ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATORS' FORUM

Language across the Curriculum (LAC): A bird’s eye-view

Module 1: Conceptual Analysis

1.1Concept: LAC supports language development in each and every child-integrates language learning and content learning- an approach to learning- focuses on improving language proficiency in all subjects-aims at enhancing students’ learning outcomes- acknowledges that language education takes place in each and every subject; in every learning activity; and across the whole curriculum- emphasizes that language development is the responsibility of all teachers across the school and in all subject areas as each subject area has its own specific language usage, style, specialized vocabulary and different writing genres, e.g. Science report writing is different to History report writing.

1.2 Origin of LAC:Developed in the late 70s and 80s of the last century in Great Britain. Linking LAC with school policy was mentioned in Bullock Report (entitled A Language for Life) “each school should have an organized language policy for language across the curriculum, establishing every teacher’s involvement in language and reading development throughout the year of schooling.”

1.3 Language and Thought: Language is more than a communication skill, for it is linked to the thinking process . Language is a tool for conceptualizing and linking information, Language supports mental activities and precision in cognition which is true for subject-related activities, Language helps to bridge cognitively demanding tasks and their solutions

1.4 Basic Tenets (Corson 1990)

1. Language develops mainly through purposeful use. 2. Learning involves talking, writing, shaping and moving. 3. Learning often occurs through speaking or writing. 4.Language use contributes to or is a pre-requisite for cognitive development.5. Language is the medium for reflecting on learning, for improving it, for becoming (more or less) autonomous as learners.

1.5: Multilingualism: The term ‘multilingualism’ means, the ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers to use multiple languages. It would help teachers to: Bridge differences among students, make the expertise of teachers available to the diversified student community, deepen understanding, minimise instances of drop-outs or misbehavior in class, ensure flexibility in classroom activities, enhance student motivation, build self-esteem, and prepare for global citizenship.

Power dynamics: The superiority of the target language or the language followed in schools must not be overpowered by the home language of the student. The home language can however be used by teachers as a stepping stone to raise the thinking ability of the child and to make quick associations. Dialectal differences-language varieties of different regions- must not be overlooked.

Deficit theory (Eller 1989): proposed by Eller- suggested that working-class children have an inadequate command of grammar and vocabulary to express complex ideas. It explains why students fail in using English. They have: Poor linguistic ability, weak vocabulary foundation, limited range of grammatical constructions; inadequate communicative ability with persons from a different language background, lack of coherence in their presentations.

As a result, students experience psychological problems and feel incompetent in class.

Discontinuity theory: In order to understand this theory, it is essential to know what continuity theory speaks about. "Continuity theory" builds on the idea that language exhibits so much complexity that one cannot imagine it simply appearing from nothing in its final form; therefore it must have evolved from earlier pre-linguistic systems among our primate ancestors.” In other words, human beings get their language using ability from animals.

There is no consensus on the ultimate origin or age of human language.

"Discontinuity theory" takes the opposite approach—that language, being a unique trait which cannot be compared to anything found among non-humans, must have appeared fairly suddenly during the course of human evolution.

Unlike animals, only Man has the ability to use language for conveying ideas both verbally and non-verbally. It can hence, be developed through a teacher’s timely intervention.

Module 2: Models of Language learning

2.1 CLIL (Detailed in Module 3)

2.2 Bilingual Teaching

Goals of Bilingual Teaching: To teach concepts, knowledge and skills through the language they understand the best. To bring learners as soon as possible into the mainstream of education because English is the main language of information in the present era. To help learners to maintain their native language and culture.

Bilingual teaching enables learners to acquire language, both native language (L1) and second-languages (L2), by engaging with their environment, interacting with those around them, working to solve challenges and problems, and making neural connections that allow the brain to build-up a reservoir of connected sounds, images, feelings, results, gestures that are meaningful.

Advantages: Students become more culturally sensitive and aware, mastery of foreign language is deepened, adds to the strength of a student to be proficient in a language other than his or her native or mother tongue, enhances performance in standardized tests, expands the peer circle of students, less strenuous for teachers, sustains student interest, clarity in student understanding is ensured.

Disadvantages: Difficult to staff bilingual schools with enough teachers that are native speakers of the second language, cost of introducing bilingualism in schools can be greater than an English only school because all materials have to be purchased in both languages, likelihood of English being sidelined by the native language is high.

2.3 LSP/ESP (Language or English for specific purpose)

Definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997) Absolute Characteristics 1. ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learners 2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves 3. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.

Features:Carter (1983) identified three features common to all ESP courses. They are: a) authentic material. b) Purpose-related tasks. c) Self-directed learners. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used with beginners. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning".

Dudley Evans describes the true ESP teacher or ESP Practitioner (Swales, 1988) as needing to perform five different roles. These are 1) Teacher, 2) Collaborator, 3) Course designer and materials provider, 4) Researcher and 5) Evaluator. The first role as 'teacher' is synonymous with that of the 'General English' teacher. It is in the performing of the other four roles that differences between the two emerge. In order to meet the specific needs of the learners and adopt the methodology and activities of the target discipline, the ESP Practitioner must first work closely with field specialists.

Benefits:All language skills are stressed, Combines subject matter and English, Students become aware of how the text in their subject is structured, Students are able to use language to learn, and for communication, The course material becomes relevant as their own teachers prepare them, Goal-directed learning ensues, Teacher serves as a source of information and also as a corrector of errors,

Difficulties: Lack of resource materials, Uninterested teachers, Time-consuming.

