The interrelationship of proficiency in ~ secpnd language and understanding of scientific concepts

Margaret Inglis

doi:10.5842/21-0-547

Abstract

There is debate as to whether poor performance in academic tasks by English Second Language students is due to language difficulties or to conceptual difficulties. In this paper I suggest that these two aspects are very closely interrelated. Evidence from written tasks completed by students on a university bridging year suggests that students' proficiency in written English is dependent on their understanding of the task and the scientific concepts relevant to that task.

Highlights

In this paper I will raise some questions for which I do not yet have many answers
What do we mean by proficiency in English as a Second Language? Do we regard the measure of a student's language ability as fixed at a given time? In my work as lecturer in language development on the Science Foundation Programme at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, a bridging year for science students at tertiary level, I have become interested in trying to understand better the interdependency of concept development and language
I will describe one example of what can happen to the written language ofESL students when there is incomplete development of a scientific concept

Summary

Introduction

In this paper I will raise some questions for which I do not yet have many answers. What do we mean by proficiency in English as a Second Language? Do we regard the measure of a student's language ability as fixed at a given time? In my work as lecturer in language development on the Science Foundation Programme at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, a bridging year for science students at tertiary level, I have become interested in trying to understand better the interdependency of concept development and language. What do we mean by proficiency in English as a Second Language? Do we regard the measure of a student's language ability as fixed at a given time? In my work as lecturer in language development on the Science Foundation Programme at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg, a bridging year for science students at tertiary level, I have become interested in trying to understand better the interdependency of concept development and language. I will describe one example of what can happen to the written language ofESL students when there is incomplete development of a scientific concept. I will contextualise my attempt to understand the phenomenon in terms of current science education theory and linguistic theory of second language learning. Thereafter I will explore some of the implications that arise for diagnosing student learning problems as well as the ways in which we use student writing to assess language ability

An holistic approach to producing abJe Jearners

Writing for language development and for learning

A case ofJanguage deterioration

Discussion ofresults