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Explore the specialized language and context-specific knowledge required for academic success in science and history. Learn strategies to improve vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills in academic subjects.
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Scott Allsop How sound is your language? @MrAllsopHistory
Conversational vs Academic English • Good conversational English can disguise low levels of academic English • Academic subject language and vocabulary should be used consistently and persistently by everyone in the class
Historical “Scientific writing contains unique linguistic features that construe special realms of scientific knowledge, values, and beliefs. An understanding of the functionality of these features is critical to the development of literacy in science. This article describes some of the key linguistic features of scientific writing, discusses the challenges these features present to comprehension and composition of science texts in school, and argues for greater attention to the specialised language of science in teaching and learning.” - Fang, Z. (2004) history. historical historical history
How sound was the League of Nations as an organisation? • We teach within a context-specific domain • Students learn across them • Many of the words we use are have multiple meanings depending on the context within which they are used
Enchantress Witch King or Queen Monarch
Daniel T. Willingham With the right knowledge in memory, your brain deftly puts words in context. Consider “Trisha spilled her coffee.” When followed by the sentence “Dan jumped up to get a rag,” the brain instantly highlights one aspect of the meaning of “spill” — spills make a mess. Had the second sentence been “Dan jumped up to get her more,” you would have thought instead of the fact that “spill” means Trisha had less of something. Still another aspect of meaning would come to mind had you read, “Dan jumped up, howling in pain.”
Why did William win the Battle of Hastings? William was a bastard and wanted to prove it.
Contextual knowledge as language The Russian commanders were trying to stop the German war machine simply by throwing at it a mountain of human bodies. Orlando Figes in The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century
Contextual knowledge as language Is this the ‘mountain’ of human bodies?
Past and past perfect tenses to recount past events Tier Three (specialist) vocabulary Correlative conjunctive to begin a sentence ‘would’ to describe past behaviour
Different ways to place events in time Multi-modal input (primary sources and images) Past tense and Tier Two evaluative language
How to do it? • Inspired by this book • Broad K-12 focus • “robust” vocabulary instruction • they used to call it “rich” • changed it due to feedback that people took “rich” to meant “a lot” rather than “carefully chosen and firmly embedded”
1. Identify the words to target • Tier Two, high-frequency words are prime targets • Used across subjects, often in written work or academic oral work • Would students be able to explain these words using simpler words that are already well known to them?
Johnny Harrington was a kind master who treated his servants fairly. He was also a successful wool merchant, and his business required that he travel often. In his absence, his servants would tend to the fields and cattle and maintain the upkeep of his mansion. They performed their duties happily, for they felt fortunate to have such a benevolent and trusting master.
Though there was widespread disgruntlement throughout the Weimar years with reparations and other provisions of the peace settlement of 1919 as well as conservative distrust of parliamentary politicking and the decadent permissiveness of Berlin, it was the onset of the world depression which allowed the Nazis to make their breakthrough into being a mass movement by seducing much of the electorate of the bourgeois, Protestant and nationalist parties, particularly in rural areas.
2. Establish a student-friendly definition • Simple, short and accurate • e.g. ‘reform’ = ‘change and improve something’
3. Demonstrate the word in context • ‘In Victorian England, Charles Dickens wanted to reform laws so that the poor would be better protected’ • ‘Dickens believed in social reform because he wanted to help the poor.’
4. Share differences to similar words • ‘Rectify’ can mean to change and improve something, but usually only in terms of a mistake • You don’t rectify a law, and Dickens didn’t reform his spelling errors
5. Practise, practise, practise! • Consistently and persistently use the word in context, and encourage students to use the word in both oral and written answers • Don’t be afraid to remind students to use a different word when appropriate
Alex Quigley, “Closing the Vocabulary Gap” • SEEC model • Select • Explain • Explore • Consolidate
We can’t cover everything • But we can help students to navigate the unknown • E.g. teach morphology (parts of words) mono theism - one / single poly theism - many
Tier Three (subject-specific) vocabulary What was a ‘Liberal’?
What was a ‘Liberal’? • Depends on time • 18th Century Liberal? • 20th Century Liberal? • Depends on place • Early 20th Century British Liberal? • Early 20th Century Russian Liberal?
CIE AS HistoryWhat was a ‘Liberal’? 1815 1848 1871 1890 1789 1914 Summarise the key nature and demands of ‘Liberals’ at each of the points above. You may refer to issues such as preferred system of government, franchise, type of economic system, role of religion, view of the military, etc.
CPD to engage with academic history • Read recent academic history • Share historical conversations with departmental colleagues • Be a member of the Historical Association and engage with their publications • Use online communities
Hearing academic history • Historical Association podcasts • In Our Time (Will Bailey-Watson’s list is at https://goo.gl/77h2cs) • HistoryPod.net
If we don’t connect with the academic language of our subject, how can we expect our students to?