2.4 Academic Language Teaching

Academic language refers to the language used in school to acquire new or deeper understanding of the content and to communicate that understanding to others (Bailey & Heritage, 2008; Gottlieb, Katz, & Ernst-Slavit, 2009; Schleppegrell, 2004). In other words, academic language is characterized by the specific linguistic features associated with academic disciplines, including discourse features, grammatical constructions, and vocabulary across different language domains or modalities. Academic language is the standard language needed by students to understand words in context and to use language that can convey ideas clearly without causing any confusion in the listener’s or reader’s mind. It is: language used by teachers to impart new information and to describe ideas clearly so as to increase student understanding- “Word knowledge” that enables students to interact with the text with ease and talk in a manner that is an acceptable norm at schools- it is more refined than the conversational language- Understanding the grammar of the language used- the ability to relate events in a convincing and accurate manner, make comparisons in a clear manner, make judgments based on textual evidences, have good knowledge of the different forms of words and use content-specific vocabulary and modes of expression needed in that content area.

It helps in preparing students for academic and professional success-It is the language of the school and it is used in textbooks, essays, assignments, class presentations, and assessments- is used at all grade levels, although its frequency increases as students get older- is also the language of the workplace — for example, the language used to write a business letter as opposed to a casual e-mail to a co-worker- is used in all four domains of language (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)- is used for a variety of purposes across disciplines (ie.,to write a lab report in science class, to orally explain their reasoning in math class, to compare two famous speeches in history class, etc).

It is understanding signal words and phrases - a key step in a student's ability to "unlock" the academic language they encounter, as well as to start using it correctly themselves. For instance: In the sentence “Even though bats have wings, they are not birds”, to fully understand the sentence, students must understand the meaning of "even though" also besides understanding the meanings of ‘bats’ and ‘birds’. Here is a sample definition:

"Even though" means that two items are similar, but they are not the same. In this case, bats and birds both share a similar feature (having wings), but they are not the same animal.

The academic vocabulary is agreed to include three elements: Content words, process words and words that reflect the grammatical sense.

Content words: These are key words, terms, and concepts in relation to a particular topic. Process/Function words include directional words or phrases that have to do with functional language use. These words specify the direction that needs to be taken by students in performing the task successfully.

Words and word parts that teach English structure: These are words and word parts that help students to learn new vocabulary with ease. For example, teaching students how the suffix –ed could convey past tense, can be a teaching point for a social science teacher too. The Maths teacher may reinforce past tense by drawing attention to some statements in the problems that speak about something already done. The Social science teacher may tell students that all historical events are written in the past tense.

Similarly, understanding that the prefix bi- signifies ‘two’ can make the meanings of binomial, biannual, bigamy, bilingual, etc. clear to students. Students can be taught some signal words that could prepare them for the incoming information. For example, words like ‘therefore’, ‘because’, ‘despite’ and so forth can be spoken as something that signifies a transition or a switching over of ideas.

Module 3: Features and issues of Content and Language Integrated Learning

3.1 Definition and Rationale: The term ‘Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)’, a competence-based pedagogic approach, was coined by David Marsh, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (1994):"CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language." That is, The learning of language is given importance, Language elements are learnt both in the language classes and in the classes dealing with specific subjects, The focus is to enable the learner to communicate effectively in the subject area also.

Why?

to make learners skilled in using the target language, to enable learners to decode a text written in the target language with ease, to equip learners to understand the vocabulary used by guessing its appropriate meaning from the context, to help learners use logic and reasoning to sequence things in their mind, to make them confident in using language to communicate their ideas, their difficulties, and thereby seek amicable solution.

In other words: It is to integrate the language of the content with the language of the learner.

‘Content’ in CLIL is:

The non-language subjects or scientific disciplines like, the Sciences, Mathematics, Arts, etc.,A vehicle for language learning and language use. Cognition and development of skills of students. Student-generated knowledge.

‘Language’ in CLIL is:

the language of learning (that means, a language used for learning key words or phrases, etc. in the text);the language for learning (that means, using the language to clear doubts, to enter into discussions, to organize and present information clearly); and, the language through learning (that means, the new language ability that the student gets by studying the text)

‘Learning’ in CLIL is:

It is a mediating tool through which content and language are co-constructed; an activity that makes students and teachers creative; something that helps students to make meaningful connections across curricula.

That is, if the content has to be learnt, the student must be able to think effectively in the language used in the text, understand the concepts presented therein, and even communicate the same without creating any confusion in the reader or listener’s mind.

3.2 Need and scope: Can rekindle interest in language learning, can improve the quality of learning, can help students to understand themselves, and the world in which they live, suggests means to develop skill in the target language in the midst of language variations, is practical in approach, can equip the learner to use their new acquired skill at the moment rather than make them wait and use it later when they pass out of school, incorporates learners of all kinds, Learners who have missed their formal training can also develop language skills through this mode, can make learners autonomous.

3.3: CLIL-content-subject methodology

Specific features of a CLIL lesson: There is integration of language skills. A textual passage to generate thought; inclusion of any grammatical feature for study; practical and contextual learning of language. More focus is on developing comprehension than on studying grammar. The learning style of students is attended to. (Refer to the lesson plan in Module 5 )

3.4 Advantages and Limitations

CLIL helps to: Introduce the wider cultural context, Prepares for internationalization, Access International Certification and enhance the school profile, Improve overall and specific language competence, Prepare for future studies and / or working life, Develop multilingual interests and attitudes, Diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning, Increase learner motivation, Foster deeper intercultural communication and understanding, Provide learners with meaningful contexts to explore and evaluate beliefs and attitudes, Prepare for global citizenship.

