Language of

Academic Texts
The learner identifies and uses the
academic vocabulary in context.

The learner differentiates

language used in academic texts
from various disciplines.
 WORD
SCRAMBLE
C S E X E I E TN
C B S A I S AS
VIEQLENAUCE
GRLPCILAHAY
NLEPICINIL
FOTPRI HEARS
CUYAONBY
NEBCMNRUACE
GAREIWSHNFDOO
 JIVEEULN
LIQUEEDNYNC
LOACAUIGONT
Academic Words
(Academic
Language)
 “Change your
language and you
change your
thoughts.”
Karl Albrecht
What is ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE?
Academic language is a meta-language
that helps learners acquire the 50,000
words they are expected to have
internalized by the end of high school.

It includes everything from illustration

and chart literacy to speaking, grammar
and genres within fields.
• In education, academic
language refers to the words we use
mostly in schools in places like text
books, lessons, assignments and
tests.

It is the vocabulary students need to

learn and is necessary for their
success in school.
•Compared to social
language, or the words we
use every day, academic
language is more demanding
and complex.
 Academic language is “the
language that is used by teachers
and students for the purpose of
acquiring new knowledge and
skills (Chamot & O’Malley,
1994, p. 40).
 It is imparting new
information, describing
abstract ideas, and
developing students’
conceptual understandings”
(Chamot & O’Malley, 1994,
p. 40).
 Academic language refers to
“word knowledge that makes it
possible for students to engage
with, produce, and talk about
texts that are valued in school”
(Flynt & Brozo, 2008, p. 500).
Academic language is the language
of the classroom, of academic
disciplines (science, history, literary
analysis) of texts and literature, and
of extended, reasoned discourse.
(Gersten, Baker, Shanahan, Linan-
Thompson, Collins, & Scarcella,
2007, p. 16).
Academic English “refers to more
abstract, complex, and challenging
language that eventually permit to
participate successfully in
mainstream classroom instruction.
2. Make comparisons
3. Justify a choice
4. Knowing the forms and
inflection of words
5. Applying appropriate use of
words
6. Using content-specific
vocabulary (Goldenberg, 2008, p.
9).
VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY- the words we hear, use, and understand.

TWO CATEGORIES:
1. receptive vocabulary, which are words we hear and read, and 
2. expressive vocabulary, which are words we speak and write.
Vocabulary can also be broken down into tiers. 
A. Tier 1 consists of basic vocabulary words that usually don't have more than one meaning. These words
are easy to understand and don't need specific instruction for most students. Examples include words like
dog, woman, jubilant, pencil, or tree. (naming, labelling words)
Tier 2 words are used more often and have more than one meaning. They can appear in
differing situations but are not often present in social conversations for children. Examples
include predict, summarize, infer, or determine.
Finally, Tier 3 are words that are not used often and are subject-specific, such
as isotope, Industrial Age, or indigenous.

Most academic language falls into Tiers 2 and 3. 

 I like this book
Social  This story
Language vs. Academic Languageis more

more. exciting  than the

first one we read.
 It worked.  Our experiment was
 successful.
 Because they were  The soldiers
brave. received the  medal
because of their
 courage.
"Bricks and mortar”

Even though bats have

wings, they are not
birds.
Bricks – content words
Mortar – general academic words
that connect the words

"Even though" means that two

items are similar, but they are not
the same.
While content-area vocabulary
words and terms are certainly an
important component, academic
language also refers to the words
and phrases used to connect these
key words and to communicate
concepts.
 TWP’s
Terms (taxation, convex)
Words (refer, define)
Phrases (According to,
based from)
Same Word, Different
Meaning
Table
Plot
Branch
Foot
 DIFFERENT
VOCABULARY IN
VARIOUS
DISCIPLINES
 Arts Engineering
Law Literature
Philosophy Business
Research Mathematics
EXERCISES ON USING ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE
contract
similar
research
analysis
period
factor
legal
available
indicates
economy
1. He did an _______________ of
the way children learn language for
his Master's thesis.           
2. He was arrested for drunk driving
because he had drunk more than the
_______________ limit of
alcohol.           
3. The culture of the United States is
quite _______________ to that of
Canada.   
         
