How to Start

Academic
Conversations
An innovative technique
draws young English
language learners into
academic discussions.
Jeff Zwiers
and Marie Crawford

"Why did the author write this?"

"To teach us about courage."
"Yeah, the guy was brave."
"OK. What do we do now?"

Such student conversations were the

norm when we began our action
research project with English language
leamers in 4th grade classrooms in our extended, meaningful talk in school, a We calculated that paired conversa-
northern California school district. As conclusion that other research supports tions would enable the most lalk per
mentor teachers with the New Teacher as well (Nystrand, 1997; Staarman, minute among these young ELLs: Half
Center, we worked with teachers who Krol, &r van der Meijden, 2005). of the class could talk concurrently Yet
noticed that their students lacked the English leamers need to produce mean- most of the think-pair-shares we
skills they needed to focus, deepen, and ingful linguistic output to develop oral observed were short and shallow. They
extend conversations about academic proficiency (Swain, 1985), but most offered students little chance to nego-
topics. At the urban elementary school whole-class discussions limit the tiate meaning or make decisions about
we focused on, 73 percent of students amount of time each student gets to the direction or depth of a conversation.
were English language leamers and 88 talk, and responding in front of many Even when teachers gave students extra
percent qualified for free and reduced- others often intimidates ELLs. time in pairs, students didn't automati-
price lunch. All students struggled with Many classroom activities, such as cally do the things proficient speakers
academic English. think-pair-shares or vocabulary games, and experts do to have powerful conver-
In the years leading up to this project, elicit short bursts of student output. But sations (Zwiers, 2008). We predicted
we taught and observed many lessons at we wanted to teach students to engage that equipping students with conversa-
various grade levels. We found that in extended discussions that involved tional skills would make meaningful
English language leamers {ELLs) had constmcting academic ideas with others academic conversations during class less
very limited opportunities to engage in (Cazden, 2001). of a rarity over time.

70 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/APRIL 2009

 FIGURE 1. Academic Conversation Features

Features of Conversations (with Prompts for Using the Feature Prompts for Responding
symbols and hand motions)
Why do you think the author wrote I think the author wrote it to teach
Come up with a worthy topic this? What are some themes that us about. ,.
emerged in . . .? One theme might be . . .

Elaborate and clarify Can you elaborate? What do you 1 think it means that. . ,
(pull hands apart) mean by , . . ? Can you tell me In other words . . .
more about... ? What makes
you think that?

Support ideas with examples Can you give an example? Can For example . . .
(index finger on pinky of other you show me where it says that? In the text it said that.. ,
hand, palm up} Can you be more specific? One case showed that.. ,
Are there any cases of that?

Build on or challenge What do you think? Can you add to i would add t h a t . . .
another's idea (layer hands this idea? Do you agree? What might Then again, I think t h a t . . . I want
on each other and build up) be other points of view? to expand on your point about. . .

Apply/Connect So how can we apply this idea to our In my life . , .

(hook both hands together) lives? What can we learn from this I think it can teach us . . .
character/part/story? If you were , . . If I were . . . , I would have ..

Paraphrase and What have we discussed so far? We can say that. . ,

summarize (cup both How should we summarize what The main theme/point of
hands into a ball) we talked about? the text seems to be . . .

What Makes a sations, and analyzed the transcripts for constructing a good conversation and
Good Conversation? features, prompts, and discourse moves building a house of meaning.
We set out lo analyze the features of a students used that extended and deep-
good conversation. We began by ened their mutual thinking. Scaffolding Conversation Skills
analyzing inefïcctive conversations we Six of the most useful and teachable Our siudents required major scalloldmg
had obser\'ed in schools and in our own features—initiating a worthwhile topic, to use these features effectively to
lises, as well as great discussions we'd elaborating and clarifying, supporting construct more meaningful exchanges.
had about books and mo\'ies. Then we ones ideas, building on or challenging When we showed siudents a poster of
looked at features of good academic another's ideas, applying ideas to life, Figure 1 and asked them lo practice
conversations among 4th graders. Using and paraphrasing/summarizing— using these features to prompt a better
Goldenberg's (1992) features of effective became our target conversational skills. conversation, they zipped straight
whole-class discussions as a starting As we taught these six features, we came through it as if it were a worksheet.
point, we analyzed what was happening up with prompts that students could Students needed to understand the
in students' paired conversations, We use to initiate each feature and respond recursive nature of conversations: Ideas
obsen'ed 12 student pairs and partici- to it in conversation, as well as visual often keep emerging, needing fresh
pated in 25 short one-on-one conversa- symbols and hand gestures for each elaboration, support, and application.
tions with students about fiction and feature (see fig. 1). The visual symbols To scaffold this cycle of ideas, we had
nonfiction texts, recorded these conver- reflect a comparison between students make visual reminder cards.