Limitations of CLIL: Very few sound research-based empirical studies have been done so far to prove the benefit of this approach, requires great amount of conscious learning on the part of the teachers, Lack of CLIL training, doubt regarding how appreciation of literature and culture can be developed through a second language as the CLIL claims, may benefit only those students who have good knowledge of the language previously, Teachers’ reluctance to integrate materials from the content and language areas, Teachers’ lack of content and language knowledge affects CLIL success, There is every chance that subject will be focused and the language element gets sidelined, The examination system followed at the National level is primarily content-oriented.

3.5 Educational Implications of CLIL in Kerala Context:

1. There is urgent need to incorporate the programme into the training practices for teachers.

2. More resources need to be made accessible for teachers at school.

3. Developing Bilinguals is the need of the hour.

Module 4: Pedagogy of reading and writing across the curriculum

4.1 Classroom discourse: -Discourse is a socially acceptable ways of using language—“of thinking, valuing, acting, and interjecting, in the ‘right’ places and at the ‘right’ times with the ‘right’ objects” (p. 34). Being a competent user of academic language means knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to say it within the different oral and written disciplinary contexts. Classroom discourse is thus a special kind of discourse that occurs in classrooms and aims at negotiation of meaning by allowing students to bring out their latent knowledge and get it connected with the new information in a social set up.

Strategies for promoting learning in the subject area:

Think Aloud: (vocalizing one’s own thoughts), Mimic Literature Circles (Many teachers assign roles for students during book discussions. Each student is given a task like clarifier, connection-maker, questioner, and summarizer. These same roles can be assigned while reading nonfiction texts in the content areas. They’ll help students deepen their comprehension using a familiar technique), Identifying context clues helps students in decoding unknown words, identifying main idea and details, re-reading, asking Why and How questions, making column notes,

building academic vocabulary by (a. Providing a description, explanation, or example of the new term, b) Asking students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words, c) Asking students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the word, d) Engaging students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their notebooks, e) Periodically asking students to discuss the terms with one another. (Allow in native language when appropriate), f) Involving students periodically in games that allow them to play with terms.), mapping, constructing explanations, asking questions and challenging learner’s belief, making predictions, using KWL Chart, having a chapter tour, helping them visualize, etc.

4.2 Oral Language- Benefits of including discussion and questioning to check student understanding and focus on language development

Before a discussion takes place; Clarify your goals for the discussion, Plan guiding 

questions for the discussion, design activities that will prepare students to discuss during discussion, monitor the talk-provide a summary at the end of the discussion-draw connection between previous and new knowledge

Types of questions: The major types of questions fall into four categories:

· Managerial: questions which keep the classroom operations moving;

· Rhetorical: questions used to emphasize a point or to reinforce an idea or statement;

· Closed: questions used to check retention or to focus thinking on a particular point;

· Open: questions used to promote discussion or student interaction.

Teacher control: One way many teachers try to control students is through disciplinary rules and corrective consequences for breaking those rules. Yet just as harmful as teachers' efforts to control students' behavior are their efforts to control students' thoughts. Some examples:

· The early childhood teacher who told a student to redo his drawing because "this looks nothing like an elephant."

· The science teacher who insisted on being a fountain--rather than a facilitator--of knowledge, and wouldn't let students form hypotheses, let alone test them out.

· The math teacher who told students, "You could do it that way, but the way I showed you is much better."

· The art teacher who cultivated conformity rather than creativity by telling students, "Everyone's should look like Angela's--it's awesome," as they made models of dinosaurs.

· The special education teacher who persisted in giving students clues despite their protests that they didn't want any help.

· The literature teacher who shot down students' answers after asking why they thought the author chose a particular setting. (The same teacher later admonished students for not participating in the discussion: "How come no one is raising their hands?")

· The social studies teacher who twisted students' comments during a discussion of the pros and cons of different forms of government, so that they were aligned with his views.

· The 2nd grade teacher who refuted rather than respected students' complaints that a book she read to them was boring: "It's a great story. You must not have been paying attention."

(Teacher control must be minimal especially when LAC is being practiced)

4.3 Written language

Writing promotes learning-Integration of writing and the writing process promotes student participation, a diversity of student voices, and engages students as critical thinkers while promoting their texts as important resources and thinking tools-it integrates disciplines-develops good writers- can be used in every classroom-Only by practicing the thinking and writing conventions of an academic discipline will students begin to communicate effectively within that discipline-is an effort to demonstrate knowledge and understanding- can show a disconnect in a student’s understanding of a concept-can also show a student’s mastery of a concept.

Writing to Learn: Writing-to-learn fosters critical thinking, requiring analysis and application, and other higher level thinking

skills. It is writing that uses impromptu, short or informal writing tasks designed by the teacher and included throughout the lesson to help students think through key concepts and ideas. Attention is focused on ideas rather than correctness of style, grammar or spelling. It is less structured than disciplinary writing. This approach frequently uses journals, logs, micro-themes, responses to written or oral questions, summaries, free writing, notes and other writing assignments that align to learning ideas and concepts. It can be employed throughout and/or at the end of a lesson to engage students and develop big ideas and concepts. It enhances the learning in the classroom. Writing exercises can be used prior to a lesson to assess prior-knowledge. Students can make notes then write a paragraph that summarizes their learning. Students can use marginal notes to analyze charts or create metaphors to describe a process. Students might also write summaries after a mini-lecture or after reading sections of a chapter. The summary may be written without the aid of notes to assess their recall or it could be used with the notes to help them clarify their understanding.

