Academic Language Research Articles

Challenges for being self-directed in content and language integrated learning with instructional videos

Self-directed skills are crucial for video-based learning as learners often need to manage their pace, set goals, and engage with content independently. While much research focuses on the effectiveness of design and design principles in facilitating self-directed learning (SDL) in multimedia environments, boundary conditions arise due to the highly individualized and unique nature of each learning trajectory. This paper reports the findings of a case study involving five university students who speak English as an additional language (EAL). It explores the difficulties they faced while learning mathematics with instructional videos and the approaches they used to address these challenges in the context of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). Findings from video-stimulated recall (VSR) and semi-structured interviews reveal that language issues influenced and drove many decisions in their self-directed learning paths. Notably, the challenges of grasping academic language and terminology led participants to spend considerable time and effort on navigating video designs to aid language comprehension and on seeking extra resources to better understand the lectures. However, the lack of timely feedback and expert guidance posed further challenges for these EAL learners in identifying their knowledge gaps, thereby complicating the search for resources appropriate to their language and academic levels.

(Un-)persönliches Schreiben in der Wissenschaftssprache? Eine vergleichende quantitative Studie zu deutschen und polnischen Doktorarbeiten aus der Germanistik

This paper deals with agent demotion and self reference in German as an academic language used by non-native speakers. It examines two comparative corpora consisting of German language dissertations written by L1 speakers from Germany and Austria and L2 speakers from Poland. Significant differences between the two groups are detected regarding the use of different types of agent demotion. These differences may be explained based on the different linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the authors. To complement these statistical findings, the paper also examines some forms of non-standard language use by the L2 speakers that may be traced to Polish influence. A comparison with two previous studies with bachelor and master theses shows that rare constructions increase in terms of type frequency among the Polish students. Moreover, on both sides there are developments in language usage that seem to be connected with an increase in academic expertise.

Primary school teachers’ views on language-responsive physical education

Language-responsive teaching aims to promote pupils’ participation opportunities by enabling them to acquire general academic language skills. It is assumed that the acquisition of academic language competencies must be accompanied and supported by the entire school and all school subjects. Yet, the idea of language-responsive Physical Education (PE) seems to be taken up only reluctantly in the current subject didactic and academic discourse. Thus, it is the aim of this article to contribute to bringing this topic into focus. The possibilities and limitations of language-responsive teaching in PE are examined from the teachers’ point of view. Special attention is paid to pupils facing language-barriers, as it is essential for this group to receive extra support to avoid educational disadvantages. Language education in PE has been a rather marginalized topic – much in contrast to the more recent discourse on general education and its crucial role for long-term academic and socio-economic success. It has been argued that the potential for language-building in PE has not been exploited satisfactorily. The observation that the idea of language-responsive PE has received little attention, despite its promising potential, begs the question of possible reasons. The following inquiry therefore investigates the perspectives of PE teachers on language-responsive teaching. The study consisted of 26 qualitative interviews with primary school teachers and aimed to generate insights into the importance attached to language teaching in PE in general (a), and its relevance for pupils’ participation in PE as well as for creating equal educational opportunities (b). Moreover, the study explores subject-specific potentials and challenges for language-responsive teaching faced by teachers with respect to pupils with special needs in language and communication or non-native speakers who have difficulties in understanding the language of instruction (c).

Parental Involvement on Children's Educational Achievement: A Scoping Review

Parental involvement is vital in developing individual empowerment and improving the community through education. The scoping review investigates the various kinds and intensities of parental involvement and how they affect children's learning results in various situations. It looks for trends, oversights, and inconsistencies in this collection of research, providing a comprehensive understanding of how various parental involvement strategies impact children's academic progress and language learning. The PRISMA criteria and the Arksey and O'Malley framework are followed to finalize the review. The research includes studies between 2020 and 2024, emphasizing various geographic areas and research styles, including mixed, qualitative, and quantitative approaches. Parental Involvement at Home and School, Language and Skill Development, Academic Support and Learning Activities, and Decision Making are the categories under which the review divides parental involvement. It highlights each type's substantial effects on kids' academic performance. The review also includes the time limits and socioeconomic issues that affect parental involvement which then link to the importance of parental involvement to children's academic performance and it diversities. To promote effective parental engagement in a variety of socioeconomic and educational contexts, it highlights the need for unique strategies and suggests collaboration between parents and educators.

Academic language use in middle school informational writing.

