Have you ever heard an English learner (EL) from your class conversing in the halls or at lunch, yet found them quiet in classroom conversations? Social language development frequently occurs faster than academic language, the language required for academic discourse that educators should explicitly teach so students can access and engage with grade level content. 

Our Module of the month prepares educators to lead students through structured speaking, listening, reading, and writing activities to develop academic language. Delve deeper for independent professional development or discuss it in PLCs, principal meetings, or other collaborative workshops. 

Ellevation Strategies’ June module: Introduction to Develop Academic Language

ELs can find it challenging to comprehend and use academic language without proper support. Structured classroom conversations can help ELs reach academic language proficiency. 

With focused instruction and support, your students will be able to learn, understand, and use the language they need to achieve their goals.

Ellevation Strategies’ June activity: Sticky Thinking
To build in opportunities to learn and practice academic language, try Sticky Thinking. While reading, students track thinking and comprehension on sticky notes and post directly on pages. Students build awareness of new academic language and can participate in discussions to further engage with the concepts. 

The Ellevation Educator Facebook Group is a place to learn how educators across the nation develop EL academic language. Share your experiences and ask the community for recommendations, ideas, and insights.

We recently posted Module of the Month discussion questions for the Facebook Group: 

• Think back on your learning new content - a new hobby or professional development. How did you process your comprehension and thinking? Did you discuss the new content with a friend or colleague? Did you have notes to recall your newly learned information? 
• Reflect on your current lessons. What academic language are your learners engaging with daily? How do you support their language development? Any activities that worked with EL?

We provide examples for grade-level content in our Content Examples tab in the Sticky Thinking activity page.