Writing to Demonstrate Knowledge: When writing-to-demonstrate-knowledge, students show what they have learned by synthesizing information and explaining or applying their understanding of concepts and ideas. Students write for an audience with a specific purpose. Products may apply knowledge in new ways or use academic structures for research and/or formal writing. Examples include essays that deal with specific questions or problems, letters, projects, and more formal assignments or papers prepared over weeks or over a course. They adhere to format and style guidelines or standards typical of professional papers, such as reports, article reviews, and research papers and should be checked before submitted by the student for correctness of spelling, grammar, and transition word usage.

Informational reading: Informational text is nonfiction writing, written with the intention of informing the reader about a specific topic. It is typically found in magazines, science or history books, autobiographies and instruction manuals. They are written using special text features that allow the reader to easily find key information and understand the main topic. The author will do this by providing headers over certain sections, by placing important vocabulary in bold type, and by using visual representations with captions.

Registers: Are of three kinds: Formal, informal, technical -InformalClassroom registers: · Giving directions ·Checking for understanding · Facilitating discussions

4.4 Reading in the content areas-good reading requires comprehension-Comprehension involves quickly recognizing words, making meaning of those words individually and contextually, and constructing meaning from groups of those words-Meaning is constructed from the words on the page interacting with the reader’s background knowledge about the text structure and topic-

Reading in any content area means-Students need to able to “learn to read” so they can “read to learn" at all ages in all content areas. (Refer Strategic reading)

ü Reading in Social Sciences: -Teaching reading in social studies is not so much about teaching students basic reading skills as it is about teaching students how to use reading as a tool for thinking and learning.

ü Reading in Science:- Focus on Text Navigation, • Build background knowledge, vocabulary, and engagement through predictions and prior knowledge • Explore – Inquiry, Hands-On Science • Reflect • Written justification, analysis, definition • Apply the learning • Reinforce and clarify the main idea.

ü Reading in Mathematics: Mathematics texts contain more concepts per sentence and paragraph than any other type of text- written in a very compact style; each sentence contains a lot of information, with little redundancy. The text can contain words as well as numeric and non-numeric symbols to decode. In addition, a page may be laid out in such a way that the eye must travel in a different pattern than the traditional left-to-right one of most reading. There may also be graphics that must be understood for the text to make sense; these may sometimes include information that is intended to add to the comprehension of a problem but instead may be distracting. Finally, many texts are written above the grade level for which they are intended (Barton & Heidema, 2002).

Students need help finding their way around a new text. Help them to read through the problem to ascertain the main idea and then read it again to figure out which details and numbers relate to the question being posed and which are redundant. Help them to visualize the problem's context and then apply strategies that they think will lead to a solution, using the appropriate data from the problem statement.

Students must be taught that the language we read and speak in mathematics class is actually a technical jargon, even though it may look and sound like regular English. For example, zero is not really a number in everyday language. eg:The word a can mean “any” in mathematics. When asking students to “show that a number divisible by 6 is even,” we aren't asking for a specific example, but for the students to show that all numbers divisible by 6 have to be even.

Encourage Strategic Reading in all content areas

Literacy researchers have developed some basic strategies for reading to learn. Here is a summary of strategies outlined by Draper (2002):

Before reading, the strategic reader

· Previews the text by looking at the title, the pictures, and the print in order to evoke relevant thoughts and memories

· Builds background by activating appropriate prior knowledge about what he or she already knows about the topic (or story), the vocabulary, and the form in which the topic (or story) is presented

· Sets purposes for reading by asking questions about what he or she wants to learn (know) during the reading episode

While reading, the strategic reader

· Checks understanding of the text by paraphrasing the author's words

· Monitors comprehension by using context clues to figure out unknown words and by imagining, inferring, and predicting

· Integrates new concepts with existing knowledge, continually revising purposes for reading

After reading, the strategic reader

· Summarizes what has been read by retelling the plot of the story or the main idea of the text

· Evaluates the ideas contained in the text

· Makes applications of the ideas in the text to unique situations, extending the ideas to broader perspectives. (p. 524)

Teachers must help students use strategies for acquiring vocabulary and reading word problems for meaning. Students are helped not by having their reading and interpreting done for them, but rather by being asked questions when they don't understand the text. The goal is for students to internalize these questions and use them on their own.

Text features can help readers locate and organize information in the text.

Expository text: texts for information, information that is often dense and written in long passages-In contrast to narrative text, expository text structure is more complex and variable-presents facts-focuses on educating readers-has specific text structures-Introduce an organizational pattern-Give students opportunities to analyse the text-Invite students to write paragraphs using each text structure pattern-Try to highlight and emphasize the signal words and phrases in each text –give more practice with identifying signal words by working with graphic organisers for descriptions, sequence, compare/contrast, cause/effect and problem/solution

Narrative Text: Narrative texts typically follow a linear structure of related events. There are predictable story elements of setting, character, problem, and solution. Children are typically familiarized with this structure through story sharing and early literacy experiences.

Transactional Text: Transactional Writing Lessons start with the purpose of communicating ideas and information between individuals. E.g., business letters, friendly emails, invitations, speeches, and interviews. Students need to learn both social and business writing formats to be successful in school, the workplace, and social settings.

