This research synthesis describes, critiques, and synthesizes intervention studies related to the academic vocabulary acquisition of post-secondary English learners. Using the article matrix and the constant-comparative methods of analysis (Boeije, 2002), this critical synthesis aims to provide a knowledge point on general academic vocabulary;…

In this commentary, we begin with the discussion on a brief history of academic wordlists. Adopting a comparative perspective, then, the merits and demerits of the Academic Word List (AWL) (Coxhead, 2000) and its competing counterpart the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL) (Gardner & Davies, 2014) are presented. We also explore whether the AWL can…

Academic vocabulary is indisputably one of the most important features of academic texts and recent decades have seen the creation of several lists of academic vocabulary intended to provide a pedagogically useful compilation of the most prevalent words used across as well as within various academic disciplines. These academic word lists have…

Some researchers have argued that low-achieving students may never acquire sufficient levels of academic vocabulary to be successful in school without some form of explicit vocabulary instruction (e.g. Snow, Lawrence, & White, 2009). In this paper, I summarize the available data on the efficiency, in words learned per minute of instruction, of…

Academic language is the formal language that is common in books and at school, but that students are unlikely to encounter in everyday conversations with friends and family. Not only is academic language critical to school achievement but it is also foundational for the true comprehension of contentrich subjects. Academic language should permeate…

Developing young children's vocabulary is essential for later reading success; thus, early childhood classrooms require a comprehensive vocabulary approach that teaches academic vocabulary. Yet even providing young children with child-friendly definitions of sophisticated words can be a challenge. First, the authors outline the components of a…

To support emergent bilinguals in the content area classroom, applied linguists suggest teachers add metalinguistic conversations to their pedagogical repertoire. However, such language-centered pedagogies may become difficult to enact when a teacher sees language at the word level. This comparative teacher case study explores how teacher…

Current political and social climates have pushed conversations about equity and inclusion to the forefront. At the same time, lawmakers in more than half of US states are pushing legislation that would limit discussion of these issues in schools. Educators must consider the best ways to continue conversations of equity and inclusion without…

This study consists of a categorisation of the vocabulary of chemistry, focusing on the terminological difficulties students face when learning this subject. Therefore, this classification intends to provide chemistry teachers an awareness of the language barriers students must overcome in their understanding of this scientific discipline. Two…

Academic reading at college and university poses a real challenge for international students with English as a second language. Often the main hurdles are a lack of language proficiency, critical-reading skills, or background knowledge. Also, unfamiliarity with cultural and academic conventions plays a role. Even with intensive English-language…

This paper describes high quality teaching practices in two schools that produce exceptional growth for all kinds of students. These practices focus on making the most of instructional time and exposing students to high quality content in a variety of contexts. They prove teachers don't need to choose between differentiating to meet students'…

This article reports on a language learning system and a program designed to help students with academic vocabulary in the New Zealand university computer science department. The system is a learner-friendly corpus-based tool that allows students to look up lexico-grammatical patterns of a given word in academic writing. The program, based on a…