Learning to write the complex academic language (AL) associated with a discipline (like science) is a critical task in education, with middle school being a key developmental period. However, we need more research to guide how we assess students' learning to write AL, especially if we want to create assessment that guides more effective instruction. We evaluated middle school students' informational writing for six different measures of AL to determine which ones were most strongly related to writing quality and were most indicative of the unique features of informational writing. We also examined which metrics were sensitive to growth across middle school. Our sample consists of informational compositions from 285 students in Grade 5 (n = 175) and Grade 8 (n = 110) in a Midwestern state in the United States. Path modelling was used to determine the degree to which the AL metrics are associated with writing quality and narrativity in each grade. Overall, the six measures of AL explained 70% of the variance in students' writing quality. We found that a new measure, number of long words, outperformed other more established measures at the word level and should be used in assessment of informational writing quality. We also found that automated scores at the sentence level better detected development across middle school grade levels than typical rubrics of writing quality. Results provide promising avenues for the assessment of malleable aspects of AL in middle school informational writing.

In defense of obscure academic writing

There has been a backlash against academic writing in the humanities that can be found in popular culture at least since the 1990s. By considering a selection of arguments from critics of academic writing in the humanities, I then defend a certain kind of ‘obscurity’ or ‘difficulty’ in scholarly prose by developing a concise genealogy of obscure academic writing. This paper develops the notion that an ‘uncommon sense’ should be situated against ‘common sense’ to unveil an assumed ‘world’ or ‘reality’ alongside the structural formations of that which is considered ‘useful’ language. Often, complicated academic language grapples with the intrinsic complexity that is hidden behind ‘simple’ ideas.

The four strands: A simplified approach to SLA for CLIL

AbstractWhile it is widely accepted that language teachers require knowledge of second language acquisition (SLA) (Richards, 2010), what about content teachers, who are increasingly required to help develop their learners' academic language proficiency? How much do they need to know about SLA theories and how can they acquire such knowledge and expertise? This article proposes P. Nation's (2007) four strands framework as a straightforward and accessible model for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teachers to address the challenge of balancing content and language instruction, a common concern within CLIL programs. The article begins by looking at two well‐known CLIL teacher competence frameworks. It then raises questions about the extent to which CLIL teachers need to master aspects of pedagogical content knowledge about SLA. The authors argue that while CLIL teachers do indeed need knowledge of how languages are learned and of SLA‐informed approaches to developing learners' second language (L2) proficiency, questions about just how much SLA knowledge CLIL teachers need and how they can be equipped with this knowledge remain unanswered. By delineating language learning opportunities into the four strands framework—meaning‐focused input, meaning‐focused output, language‐focused learning, and fluency development—the authors illustrate how this framework offers a practical guide for integrating language and content education effectively in CLIL and bilingual education contexts. The article ends with a presentation of three principles to help CLIL teachers achieve both the content and language teaching objectives of CLIL.

Academic Staff Perceptions on Graduate Students’ Attitudes towards Academic Writing and Research in Selected Public Universities in Uganda

The study aimed to find out academic staff perceptions of graduate students’ attitudes towards academic writing and research skills in selected Public Universities in Uganda. It employed a phenomenological design and a qualitative approach. Graduate students, academic staff, and academic administrative staff as the study population. Study participants depended on the saturation of the findings collected. These participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Data from academic administrative staff and academic staff were collected using an interview guide. A focus group discussion guide for graduate students was the second data collection tool. Data were analysed using the thematic data analysis technique. Results showed that academic staff perceptions of graduate students’ attitudes on academic writing and research skills were negative. Negative perceptions were recorded on the generation of research ideas, enthusiasm, text structure, formal academic language, paraphrasing, plagiarism, and making citations. The study concluded that the perceptions of academic staff on graduate students’ attitudes towards academic writing and research were generally negative on the generation of research ideas, enthusiasm, use of formal academic research language, paraphrasing, plagiarism, and making citations. Thus, it was recommended that supervisors/mentors should be retooled in active research-based instructional supervision where they can be encouraged to work in groups, and initiate professional activities, such as mentoring and coaching, to assist them in supervising and evaluating graduate students’ research projects

Identifying stakeholder preferences for communicating impact from medical research: a mixed methods study