Reflexive Text: having to do with the act or process of reflecting. It is a text with writing that is formal or informal about a subject matter after it has been presented in literature or other media, using emotions, memories, or thoughts. Reflective writing is often used as a reaction to what has been read or to 'pull' knowledge from a specific event, piece of literature, or lesson that has been presented. It can be used to determine key points, or to form new ideas about a subject. The ideas may not always be presented in a sequential order –

4.5 Schema Theory & Text Structure: - (relevance of understanding schema theory in the context of LAC)

Simply put, schema theory states that all knowledge is organized into units. Within these units of knowledge, or schemata, is stored information. According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and the relationships they have with other objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions, and sequences of actions. A simple example is to think of your schema for dog. Some may think of its colour, shape, nature, his/her personal experience with dogs, or living style, etc. Depending upon your personal experience, the knowledge of a dog as a pet (domesticated and loyal) or as an animal to fear (likely to bite or attack) may be a part of your schema. And so it goes with the development of a schema. Each new experience incorporates more information into one's schema.

What does all this have to do with reading comprehension? Individuals have schemata for everything. Long before students come to school, they develop schemata (units of knowledge) about everything they experience. Schemata become theories about reality. These theories not only affect the way information is interpreted (affecting comprehension), but also continue to change as new information is received. Comprehension difficulties occur when the reader cannot rapidly and automatically access the concepts and knowledge stored in the schemata. Teacher’s role is to check if the student’s schemata connect with the topic being taught- She can make things clear beforehand and ensure that the learner understands it.

Text-Structure: -Text Structure refers to how the information within a written text is organized. This strategy helps students understand that a text might present a main idea and details; a cause and then its effects; and/or different views of a topic. To create the text structure strategy teachers should:

1. Choose the assigned reading and introduce the text to the students.

2. Introduce the idea that texts have organizational patterns called text structures.

Common text structures are: description, sequence, problem and solution, cause and effect, and compare and contrast.

3. Introduce and model using a graphic organizer to chart the text structure.

To use the text structure strategy teachers should:

Show examples of paragraphs that correspond to each text structure. Examine main sentences that clue the reader to a specific structure. Model the writing of a paragraph that uses a specific text structure. Have students try write paragraphs that follow a specific text structure. Have students diagram these structures using a graphic organizer. Examples


Description			This type of text structure features a detailed description of something to give the reader a mental picture. EXAMPLE: A book may tell all about whales or describe what the geography is like in a particular region.
Cause and Effect			This structure presents the causal relationship between an specific event, idea, or concept and the events, ideas, or concept that follow. EXAMPLE: Weather patterns could be described that explain why a big snowstorm occurred.
Comparison/Contrast			This type of text examines the similarities and differences between two or more people, events, concepts, ideas, etc. EXAMPLE: A book about ancient Greece may explain how the Spartan women were different from the Athenian women.
Order/Sequence			This text structure gives readers a chronological of events or a list of steps in a procedure. EXAMPLE: A book about the American revolution might list the events leading to the war. In another book, steps involved in harvesting blue crabs might be told.
Problem-Solution			This type of structure sets up a problem or problems, explains the solution, and then discusses the effects of the solution.

4.6 Study skills: The key to becoming an effective student is learning how to study smarter, not harder. The concept of LAC aims at making students understand the language of the text before them and express in a language familiar to them. This area speaks about what can be done in order to help students to become independent learners and study without fear of forgetting things. Independent study is always about getting students to interact with the text of any subject and simultaneously help develop his/her language skill.

Examining Content Area Textbook: In helping students to read content area textbooks, there are Four Basic Areas of Concern: Word Recognition, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Study Skills.

· Words could be identified in terms of three different systems: syllables; prefixes, roots, suffixes; or word parts.

· After recognizing the content-area term, students need a system to understand the meaning of the word-to make it a part of their vocabularies. Two techniques for determining word meaning are developing an understanding of the meanings of component parts of a word and utilizing context, or the rest of the sentence.

Some teaching ideas for introducing vocabulary might include: (1) Introduce words in terms of a clue system (2) Allow students to scan the chapters and write their own word list. Keep these words in a notebook, so that they can be reviewed periodically. (3) At the beginning of each year, make a list of special terms relative to the content area and be sure to present them to students and to review them frequently. This list would include terms frequently used throughout the year; for example, a math teacher might list: equation, add, subtract, formula, problem, divide, multiply, answer, solution. (4) Devote a day each week to vocabulary studies through such activities as solving crossword puzzles, playing games, preparing projects or posters, conducting in-depth studies. (5) Use materials other than books to show the relationships of the terms used in the books with everyday life and to current events. Such materials might include newspapers and magazines.

· When students are able to recognize and understand the meanings of words, they will be ready to comprehend the meanings of entire passages. There are three aspects of comprehension which are important in content area reading.

a)The first is the ability to understand what is being read on a literal level. Example: “Turn to the index and find one word that tells who, one that tells what, one that tells when, and one that tells where and to write those words on a piece of paper. Such statements focus on developing their literal comprehension.

b) A second aspect of comprehension is that which requires interpretation by students. Make students aware of terms as a clue to the interpretation of a passage; for example, "thus," "in other words," "for example." Ask the students to read a sentence or short paragraph orally; then ask another student to reword it in his own words.

c) A third aspect of comprehension is recognizing the importance of sequence.