A S S O C I A T I O N roR SUPTRVISION AND CURRICULUM D E V F L O P M F N I 71

On one side of each card, they drew the the picture he looked mean." Karen uses actions. Later it turned out that the boy
symhol we had created to represent Elia's response to create a pair-share was right, but it was too late."
each conversational feature. We prompt for the upcoming discussion, Karen reminds students of the
required students to memorize at least asking students to teil their partners prompt that Elia offered and then pairs
one prompt to start using the feature whether they agree or disagree with Elia students to begin academic conversa-
each symbol represented (for example, and why. She models using the sentence tions. Students first take out their
they might memorize the phrase, "Can starter, "I agree v/ith Elia's interpretation symbol cards and review them, testing
you elahorate on that point?" for the because..." one another on the prompts associated
symhol of eiahoration). On the back of Karen leads a short whole-class with each symbol.
each card, students wrote possible discussion to brainstorm themes that Karen moves around the room
prompts for responding to the feature in came up in the story. This provides listening, interjecting at key moments,
question (for example, "It means students uith ideas for their conversa- but letting students facilitate their
that....")- conversations. She notices Juan
Teachers modeled how to use and Ana using the starter
the cards recursively during a phrases, cards, and gestures to
conversation, returning to one of extend their conversation and
the features when conversation encourages them to connect
lagged or veered to a nonacad- ideas to their lives and to try
emic topic. To reduce the new vocabulary.
dependence on cards, we taught ; ¡AN: I think it was ahout greed.
students hand motions that they
ANA: Can you elaborate that?
could use as they prompted each
feature. For example, they pulled ;i .AN: Like, Columbus only couched
their hands apart while saying, I he gold that they were wearing and
: lot iheir skin. That mayhe means
"Can YOU elahorate?"
• he people don't matter, just the

A Typical Lesson
., ANA: [using the symbol for building on
and Conversation an idea] I add to that the idea that
With our guidance, the teachers Students use symbol cards to extend their conversations. Columbuss people took o\'er the islands
explicitly taught each conversation and made the boy's people into slaves.
feature. Here's a typical lesson. One They probably wanted to steal all the
of the teachers, Karen, points out on the tions. Students write their top choices goid and kill people, like pirates. What do
you think?
poster the highlighted feature students for themes and jot dovm any examples
will work on as they converse that day: from the text that might support each JUAN: Yeah, but pirates mostly attack
elaboration. Students look at their cards theme. She reminds students that this other ships.
and practice the hand motion and writing vi^ll help them have better ANA: [thumbing through her cards] How can
prompts for elaboration. Karen then discussion sessions. we apply this to our lives?
reads a story about Columbus's sailors Karen gi\'es a minilesson in which she JUAN: [laughingl 1 don't know. Maybe we
arriving in the Caribbean, stopping at acts as one conversant and the whole shouldn't be pirates.
times to elicit students' comments and class acts as the other. Students ask her
ANA: Or maybe we shouldn't be greedy.
questions. As students offer ideas and in unison, "Why do you think the
interpretations, she encourages them to author wrote this story?" Karen answers, JUAN: Yeah, we shouldn't think that
because we have more guns and ships, or
elaborate. "Perhaps she wrote it to teach readers that we are bigger, that we have the . . .
At one point Karen asks, "Why was that it is important to listen to children." uhhh , . .
the boy afraid?" When Elia responds, She waits a few seconds and then asks,
ANA: The right?
"Because the guy just touched their "Now what might you ask me? Did 1 say
gold," Karen asks, "Can you elaborate?" enough?" Several students respond, "Can JUAN: Yeah, the right to take over other
Elia answers, "I think the boy got all you elaborate?" Karen replies, "Well, the people and take their land.
worried because that guy, Columbus, adults didn't listen to the boy's warnings KAREN: Can you elaborate with some
only wanted gold they were wearing. In about the \isitors and their greedy modem examples?

