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English Detective #55, Basic Academic Vocabulary for Writing and Tests, 9-1-15 September 01, 2015 |
![]() If you do try it, please let me know what you think, and any criticisms or suggestions. You can send them to me by replying to this newsletter. (If you do send comments, I would be glad to send you another of my pdfs free or at a major discount in return for the feedback. Let me know which you would be interested in.) Also well-worth reading: Colorin Colorado’s article on CALPS, helping ELLs with academic language in the content areas, and the need for “mortar” (connecting and qualifying expressions like ‘even though,’) as well as the academic words themselves. (Many of those expressions are taught in my pdf above, as well as on EnglishHints’ Transition Words practice page.) The Colorin Colorado article has a very interesting chart of the differing meanings of common English words in different disciplines. For example, English teachers teach the ”plot” of a story, but math teachers show students how to “plot” coordinates, and history teachers may discuss a “plot” to overthrow the government. (There’s also a “plot” of land or a cemetery “plot!”) Here’s a video playlist from colorin colorado, along with other resources. The playlist has 10 videos—half are about a minute, several more are 3 minutes, and the first two are 16-21 min. See especially #3, 5, 6, & 7— very short & useful. (So are the others, if you have time.) Here’s another page with some great ideas for teaching vocabulary from elt-connect. A note if you get gmail: Have you missed any issues of English Detective? if you find English Detective in your Promotions box, you can move it to your Primary box (if you want) by clicking on it and dragging it there, then clicking Yes when asked if you want to always get it in the Primary box. P.S. If you are not already getting English Detective, you can subscribe by completing the form here. (It's free!) Also, you can reach me by mail at 1752 Driftwood Drive, El Centro, CA 92243, USA. |
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