· Each content area has some study skills which are specific to it, but there are some skills which are common to all subject areas. In all content areas students are required to locate information. Their search for this material might require the textbook, dictionary, atlas, chart, globe. Discuss all these things with students. One of the most difficult assignments for students seems to be to obtain information from the reference and to rephrase it in their own words.

Some activities which might be useful in encouraging students to do this are: 1. Ask them to reword famous quotes - "Give me liberty or give me death." 2. Ask students to read an experiment, a word problem, or a description of a happening or character and then tell in their own words what happened or what the person might look like or do. 3. Allow a student to do a demonstration and then ask other students to detail exactly what he or she did. 4. Keep a file of newspaper and magazine clippings related to the different units which you plan to be teaching. Present one clipping to each student and ask them to read the clipping silently and then report to the class concerning what was contained in the clipping.

Reading strategies for children: - To improve students' reading comprehension, teachers should introduce the seven cognitive strategies of effective readers: activating, inferring, monitoring-clarifying, questioning, searching-selecting, summarizing, and visualizing-organizing.

Note-making: - Read the passage carefully-Heading (What is the main idea of the passage? Frame a heading based on the central idea and write it in the middle of the page).Subheadings (How has the main idea been presented and developed? Are there two or three subordinate/associated ideas? You can frame subheadings based on these).Points-(Are there further details or points of the subtitles that you wish to keep in these notes? Indent, i.e., suitably space and number). All subheadings should be written at a uniform distance from the margin. Indenting (All points should also maintain the same distance away from the margin).Note: (Do not write full sentences. And use abbreviations wherever necessary).

Example:Teacher presents the textual matter. A passage from the Social

Science text:Some of the most powerful^x and destructive^x of all storms^x are hurricanes. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit Georgia and the Carolinas, causing $7 billion in damage and 35 deaths. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck Florida, causing $26.5 billion in damage and 26 deaths.

Text Box: Example :
Hurricanes
-Very powerful
-Very destructive

H. ● Hugo (1989)
- Damage= $7 billion
- 35 deaths

● H. Andrew (1992)
- Damage = $26.5 billion
- 26 deaths

o Teacher makes students guess the meanings of the vocabulary identified as difficult.

o Makes them think about this question: What is the (main idea)of this passage?

She then introduces the Note making skill:

She asks them to make notes keeping the following tips in mind: Do not take down everything, Use single word or phrases, Write main ideas at the margin, Write the details underneath each main idea, Introduce subtopics by dashes(-), Use symbols and abbreviations when taking notes.

Summarizing:-It is teaching students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. It improves their memory for what is read.(Cross out sentences that are not necessary-Mark key words and phrases and jot down notes about the main idea- Instruct students to look for signal words such as therefore, in conclusion, or in summary-Have them verbally summarize the text to a peer-Then, have them reread the text and write a summary paragraph. In the summary, students should state the text's main idea in the first sentence and include the most important information. Be sure that students have not included any opinions of their own or sentences word-for-word from the original text).

Connections between reading and writing: - There is a strong connection between reading and writing. When students write, they build on and extend the literacy learning and when they read their writing skills get improved. Reading and writing are reciprocal in nature. If the student is good at reading, there is every chance that his/her writing will reflect correctness of words, punctuation marks, idea, etc. They can self-monitor their writing. Teachers can draw on the reciprocal nature of reading and writing to help students strengthen their knowledge and skills. When students are writing, encourage them to articulate words slowly. Use prompts that encourage them to notice what they already know from their reading.

Making connections during reading:-During guided reading sessions, consolidate the students’ learning by prompting them to use what they know from their writing. For example:

· Prompt beginning readers to notice full stops and draw on their knowledge of what a sentence is.

· Point out words that have the same spelling pattern as words they are learning to write or help them make connections to words or ideas that are the same as those in a class language experience text.

· Help more advanced readers to notice aspects such as the use of paragraphs within a text or different ways of starting sentences.

When the students come across unfamiliar words in their reading, use prompts that encourage them to think about what they already know about visual information.

Making connections during writing: - Ready to Read texts can be used as motivation or examples for writing. For example, you could incorporate memorable language from shared and guided reading texts into shared writing and encourage students to do the same in their own writing.

Process Writing: The process approach treats all writing as a creative act which requires time and positive feedback to be done well. In process writing, the teacher moves away from being someone who sets students a writing topic and receives the finished product for correction without any intervention in the writing process itself. Educators have found that by focusing on the process of writing, almost everyone learns to write successfully. The 5-Step Writing Process are:

1. Prewriting (Find Your Idea-Build on Your Idea-Plan and Structure)

2. Writing (first rough draft-Forget about word count and grammar- Don’t worry if you stray off topic in places- a free writing exercise stage- Identify the best time and location to write and eliminate potential distractions- Make writing a regular part of your day).

3. Revision (When revising their work, many writers naturally adopt the A.R.R.R. approach: Add: Check if your writing has conveyed enough. If not, add details. Rearrange: Consider the flow, pacing and sequencing of your ideas Remove: Remove any information that is overloaded and eliminate passages that are repetitive. Replace: The most effective way to revise your work is to ask for a second opinion. Seek feedback and if something isn’t working rewrite it and replace it.

4. Editing (Check for repetition, clarity, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Editing is an extremely detailed process and its best when performed by a professional).

