In order to decide what students need, it helps to understand some
of the terminology used to describe different types of language.
Look at the descriptions below and choose the best word to match.
1)
Groups
of words or formulaic units which are context-bound and which learners use to
build language, often without explicit study.
Answer : Chunks
Example : Environmental lesson: global
warming, fossil fuels, greenhouse effect, etc...
2)
Language
including grammatical structures and functions, needed for subject matter
mastery in the mainstream classroom. The language may be the primary focus of
second language lessons. In the CLIL context it is also known as 'language of
learning', (adapted from Met, M. 1994, 'Teaching Content through a Second
Language,' Cambridge CUP)
Answer : Content-obligatory
language / specialist vocabulary
Example
: history lesson : past tenses (e.g. died, invented), past time phrases (e.g.
ago, in those days)
3)
In
CLIL, language used by learners in classroom communication to express or
understand curricular concepts. In the CLIL context it is also known as
'language for learning'.
Answer : functional language
Example : agreeing, disagreeing; asking
questions; Comparing and contrasting etc…
4)
Language
which is not very common in social intercourse, common in school and academic
settings, but not specific to subjects; it is often used across subjects.
Answer : general academic language
Example : It has been claimed that …
Furthermore,
5)
Language
which is largely specific to a subject; often contains items which are
infrequent (except within the subject) and have narrow meaning.
Answer : subject - specific vocabulary
Example : Geography lesson: igneous,
metamorphic, sedimentary, etc...
6)
Common,
useful phrases learners need to use when interacting with others to complete a
task.
Answer : process language
Example : “It’s your turn”, “could you repeat that please”
I understood “chunks” as the
specific terms that we use to talk about subjects from our everyday
life. It’s life general language. So it’s for sure related to many
subject areas.
Environmental words are a very good example (Karmen)
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