teaching in a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second language is not an obstacle or barrier to the content.

Content teachers may simply feel that dealing with language issues is not their job. There is a good deal of debate on this topic. Is a content teacher who teaches in English when it is a second language for the students a hybrid of a content and language teacher? This is probably an unrealistic expectation.

However, it is necessary for the content teacher to be language aware. A content teacher does not necessarily need to know the names of all the grammatical structures that the English language teacher is familiar with, or to talk about language using these names in their lessons. But, a content teacher certainly needs to have an understanding of the linguistic challenges that students face in his or her lessons, and have some strategies to help them.

The additional techniques required in content lessons do not have to take a lot of class time. We will see some examples of tasks where the language support uses class time efficiently while maximising the effectiveness of the task regarding content and the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; engagement with the content.