5. Publishing (You now have a completed manuscript ready to publish).

Analyzing children’s writings to understand misconceptions/conceptions: -According to Moats (2005/2006) “writing is a mental juggling act that depends on automatic deployment of basic skills such as handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation so that the writer can keep track of such concerns as topic, organisation, word choice and audience needs” (“young people who do not have the ability to transform thoughts, experiences, and ideas into written words are in danger of losing touch with the joy of inquiry, the sense of intellectual curiosity, and the inestimable satisfaction of acquiring wisdom that are the touchstones of humanity” While analyzing student writing both authorial and secretarial features need to be considered. Authorial implies organization of ideas and information to communicate to an audience. Complementary to this, the secretarial role focuses on the surface features of writing, with close attention to spelling, handwriting and punctuation.

Dimensions of the writing analysis tool would be:

· Text Structure-How information/ideas are organized in the text. May include

features of text types.

· Sentence structure and grammatical features- How sentences or sentence parts are constructed. e.g., simple, compound and complex sentence usage.

· Vocabulary- Range and precision of word choices. e.g., everyday language, topic specific language, descriptive language.

· Spelling-Accuracy, complexity of words attempted, attempts, use of orthographic patterns and spelling rules.

· Punctuation - Use of conventional and appropriate punctuation to indicate the structure and organization of the text to aid the reader.

· Handwriting/ legibility- Letter formation, size, spacing, position and placement; ease of reading; apparent fluency

Writing with a sense of purpose: - Possibly the two most important things a writer must consider are audience and purpose.“Purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self.” Damon et al, 200.

I Purpose a) Begin by understanding your purpose for writing. b) Consider what it is you want your writing to achieve or accomplish. c) Once you understand your own expectations of your work, try to “say” your goals in various ways to see how your idea looks on paper. (This is called free-writing.) d) You might want to “write your way into your thesis” by starting with the broader scope of your topic and narrowing down your view of the topic until a generally solid, recognizable, focus emerges.

II Audience a) Consider who will be reading your work. Plan to use the language and style that you feel your reader will expect (and respect). b) Consider, as well, the ways in which you can push your idea through clearly and efficiently without wandering off into areas other than the one your thesis promises to address.

III Maintenance –staying on track- A good way to stay on track is to write a large portion of your work and then proofread for continuity and logical progression During the writing itself, try to stop occasionally and look at what you have already written; refer to the ideas that you have generated and try to maintain the direction these ideas imply. Always be aware of your original intent and work toward its support. When you feel your paper is finished, invite an outside reader to look at your text. Tell your reader what you want your paper to do and ask for an honest appraisal of whether or not your work hits its target. Discuss how weak links might be strengthened, how certain transitions might work or not work.

IV Focus – Through the process of focusing and narrowing, both the writer AND the reader discover the writer’s intent and the purpose of the text at hand. Note that in each instance below ,a broader topic is brought under control by the writer actually taking a stand or making a statement about a certain portion of the broad topic which is distinct from all other infinitely possible approaches.

For example:

Broad Topic Narrowed Topic Focused Topic

Hamlet Insanity in Hamlet Hamlet uses insanity to his advantage

Vegetarianism Health Questions and Vegetarianism Veg’s are healthier than meat eaters

V Revision - Revision is at the heart of a well-tuned paper. Once the draft is visible and touchable, the writer can see her work’s high points and flaws and work to adjust and readjust the words, sentences, and paragraphs to more efficiently match her purpose.

Checklist

Since honest and responsible self-evaluation is necessary to good writing, here are a few tips and helpful questions you might ask yourself regarding writing in general.

· Re-consider your statement: (After your draft is in the revision stage, underline what you consider to be your thesis statement. Is it focused or is it still too broad?

Does it “fit” with what the rest of your essay says, or might it (or your body) need an adjustment? Is your statement efficiently introduced or does it just explode onto the scene with no prior discussion or reader-related preparation?

· Continuity and Logical Progression: (Read each of your work’s paragraphs as if they stood alone. Paraphrase each paragraph. (Define each paragraph’s main idea in one sentence)Consider how each distinct paraphrase relates to the main idea you intend to support. Consider each paragraph as a link in a chain of meaning. Are there any weak links? How can you strengthen them? Look for smooth transitions between paragraphs. How does the last sentence of one paragraph “link” with the leading sentence of the following paragraph? Does a following paragraph relate to the previous paragraph, have its say, and anticipate the next paragraph? Re-read introduction and conclusion (skip the body). Do they “talk” about the same thing or have you discovered that you have gone off-line in the process of developing your body? Is there any chance that you might consider your conclusion as a better introduction because it states what your paper says more clearly than your original intro?

Words of Transition

Here are few words that will allow you to maintain your focus and smooth out paragraph transitions. Try to apply these transitional tools whenever you need to make connections between thoughts or use them as progressive links to join ideas.(Although / Therefore/Hence / On the other hand/In this sense . . ./ Similarly /Conversely/Thus/ According to . . . /Because/etc.

Writing to learn and understand: - The term "writing-to-learn" refers to writing activities intended primarily to facilitate or develop students' understanding and thinking. Writing-to-learn activities serves as a vehicle through which students build their understanding of subject matter. During the writing-to-learn process, the main focus is on making sense of the material and not on communicating it in a specific format to an audience. For learning, the act of writing provides a chronology of our thoughts, which we can then label, objectify, modify, or build on; and it engages us in becoming invested in our ideas and learning. It is a meaning-making process.

