Language & Literacy

ACADEMIC GRAMMAR

Long Sentences
Unlike informal language, which uses a variety of linking strategies such as intonation and pace to create a coherent message, academic written texts tend to be complex in their organization of clauses and phrases. Each message that we read or hear is essentially a series of clauses strung together. Each clause, which is a chunk of words, represents relationships, experiences, or ideas. Each clause links with previous and subsequent clauses, building up the intended message (Schleppegrell, 2004). Of course, the clauses, their links, and their presentation all depend on the people involved, the purposes, and the setting.

Passive Voice
In academic talk and writing, a common verb structure is the passive voice, which is used when the focus is on the objects or persons affected by the action rather than on the actor. Academic English, for example, uses passive voice much more than everyday English uses it. This is particularly true in science and mathematics. Passive voice tends to place more emphasis on the object than the subject.

A challenge for many English learners, though, is that their languages have no passive voice. Learners may confuse the actor with the object of the action. For example, a learner might think that the cells are doing the removing in the clause the cells are then removed from the slide. And then, even when students do begin to understand passive construction, it takes more time for them to be able to use it in speech and writing.

Nominalization
Nominalization means turning verbs or adjectives into noun phrases that then become the subject or object in a clause or phrase. The purpose of nominalization is to condense what can often amount to lengthy explanations into a few words. Examples include revolution, refraction, personification, cancellation, and renunciation. Nominalization essentially “allows a lot of information to be packed into the Theme/Subject position which otherwise needs a whole clause to express” (Harvey, 1993, p. 36).

What this means for students is the need for them to process more ideas per clause, often with increased levels of abstraction. For example, the sentence The condemnation of dissenting perspectives led to revolution contains three abstract nominalizations: condemnation, perspectives, and revolution. Students must fit the complex meanings of all three words into their heads-while also putting them together in the sentence. Nominalization is one of many ways in which academic language describes abstract processes, concepts, and relationships between ideas that are too complex or abstract to show with images or movement.

Condensing Complex Messages
Since complex texts pack a lot of meaning into a word or phrase, students must process more ideas per sentence. This allows proficient readers to free up thinking space for processing the main points that the author/speaker intends to communicate. For example, if I and my listeners already know what photosynthesis means, I can use the word without describing each of its component processes. Embedded clauses help the speaker or writer save space. Despite condensing-which should make texts smaller-academic texts tend to have longer sentences because of the extensive use of clauses. Students must learn to “engage in increasingly advanced literacy tasks in which language is typically structured in ways which condense information through lexical choices and clause structures that are different from the way language is typically used in ordinary contexts of everyday interaction” (Schleppegrell, 2004, p. 4).

(Condensed from Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms)




f t	Academic Language Introduction. _______________ Activities for Building Academic Language Academic Classroom Discussions Academic Listening Academic Speaking Academic Reading Academic Writing Academic Grammar Assessment _______________
f t		ACADEMIC GRAMMAR Long Sentences Unlike informal language, which uses a variety of linking strategies such as intonation and pace to create a coherent message, academic written texts tend to be complex in their organization of clauses and phrases. Each message that we read or hear is essentially a series of clauses strung together. Each clause, which is a chunk of words, represents relationships, experiences, or ideas. Each clause links with previous and subsequent clauses, building up the intended message (Schleppegrell, 2004). Of course, the clauses, their links, and their presentation all depend on the people involved, the purposes, and the setting. Passive Voice In academic talk and writing, a common verb structure is the passive voice, which is used when the focus is on the objects or persons affected by the action rather than on the actor. Academic English, for example, uses passive voice much more than everyday English uses it. This is particularly true in science and mathematics. Passive voice tends to place more emphasis on the object than the subject. A challenge for many English learners, though, is that their languages have no passive voice. Learners may confuse the actor with the object of the action. For example, a learner might think that the cells are doing the removing in the clause the cells are then removed from the slide. And then, even when students do begin to understand passive construction, it takes more time for them to be able to use it in speech and writing. Nominalization Nominalization means turning verbs or adjectives into noun phrases that then become the subject or object in a clause or phrase. The purpose of nominalization is to condense what can often amount to lengthy explanations into a few words. Examples include revolution, refraction, personification, cancellation, and renunciation. Nominalization essentially “allows a lot of information to be packed into the Theme/Subject position which otherwise needs a whole clause to express” (Harvey, 1993, p. 36). What this means for students is the need for them to process more ideas per clause, often with increased levels of abstraction. For example, the sentence The condemnation of dissenting perspectives led to revolution contains three abstract nominalizations: condemnation, perspectives, and revolution. Students must fit the complex meanings of all three words into their heads-while also putting them together in the sentence. Nominalization is one of many ways in which academic language describes abstract processes, concepts, and relationships between ideas that are too complex or abstract to show with images or movement. Condensing Complex Messages Since complex texts pack a lot of meaning into a word or phrase, students must process more ideas per sentence. This allows proficient readers to free up thinking space for processing the main points that the author/speaker intends to communicate. For example, if I and my listeners already know what photosynthesis means, I can use the word without describing each of its component processes. Embedded clauses help the speaker or writer save space. Despite condensing-which should make texts smaller-academic texts tend to have longer sentences because of the extensive use of clauses. Students must learn to “engage in increasingly advanced literacy tasks in which language is typically structured in ways which condense information through lexical choices and clause structures that are different from the way language is typically used in ordinary contexts of everyday interaction” (Schleppegrell, 2004, p. 4). (Condensed from Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms)



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