BackgroundDocumentation of research outcomes using impact case studies (ICS) is increasingly required to demonstrate the wider societal benefits of research. However, there is limited evidence of the best way to communicate research outcomes using ICS, especially when highlighting research impact that is not part of a research assessment programme. This study aims, for the first time, to analyse expectations, and methods of communicating impact from medical research across a varied set of stakeholders relevant to the Medical Research Council (MRC).MethodsImpact narratives about outcomes and impact from MRC research were evaluated using an online survey and in depth semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited from internal MRC databases and included early career and senior management academics as well as representatives from industry, healthcare, charities, and the government. Informed consent was gained prior to data collection and the study was approved by the university’s research ethics committee. Qualitative and quantitative analysis determined stakeholder preferences for ICS content, language and presentation as well as capturing themes and perspectives on the concept of research impact.Results193 participants responded to the online survey exploring definitions of impact and methods of communicating medical research outcomes. The work uncovered expectations of improved health and wellbeing as well as knowledge generation via publications and citations. In depth interviews with sixteen participants demonstrated preferences for clear, easy to read content that focused on facts and evidence and avoided both academic and hyperbolic language. Emergent themes from this work revealed that ICS need to quickly capture imagination and grab attention, while the views and expectations are quite different to press releases and are audience specific.ConclusionsThe content of ICS often focuses on non-academic impacts; however this work highlighted that evidence of academic impacts were outcomes highly valued by stakeholders relevant to the MRC. This work examined a new typology of ICS attributes, which emphasised that the language and presentation of impact narratives can influence the perception of research outcomes, providing useful information for individuals and organisations using ICS to showcase their research. It also shows that if ICS attempt to communicate challenges and issues around achieving impact from research, they may be more credible and useful to their intended audience.

Maximizing students’ content and language development: The pedagogical potential of translanguaging in a Chinese immersion setting

BackgroundRecent studies highlight the benefits of translanguaging for emergent bi/multilinguals (EMLs), enhancing their understanding of academic content in a new language. Despite the growth of Chinese immersion programs in the U.S., research on translanguaging and its impact on teacher and student experiences in this context remains scarce. AimsThis study aims to explore how Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teachers implement pedagogical translanguaging to support students’ learning in academic content and language within a Chinese immersion context in the U.S., and to understand the perspectives of teachers and students on translanguaging. SampleParticipants were two Chinese CLIL teachers and six of their students from a Chinese immersion school in the U.S. MethodsUsing a participatory design research methodology that combines ethnographic methods with multimodal conversation analysis, we documented the use of pedagogical translanguaging and triangulated data from field notes, classroom artifacts, and interviews. ResultsFindings reveal teachers utilized diverse communicative resources and exercised translanguaging shifts to enhance students’ grasp of advanced vocabulary and academic concepts, facilitating complex idea articulation in Chinese. Both teachers and students valued these strategies for deepening subject understanding and supporting their learning of the Chinese language. ConclusionsThe study highlights the importance of continuous professional development for CLIL teachers to effectively implement pedagogical translanguaging, supporting students’ learning in an immersion setting.

Exploring the Lexical Influence of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia: Phonetically Transcribed

The influence of one language on another is a common phenomenon, and given that Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, it is not surprising that it has influenced other languages. One such language is Bahasa Indonesia, which is spoken in Indonesia, one of the most populous nations in the world. There appears to be a lack of comprehensive analyses on the lexical influence of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia. Such an analysis is an essential linguistic aspect that needs to be highlighted. Thus, this study aims to investigate the extent of the linguistic impact of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia, specifically focusing on the lexicon. This research gathered data from twelve native speakers of Bahasa Indonesia, aged between 19 and 34, who were asked to produce Arabic lexical items. All Arabic loanwords in the data were identified and phonetically transcribed using International Phonetic Alphabet symbols. The findings revealed that Arabic has significantly impacted Bahasa Indonesia, enriching its lexicon in various domains, particularly in the religious domain, as well as in academic, political, and everyday language. The study concludes that Arabic has notably contributed to the development of Bahasa Indonesia’s vocabulary and recommends further research on other linguistic aspects such as semantics, phonology, or morphology.

