Teaching Academic Vocabulary to

English Language Learners

Adapted from Sutter County Superintendent of Schools

Academic language requires more extensive use of reading and writing than English
that is used in ordinary situations. Academic language requires linguistic competence,
mastery of precise use of grammar, and effective usage of vocabulary.
Academic vocabulary words are found in academic texts and used in academic settings.
These words must be explicitly taught to ensure student comprehension of their
meaning and their use across content areas.

How to Choose Vocabulary for Explicit Instruction

Vocabulary can be broken into three different tiers:
Tier 1 words are high frequency, basic words (the, baby, house)
Tier 2 words are high use words for a more mature language used, including
words that have multiple meanings. These are words that are used across
curriculum areas (compares, describe, table, product)
Tier 3 words are infrequently used words that are often specific to one content
area (peninsula, astronomical, isotope)
During Vocabulary Instruction:
Focus on meaning:
o Specific content meaning, everyday meaning, meaning in other subject
areas, multiple meanings, cognates, synonyms, antonyms, meanings of
roots and affixes
Focus on form:
o Word families, grammar patterns, words with common roots, prefixes,
suffixes
Focus on use:
o General use, idioms, metaphorical uses, puns, jokes, figurative language
Provide:
o Visual and linguistic input to increase the likelihood of the new term being
moved into permanent memory
Academic Language Instruction