Language Power. Margo Gottlieb

have come to the conclusion that four key uses of academic language give teachers and students tremendous insight into how oral and written text is organized to express specific intents. And so we share them with you, realizing that authentic text is not neatly organized around one key use or another but, in fact, may be perceived as having multiple purposes. Here is an interpretation of that BrainPOP® passage on nutritional guidelines around four key uses of academic language (DARE), the conceptual tool used in this book:

       Discuss the pros and cons of the various images that represent nutritional guidelines.

       Argue for the nutritional guidelines that you believe are most effective.

       Recount the history of nutritional guidelines in the U.S.

       Explain how and why nutritional guidelines are helpful.

      Take the DARE

      One of the themes woven throughout the book is that students’ exposure to multimodality, especially ELLs, ELLs with disabilities, and other language learners, helps increase their opportunities for meaning making. BrainPOP® included the visual on page 2 with the text on nutritional guidelines. How does it enhance the overall meaning? How might it be beneficial to your students? What can you do to increase students’ comprehension through visualization? Why are visuals important for students who might be challenged by text written in English, by print, or both?

      Academic language use provides students access to the content learned in school, and it is the vehicle for their meaningful participation during teaching and learning. Language is also the medium through which students share what they know and demonstrate what they have learned. It is not enough for students, however, to just know the language or know about the language. Students need to understand how language is used in academic contexts and the expectations for its use throughout the school day.

      The Inquiry Cycle

      In this book, we use the inquiry cycle as an organizing scheme to provide a structure for each chapter. We choose this five-phase inquiry cycle, shown in Figure P.1, as we wish teachers to probe deeply into compelling issues that stimulate conversation by (1) asking about academic language use, (2) exploring it more in depth, (3) applying it to their classrooms, (4) reflecting on its utility, and (5) taking action to ensure that it has meaningful and lasting impact. Additionally, we feel that implementing the inquiry cycle prompts collaboration among teachers who are constantly seeking to improve their practices. The power of collaborative inquiry, especially in a professional learning community, has proven to be transformative, evoking real change in schools and classrooms (Donohoo & Velasco, 2016).

      Figure P.1 Applying the Inquiry Cycle as the Organizational Frame for the Book

      We also would like to highlight the essential role of inquiry in the generation of new knowledge. As we identify questions or learn new concepts, we need time to explore ideas related to them and time to apply that new knowledge. A critical part of the inquiry cycle is to provide space to reflect on those new ideas and on how we might integrate them into our practice. With that in mind, for each new idea presented throughout the book, we provide additional references for those who wish to dive in deeper on any concept presented and examples to see it applied to instruction and assessment. We also offer challenges throughout each chapter to invite you to take action on your new knowledge along with questions for reflection. Finally, we offer myriad resources, which include templates of activities and tools ready for you to use.

      The following is a detailed description with an exemplar of how each section of our chapters unfolds within a specific phase of the inquiry cycle based on perspectives of academic language use.

      Ask

      We begin each chapter by posing a question related to key uses of academic language. As an example, for this prelude, we ask the question, Why focus on academic language use? We explore each chapter’s question from four perspectives that are presented in a diagram in the “Ask” section, such as the one shown in Figure P.2. Here, we highlight four perspectives in the quadrant—(1) teaching and learning theory, (2) academic achievement, (3) educational equity, and (4) global interconnectedness—to offer a rationale for focusing on academic language use.

      Figure P.2 A Rationale for Focusing on Academic Language Use

      We conclude this section with a list of chapter objectives, as we invite educators to take the DARE (discuss, argue, recount, and explain) to guide conversations around the central question. For this set of perspectives offered in the quadrant, we DARE teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators to do the following:

      

       Discuss the literature and research bases on the role of language in teaching and learning.

       Argue for the importance of mastery of academic language in academic achievement.

       Recount the function of academic language as an agent of educational equity.

       Explain how academic language can serve as a home–school connector.

      Explore

      This section addresses the overarching question and each perspective stated in the “Ask” section. It also invites the reader to implement the ideas and concepts discussed. In this prelude, we illustrate how each perspective contributes to the rationale for increased intentional academic language use in elementary school classrooms.

      Teaching and Learning Theory

      For a long time, language has been recognized as a vehicle for learning (Dewey, 1916; Vygotsky, 1934/1962). The ways in which language is used by students, teachers, and families have an impact on how children learn. Some researchers, for example, have attributed how well students do in school to the particular language patterns used by the social groups to which they belong (Bernstein, 1970; Brice-Heath, 1983). These studies highlight the unique ways in which language is used in school and the need to socialize children into those ways so that they can be successful. In spite of the existing research on the critical role that language plays in school, language development has not been fully integrated into the learning taking place in our classrooms.

      Many of our current teaching approaches come from sociocultural theory, which sees learning as a social activity. This theory proposes that learning happens through social interaction, with assistance from teachers and peers who are more knowledgeable, and as they engage in culturally meaningful tasks (Vygotsky, 1978). In this social and interactive perspective, language plays a central role; it is a tool for negotiating meaning, for problem solving, and for making sense of the world, individually and with others. Language is not seen as an abstract system of linguistic forms or an individual form of activity, but instead, it is a continuous generative process that is learned through dialogue (Bakhtin, 1986). This dialogue takes place within particular social contexts and cultures that impact the ways in which people use languages (Martin, Christie, & Rothery, 1994).

      For example, the ways one uses language when writing an e-mail, when filling out an application, or when producing a book report are very different. Because of the many contexts, thinking about goals or purposes for language use without a framework can become overwhelming. Key uses of academic language afford us the opportunity to focus and organize teaching and learning in a more manageable manner and, at the same time, to better and more purposefully integrate language and content instruction.

      In sum, learning theory highlights the important role of language for students to be able to access and achieve content-related ideas and concepts. Further, since learning is social in nature and not an individual endeavor, language provides opportunities for students to