Linguistic Diversity
There is a wide variety of linguistic diversity in our classrooms, and while we should focus on recognizing and honouring such diversity, we also need to understand how to leverage it to enhance our educational practices and increase student engagement. Once we understand these differences, we can ensure that all students have equitable access to learning opportunities and are assessed fairly while respecting their linguistic backgrounds.
Creating an inclusive environment
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Implement diverse linguistic resources in the classroom to reflect the variety of dialects students bring with them.
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Promote peer interactions where students share and learn from each other’s linguistic backgrounds.
Responding to dialectical differences
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Validate and respect all dialects spoken by students to avoid any stigmatization.
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Encourage the use of students’ home dialects as well as standard English, showing that all forms of speech have value and place.
“The importance of language in knowledge building and knowledge application and thus in subject specific learning and teaching has been clearly demonstrated; it has to be fully acknowledged by teachers, by students and by policy developers alike.”
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−The Language Dimension in All Subject by Jean-Claude Beacco, p. 30
Marsh, Calum. "Why It’s No Surprise That Canadians Speak in a Range of Regional Dialects as Diverse as Any in the World." National Post, Jun 28, 2018, https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/why-its-nosurprise-that-canadians-speak-in-a-range-of-regional-dialects-as-diverse-as-any-in-the-world
Herrmann, Erick. "Language Register: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?" MultiBriefs, 18 Nov. 2015, exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/language-register-what-is-it-and-why-does-it-matter/education. Accessed 16 Sept. 2024.
Language serves as a tool for the discovery, identification, and storage of knowledge, and the concept of academic language use connects complex academic content across all educational settings. This language includes the vocabulary, syntax, and discourse structures used in all content areas such as science, history, and mathematics. Integrating academic language into our teaching enables students to think and operate within all academic fields, engaging with abstract and technical ideas. Introducing academic language in early education (K-3) will ensure long-term academic success.
Anita Archer - Exemplar
I invite you to watch Anita Archer’s teaching example, where many aspects from our learnings and my own teaching pedagogy are demonstrated in a quick vocabulary lesson.
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In this lesson, Anita Archer:
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Speaks concisely with an academic register.
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Uses gestures and conversation cues.
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Provides explicit instruction while demonstrating the decoding of Tier 2 words.
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Offers mentorship through feedback.
Curriculum Design
In this lesson plan, students analyze a mentor sentence and are scaffolded to break down a complex sentence into manageable parts. This lesson effectively demonstrates how to deconstruct and reconstruct sentences while incorporating academic vocabulary and complex syntax structures.
In this lesson plan, students are introduced to various Tier 2 words over the course of a week to expand their vocabulary. They will practice the phonetic and morphological aspects of the Tier 2 words while using them within an academic register, with appropriate scaffolding.
In this month long unit plan, students engage in literacy focused activities while also participating in content-specific lessons. Each lesson is designed to strengthen students' literacy skills and academic language through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Scaffolding is in place to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have an equitable opportunity to engage with the classroom content.