Language Policy Unit - DG II Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France www.coe.int/lang

1. Subject literacies and access to quality education Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Language Policy Unit - DG II Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France www.coe.int/lang

2. Subject literacies and access to quality education Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Aims and objectives – main issues and priorities – working methods E. Thürmann

3. What do we mean by „subject literacy“?

4. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Two leading questions • How can educators provide learning opportunities for students to gain control over a language variety which is crucial for successful learning in and across all school subjects and extend their capacity to move freely across a broad spectrum of language varieties in and out of school? • Are frameworks for academic language use a viable option for mapping such learning opportuinities into curriculum documents and guidelines?

5. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Aims and Objectives • Prepare envisaged awareness-raising intergovernmental conference in 2013 on “Language Requirements in Subject Learning – Frameworks for Curriculum Development” • Take stock of CoE´s relevant documents on the role of language in knowledge building and subject literacies • Compare and contrast two approaches to framework construction (Norway, North-Rhine-Westfalia) • Take stock of developments in other countries (educational contexts) • Consider options for frameworks from the perspective of content domains (las, science, mathematics, social sciences) • Identify need for support and recommend further action

6. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Issues and Priorities • What do we have to consider when talking about language use and language requirements of the content classroom? • How can we bridge the gap between content standards and the academic language implicit in these standards? • Which options for a Framework structure? • Which priorities for developing descriptors, defining curricular standards and their implementation?

7. What do we have to consider when talking about language in the content classroom? Classroom language use • Teacher-learner interaction (monologic – dialogic instruction – IRF-cycle) • learner-learner interaction (various types of „talk“) Science

8. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 What do we have to consider when talking about language in the content classroom? Language use in classrooms is a blend of different varieties • Basic colloquial language (BCL) • School Navigational Language (SNL) • Essential Academic Language (EAL) • Curriculum Content Language (CCL) Science Science Cp. Bailey & Heritage (2008) - (Scarcella (2008)

9. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 What do we have to consider when talking about language in the content classroom? Contenental Drift Scientists of the early 20th century believed that oceans and continents were geographically fixed. They regarded the surface of the planet as a static skin spread over a molten, gradually cooling interior. They believed that the cooling of the planetresulted in its contraction, which caused the outer skin to contort and wrinkle into mountains and valleys. Many people noticed, however, that the eastern shorelines of South America and the western shoreline of Africa seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. One scientist who took this observation seriously was Alfred Wegener. Wegener. Basic colloquiaql use Essential academic use Curriculum content use Science Science

10. What do we have to consider when talking about language in the content classroom? • Basic colloquial language (BCL) • School Navigational Language (SNL) • Essential Academic Language (EAL) • Curriculum Content Language (CCL)

11. Bridging the gap between content standards and implicit academic language • Semiotic system? • Discourse funtion(s)? • Mode (oral/written)? • Skill(s)? • Discourse function(s)? Students are able to … identify similarities and differences as a result of criteria-based comparisons, e.g. anatomy and morphology of organisms. Science Biology Choice of linguistic/textual means

12. Bridging the gap between content standards and implicit academic language http://lalas.ceee.gwu.edu/

13. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Which options for a Framework structure? literacy semiotic systems - genres cognitive-language functions

14. Subject literacies and access to quality education, Strasbourg, 27 – 28 September 2012 Which options for a Framework structure? common educational language objectives common educational language objectives The approach to subject literacies and common educational language objectives across the curriculum can only be managed with the help of a common framework. A two-way approach seems to be a viable strategy for conceptualising the framework´s architecture. e.g. Norway - NRW e.g. LaS, history, maths, science language requirements of the content classroom language requirements of the content classroom

15. Which priorities for developing descriptors, defining curricular standards and implementation? cp. Francis Goullier (2012)

16. Which priorities for developing descriptors, defining curricular standards and implementation?

17. Which priorities for developing descriptors, defining curricular standards and implementation?

18. Which priorities for developing descriptors, defining curricular standards and implementation?

19. Working methods

20. Working methods

21. Thanks for your attention