Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Science: Developing Scientific Language

Here are some ways to help your ESL students more easily understand the language of science:

  • Provide appropriate contexts for new vocabulary, syntactic structures, and discourse patterns. Isolated lists or exercises do not appear to facilitate language acquisition.
  • Engage students in hands-on activities in which they discuss concepts in a genuine communicative context.
  • Promote activities in which students actively debate with one another about the truth of a hypothesis or the meaning of data gathered.



Source: Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K. Z. (2010) The crosscultural, language, and academic development handbook. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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