Using drama to enrich a genre-based pedagogy for teaching academic writing across content areas

Drama has the potential to enrich and enliven established approaches to literacy learning, engaging students and expanding their possibilities for meaning-making. Drama-rich pedagogy is well-established as an effective tool in supporting language and literacy development. However, research to date has not explored the possibilities of using drama to enrich established genre-based approaches to teaching writing. This article reports on findings from an interventionist case study in an Australian primary school examining how a Year Three/Four teacher used drama-rich pedagogy to support students’ academic writing of a scientific explanation text. The findings indicate three key pedagogical benefits of employing drama to build conceptual understandings of the field of study and relevant academic language as part of a genre-based pedagogy for teaching writing. Firstly, drama experiences can make visible students’ prior knowledge of a topic, allowing teachers to identify, interrogate and transform students’ misconceptions through reflective dialogue on embodied experience. These embodied and interactive experiences also support the development of shared understandings of key concepts and language. Finally, drama experiences provide embodied and interactive contexts in which students can move from common sense to more abstract/technical understandings of the topic of study which they can apply in writing their own texts. In sharing these findings, this article aims to illustrate how drama can be used to develop the conceptual and linguistic understandings required by genre pedagogy in engaging, embodied ways that draw productively on the diverse resources that students bring to their learning.

The Direct Method in Language Teaching: A Literature Review of Its Effectiveness

The Direct Method in language teaching, which emphasizes teaching language through immersion and avoiding the use of the learner’s native language, has been widely used in educational settings for over a century. Its focus on oral communication, everyday vocabulary, and inductive grammar teaching has made it a popular approach. However, debates about its effectiveness compared to more modern teaching methods have persisted, particularly in terms of long-term language acquisition and proficiency. This literature review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Direct Method by analyzing studies conducted across various educational contexts. The review examines how this method impacts learners’ speaking, listening, and overall communicative competence. By synthesizing both qualitative and quantitative research, the study provides a comprehensive view of the strengths and limitations of the Direct Method. The findings indicate that while the Direct Method improves oral proficiency and listening skills in the short term, it may not be as effective for developing reading and writing skills. Studies show that the method fosters greater student engagement and motivation but may not adequately address the complexities of advanced grammar and academic language. Furthermore, the method’s effectiveness depends heavily on the teacher’s skill in creating immersive language environments. In conclusion, the Direct Method offers valuable benefits for beginner and intermediate learners, especially in communicative aspects of language. However, it requires supplementation with other approaches to develop comprehensive language proficiency. Future research should explore ways to integrate the Direct Method with more advanced instructional techniques for a balanced approach to language teaching.

The expropriation of Arabic from Arab-Palestinians: On Arabic and coloniality in the Israeli academic sphere

Referring to three topics – (1) the place of Arabic in the Israeli public academic sphere, (2) the pedagogy of the teaching of Arabic in Israeli universities and (3) the use of Arabic as an academic language (discussion and research, academic writing, academic sources) – this paper will study the field of Arabic in Israeli universities as a direct outcome of the power relations in the country, crystallized over the years between the indigenous Palestinian population and the mostly European-oriented Jewish-Zionist decision-makers, thinkers and scholars. Following we will relate to settlercolonial elements in the Zionist project in order to explain the process of inferiorization of Arabic in the Israeli academic sphere, and the way its study was created through prioritizing Western methods that by and large exclude the Arab-Palestinian society and that have made members of this society uninfluential even in the study and research of its own language and culture. These ways included the preference of Western philology (‘grammar translation’) on direct methods (such as ‘immersion’ or ‘direct teaching’), the decision to teach Arabic in Hebrew, the pattern of discussing Arabic literature in Hebrew, the preference Hebrew-led linguistic landscape, and more.

Multilingualism rather than English-only: policy and practice in classical music higher education

ABSTRACT The rise of English-medium education in (European) higher education has attracted considerable attention, but most analyses of the topic to date have been conducted in traditional universities. Highly international fields such as that of classical music higher education (CMHE) remain under-researched. Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2016. “Towards a Dynamic Conceptual Framework for English Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings.” Applied Linguistics 37 (3): 397–415 and Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2020. ROAD-MAPPING English Medium Education in the Internationalised University. Palgrave Macmillan. The ROAD-MAPPING framework provides an analytical tool for examining such complex contexts and unpacking the various factors at play in these multilingual university settings. In this paper, we present a mixed-methods case study at one of Austria’s largest state-funded music universities, comprising a policy analysis, a survey and semi-structured interviews with students, teachers and management. Using the ROAD-MAPPING framework to guide our analysis, we found that university policy and reported practice were coherent among all groups, with German as the default medium of education. English is explicitly designated the second academic language, while multilingualism and multimodality are actively promoted as a means of achieving educational and professional goals. However, we also noted that many strategies for coping with these multilingual teaching and learning contexts seem to be rather ad hoc, suggesting that there is a need for more awareness of multilingual pedagogy, and confirming the value of the ROAD-MAPPING framework for examining such complex settings.