4. The Canadian _______________ is
largely based on natural resources.           
5. Environmental pollution seems to be
an important _______________ in the
increase in cancers all over the
world.           
6.The apartment will be
_______________ on June first.           
7. The young popstar became
famous while still in high school
after winning a
_______________ with a major
record label.           
8. Your continued lateness for
class is an _______________ to
me that you are not really a very
serious student.          
  9. Living in Berlin during the
_______________ when the Berlin
Wall was torn down was an
unforgettable experience.           
10. Some _______________ into
second language learning suggests
that oral fluency may increase with
moderate amounts of alcohol.
 convened
deduce
locate
rely
philosophy
valid
exclude
specify
initial
component
1. It is important to learn a process
which will help you to
_______________ the meaning of
new vocabulary from context.
2. The United Nations has
_______________ a special
meeting to deal with the conflict in
the Middle East.
3. We had a few _______________
problems that were soon worked out.
4. Police are trying to
_______________ a little girl who got
separated from her parents while
shopping.
5. You must have a _______________
reason if you want to reschedule your
test.
6. Problem solving is a major
_______________ of many science
courses.
7. The children are very mean to the
little boy, and _______________
him from all their games.
8. You can _______________ on
Francis to do the job well; she is an
excellent worker.
9. We didn't _______________ a
time exactly, but we'll probably
meet at the restaurant around
noon.
10. My _______________ in life
is to have fun, and enjoy myself
without doing anything to hurt the
people around me.
 psychology
adjustment
generation
fundamental
equivalent
clause
style
notion
marginalized
discrete
1. One glass of beer is __________ to a
glass of wine, in terms of alcohol
content.
2. __________ pollutants, such as DDT,
are easier to deal with than the pollution
caused by general, technological
progress, which results in global
warming.
3. In many developing countries, girls
are __________ and disadvantaged, and
are denied access to a quality education.
4. Open communication is
__________ to success in the
management of personnel.
5. Where did you get the __________
in your head that you should be taken
care of? This is the real world, and no
one is going to do that except
yourself.
6. Many genetic traits are passed
along from one __________ to the
next.
7. Xi is studying __________ in order to
better understand the dynamics of family
life.
8. Yves St-Laurent once remarked that
fashions fade, but __________ is eternal.
9. The first stage of __________ to life in a
new culture begins before the travellers
even leave home.
10. The most-favoured-nation __________
governs rates for import duties between
partner countries.
 topical
solely
classical
identical
adapted
coupled
prohibition
dynamically
finite
isolate
1. Folk and _______________ arts are
an important part of traditional life
in Indonesia.
2. The _______________ expanding
high-tech industry has been fuelling
the economy of this region for the
past decade.
3. No two individuals of the same
species are _______________.
4. Dale Carnegie once advised,
"Remember; happiness doesn't
depend upon who you are or what
you have; it depends
_______________ on what you think.
5. Neil Armstrong once said, "I
believe every human has a
_______________ number of
heartbeats. I don't intend to waste
any of mine.
6. Genetic engineering may someday
allow scientists to _______________ and
treat specific genes responsible for a
variety of illnesses.
7. His skills, _______________ with his
education, should guarantee him a good
job.
8. Cloning and genetics are very
_______________ issues these days.
9. There is a _______________
against feeding birds at airports,
due to the danger birds pose to
planes.
10. The human species is so well
_______________ to life on this
planet that it now dominates all
other species on Earth.
 GALLERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
1. Each group will showcase a gallery of
academic words in the different disciplines.
2. An area in the classroom will be assigned for
each group.
3. The gallery of words must be correct,
comprehensive and creative.
4. The words must be defined and used in a
sentence.
5. A member of the group will be assigned as
the gallery manager who will answer
questions from the observers.