Purposes of Writing-to-Learn Assignments: to help students understand and learn, to promote critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, synthesis)-reflection-integration of new information with students' prior knowledge-affective/psychic development-careful reading-class discussion, to help students discover and formulate problems, to help students develop problem-solving strategies and skills, to allow and encourage students to raise questions and concerns, to sharpen student responses to their academic experiences, to help faculty monitor student progress through the course

Examples of Writing-to-Learn Assignments: field or laboratory notes, reading notes (summaries, analyses, outlines, reactions), anticipatory reading notes preparation for reading),research notes, reactions to a speaker or film, class logs, learning logs or journals, listing topics for papers, discussion, or research, explaining a task or assignment, no-grade (or no-name) quizzes, writing in preparation for discussion, exploring concepts, Imaginary dialogue (with a theorist? between opposed theorists?), process or progress reports, instructor/student written dialogue, e-mail & electronic conferences (especially, student to student dialogue)

Methods for Handling Writing-to-Learn Assignments

read & comment, selectively read & comment, evaluate for engagement & effort, check that it has been done, ask for an assignment to be read aloud in class, ask students to read & comment on each other's work, read & discard, collect & discard

Example: - After the instructor completes the explanation, she pauses and says, "All right, let's stop and think about this for a few minutes. Here's what I want you to do. Take out a piece of blank paper. Don't put your name on it. Now in the next three minutes I want you to answer this question." The instructor poses a question related to the concept she just explained. Students write for a few minutes, and then the teacher interrupts, "Okay, now, even though you may not be completely done with your thought, turn to the person next to you and explain your responses to each other." After several minutes of discussion by the student pairs, the teacher interrupts again and asks for volunteers to give their answers to the question. Quite a few hands go up, and the instructor selects four students to explain their ideas. As they do so, the teacher emphasizes essential points and helps clarify misunderstandings.

Module 5: Teaching units in Language across the curriculum

5.1 Planning lessons:

The following seven steps are a guide to assist you in developing your lesson.

Select a topic: What do you want to teach your students?

Determine your learning goals: What do you want students to identify, solve, analyze and/or construct?

Develop an introduction: What are some real-world examples or practical applications for this subject? What are some historical or personal anecdotes that would motivate student interest?

Develop the main body: What information do the students need to know? What examples, questions, or problems would help them understand this information the best?

Develop an activity: How can you facilitate student interaction with the concepts from the lesson?

Check for student understanding: What are some specific questions you can ask your students?

Develop a conclusion: What are the main points that you want to summarize?

Our Focus while designing a lesson plan would be:

· How to consciously develop language through my subject area?

· How to intentionally help my learners to use language as they learn the subject or language or anything for that matter?

To start effectively it would be necessary to have slots in our lesson manuals to address the following three questions.

1. What do the students know about the topic?

2. What more should they know about the topic?

3. What have they learnt?

Knowing what the students know, will help the teacher to understand the language of the student. Understand what the language implies and to comprehend his /her thinking process regarding the topic at hand. For example, if the teacher utters the word ‘register’, a student may think about the word in the following manner:

· ‘remembering something’

· A registered post

· Registers maintained at school

· Way in which written matter can be presented

A teacher who wants to teach ‘register’ in terms of a writing mode will fail to reach the child until she finds out what image or schema the student has in mind of that particular word. After having cleared their notion about the term, the teacher will be able to bring the language of the Content closer to the language of the student.

It is essential to check what the student has learnt as a result of the classroom teaching. Never be satisfied with the non-verbal expressions of students. It is only when they are made to express themselves either orally or in writing that the teacher can confirm that the Content has reached the student the way it is designed to be.

A LAC based lesson manual would have the following phases:

1) INITIATION PHASE / INTRODUCTORY PHASE / PREPARATORY PHASE

Objective: To identify what the student knows.

(Rapport creation-introduction of topic- identifying the student’s understanding of the topic-learners working in pairs-making random presentation, etc.)

2) CONTENT - LANGUAGE INTEGRATION PHASE (Presentation Stage/Content development stage)

Objective: To transact what the student ought to know about the Content.

(Teacher ’s presentation of the topic- making clear of the text-structure, if required, getting students to predict the content or providing scope for student’s to use their oral or written skills-that is, asking of questions, engaging in discussions, engaging in the routine activities related to that topic, etc. must be a focus here.

3) EVALUATION PHASE

Objective: To assess whether the student is able to express effectively what he has learnt.

(Using different strategies like think-aloud, role-play, peer-teaching, questioning, seminar, etc., to assess their Content-language integration competence)

5.2 Implementation

It is also important to realize that the best planned lesson is worthless if interesting delivery procedures, along with good classroom management techniques, are not in evidence. SUGGESTED PRACTICES

· Establish a positive classroom environment

· Begin lessons by giving clear instructions

· Maintain student attention

· Use appropriate pacing

· Provide suitable groupwork

· Evaluate what has taken place in your lesson

· Develop positive teacher/student relationships

· Set a good example by implementing LAC and help students be successful in gaining language proficiency

5.3 Assessment

Designing realistic assessments:

¨ Reducing response materials for content area testing

¨ Providing a version of the test with simplified language

¨ Choosing key and/or main ideas for assessment

¨ Simplifying directions

¨ Reading test questions aloud

¨ Supplying word banks for tests

¨ Providing matching activities

¨ Extending time to complete the tests

¨ Using peer interpreters

¨ Allowing the student to respond orally rather than in written form

¨ Double grading students: One grade for content ( correct responses) and one for structure (grammatical correctness) particularly for narratives and essays in all content areas.

¨ Using portfolios to authentically assess student progress.