Towards embedded academic language development in a teacher education programme

ABSTRACT This study explored contextual factors of student teachers’ weak academic language (AL) performance in a pre-service teacher education programme at a university in Namibia. The aim was to capture their experience in the BEd programme in which English as a second language is the medium of instruction. In interviews with the students (n = 15) and their lecturers (n = 6), as well as analyses of curriculum- and policy documents and students’ writing artefacts, it was evident that the students did not have enough opportunity to practice AL skills, which were introduced in the English for academic purposes (EAP) course and in subsequent courses. Data from interviews, documents and students’ written artefacts showed that the AL interventions had not been integrated across the curriculum. The main suggestion emanating from the study is that programme designers should embed AL across the diciplines in disciplines, with academic staff and the writing centre colleagues working together.

A study of Lau v. Nichols’ legacy: Examining the relationship between language support program availability and student trajectories

ABSTRACT The Lau v. Nichols ruling shows the importance of tailoring programs for local multilingual learners. We used longitudinal data from one school district in California to assess the relationship between attending a school with a language support program and English language arts (ELA) achievement. We found that students labeled an English learner had positive and significant average score changes over time when they attended a school with an academic language acquisition or a two-way bilingual program. Findings highlight how emerging multilingual learner access to high-quality bilingual programs can be associated with positive ELA growth over time.

Academic and general language proficiency in post-entry language assessment

Abstract In higher education systems with no or low entry requirements for domestic students, post-entry language assessments (PELAs) are often used to detect at-risk students. This study investigates how two language proficiency measures relate to students’ academic achievement: an academic reading and vocabulary (ARV) screening test, and the computer test of the Interuniversitaire Taaltest Nederlands voor Anderstaligen (ITNA), a Dutch L2-entrance test. The ARV screening test, ITNA and its language in use subtest show moderate to weak correlations with achievement. While the ARV screening test selects a large potential at-risk group; the few students failing the ITNA, language in use or scoring lower than ‘very good’ on language in use have a higher risk of underperforming. When controlling for students’ background variables, only academic language proficiency remains a significant predictor. While academic language proficiency seems more appropriate as a PELA construct, general language proficiency may identify a small, but high-risk group.

Estrategias instruccionales efectivas para desarrollar habilidades de escucha en adolescentes con TDAH

Introduction: Natural interactions and understandable linguistic input are essential to build attractive conditions for acquiring the English language. Effective exposure to language, both oral and written, is essential to understanding and producing a language. However, developing listening comprehension skills can be challenging for students with ADHD due to difficulties in attention, behavior, and cognition, as well as the unique characteristics of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Objectives: In this regard, this research aims to document effective instructional strategies to improve listening skills among high school students with ADHD. Methodology: To this end, an exploratory-deductive qualitative research design was applied through an extensive review of the literature. Data were collected from 60 academic sources and analyzed using a neurolinguistic and pedagogical approach using a constant comparative coding method. Results: The results suggest that, to guide students with ADHD in developing English listening competencies, language instructors must build a learning environment that includes simplified inputs and content, clear instructions, multisensory conditions, and student-centered instruction based on individual needs. Conclusions: Simple, linguistically rich, engaging, and multisensory environments facilitate learning for students with ADHD and can have an impact on their overall academic performance and language development. Study Area general: Education. Specific area of study: English as a Foreign Language. Type of study: Literature review.

Editor’s note

We present a new issue of BJTLLL, with three articles based on doctoral studies, an interview and a review. The first contribution is by Óscar Gómez-Delgado, a study entitled "The notion of English as an international language in a selection of teacher training programmes in Colombia". Next, Sofia Di Sarno-García presents the study “Expectations and level of satisfaction of language learners in a telecollaboration project”. The third article, written by Hilda Buitrago-García, is entitled “Principles of teacher professional development and digital lexicographic skills for the design of continuing education modules”. In the interview (“The word to collectively build peace”), Natalia Quiceno Rodríguez talks with the professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal and the University of Lisbon Ana L. Costa. Finally, Marcos Antonio Troncoso Díaz presents a review of the collective volume “Advances in the study of scientific and academic language”, coordinated by Ventura Salazar García and María Aurora García Ruiz.