72 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/APRIL 2009

 JUAN: like at school there are bullies, and
they shouldn't beat up others and take
iheir money.
Students needed support them wath evidence, and
construct new knowledge with other
ANA: And what about when armies go in to understand the students. This action research suggests
that paired academic conversations can
to take a countr)-... for oil or land? I
hear chat still happens. But I wonder,
should they fight back?
recursive nature provide such experiences, equipping
students with communication and
thinking skills needed in school and
JUAN: We get in trouble when we fight
back at school. Sometimes the fights get
of conversations. beyond. S!
worse. . . , [finding the "summanze" card]
How can we summarize our conversa- ingful themes in texts and applying References
tion? Cazden, C. (2001). Classwom discounc: The
them to their lives, rather than retelling
ANA: We can say we thought the parts of the story. language of teaching and leamng.
leaches us that people are more important Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
• Students began using new vocabu-
than money, that greed is bad and Goldenherg, C. (1992). [nstmctional conver-
lary to communicate big ideas, not just sations: Promoting comprehension
bullying isn't right.
to create disconnected sentences or fill through discussion. Reading Teacher,
KAIÍEN: Another term for not right is unjust. in the blanks. 46(4). 316-326.
After conversing, all the pairs share • Students became more independent Nystrand, M,, with Gamoran, A., Kachur. R.,
&r Prendergast, C. (1997). Opening
their academic synthesis statements thinkers and talkers, shaping their
dialo^e: Understanding (he ciyiitiiiiiis of
with the class, and each pair writes an conversations on their ovm. language and ¡earning in the English class-
"exit ticket" synopsis of their conversa- • Whole-class discussions improved room. New York: Teachers College Press.
tion, Karen points out that Juan and as students used many of the prompts Staarman, J.. Krol, K., &rvan der Meijden,
Ana's discussion uncovered a question from their cards during group discus- H. (2005). Peer interaction in three
that comes up throughout history. She sions. Instead of depending on the collaborative learning environments.
encourages students to write down any Journal of Classroom ¡nwraciion, 40(1).
teacher to mediate comments, students 29-39. '
big questions that remain. Finally, Karen built their responses on others' ideas Swain, M. (1985) Communicaiive compe-
has students reflect on the process and without "popcoming out" unrelated tence: Some roles of comprehensible
self-assess with a kid-friendly checklist thoughts. input and compréhensible output in its
based on the aibric available at www development. In S. Gass and C. Madden
We suspect that enhanced academic
. ascd. org/ASCD/pd f/j oumals/ed_lead (Eds.), input in Second Language Acquisition
conversations also contributed to other (pp. 235-253). Rowley, MA: Newhur)'
/el200904_zwiers_rubric-pdf positive changes. Students showed House.
These young language leamers' improvement in writing (gi\ing more Zwiers, J. (2008). Building academic language:
conversation focused on a meaningful evidence to support ideas), critical Essential practices for content classrooms.
theme—greed and its effects on others. thinking, and using academic vocabu- San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
They connected this theme to real- lary to answer questions. Teachers
world situations, found examples in the noticed more student participation. In Jeff Zwiers ([email protected]) and
June, students engaged in more minutes Marie Crawford {crav^[email protected]ï
text to support the theme, constructed
are MentorTeachers with the New
interpretations, generated a shared per hour of on-task talk than they did in
Teacher Center in Santa Cruz, California.
synthesis, and posed a question for February. One student commented, "It Jeff Zwiers is the author of Building
future discussion. After four months of sounds weird, but I feel like we've done Academic Language: Essential Practices
practice sessions like these, students sometbing important after a good for Content Classrooms (Jossey-Bass,
began to use the conversation features conversation.'" The quality of discus- 2007}.
more automatically sions during history and science lessons
also improved. The following academic
An Overall Enhancement
year, many students asked their 5th EL online
grade teacher when tbey were going to For an example of a rubnc
hi June, we analyzed transcripts of
start having academic conversations. used to assess academic
student conversations and noticed
several changes: conversation skills, see www
English language ¡earners need accel-
.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals
• Students improved at extending erated language development. That /ed_lead/el200904_zwiers
and deepening conversations. By June, acceleration is fostered by experiences _rubnc.pdf
these 4th graders were discussing mean- that allow students to share ideas.

ASSOCIAriON FOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENV 73

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