UNIT 2 LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Language Learning – From The Mother Tongue to Other Tongues
2.2.1 Language Learning – From the Mother Tongue to Other Tongues
2.2.2 Skills Acquired in the Mother Tongue are Transferrable
2.2.2 Consequences Conse Quences of Using Multi-linguialism as a Resource
2.2.3 Skills Acquired in the Mother Tongue are Transferrable

2.3 Is Language Important for Learning? Evidence From Research

2.4 Language and Learning: The Responsibilities of a Subject Teacher
2.5 Complementarity of Language Skills and Subject Knowledge
of Teachers
2.6 Let Us Sum Up
2.7 References and Suggested Reading

2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
 understand the relationship between language and learning in the context
discipline-based teaching;
 understand what mother tongue, bilingualism and mutilingualism mean in the
Indian context;
 discuss the responsibilities of a subject teacher in a language across the
curriculum classroom;
 discuss the role of a teacher in motivating learners to think critically, analyse
and synthesize in the context of teaching different subjects and the role of
language in facilitating these aspects;
 explain ( with examples ) how various texts are structured in different styles
and recognizable patterns; and
 analyse the significant role of language proficiency to teach content areas
and the need for a teacher to integrate acquire the knowledge to do so with
the help of different approaches.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
The subject of this unit, as you can see from the title, has two important segments –
Language and Learning. What is the connection between the two? Let us attempt
answering the questions given below.
 Is it essential to learn more than one language?
 Do we need to be proficient in a language to learn mathematics? 19
Teaching and Assessing  Is it important for our students to be careful about spelling, grammar, and
Language Across the coherence in and among paragraphs besides being aware of the diverse but
Curriculum
relevant organizational patterns when we are studying different school subjects?
Or because these elements pertain to language classrooms, they need not be
the concern of the subject teacher?
 Will being an efficient and competent reader and an adept writer in a language
help us in transferring the skills learnt in language classrooms to master
other curricular subjects?
 What is the difference between skill subjects and content subjects?

2.2 LANGUAGE LEARNING – FROM THE

MOTHER TONGUE TO OTHER TONGUES
Matlin (1989) has observed that ‘the use of language is one ability that most
differentiates humans from other animals’. Humans acquire language naturally and
use it for a variety of purposes, including communication, self-expression and
information storage and transmission. It is during period of infancy and early
childhood that humans under normal circumstances acquire language naturally.
While language comprehension precedes and outstrips language output, children
grow increasingly skilled in monitoring their language output and correcting their
mistakes. At more advanced stages of cognitive development, children become
aware of the interactive nature of communication. They also become aware of
their role as listeners and monitor their own responses to other speakers as they
develop a sense of which responses are appropriate and which are not.
MOTHER TONGUE
The language to which a child is predominantly exposed from infancy is known
as the mother tongue or first language. In most cases, the language acquired is that
of the biological parents, but adopted children acquire the language of their adopting
parents. Thus, one’s first language is associational in the sense that it is acquired
from the environment and learning, not from any physiological inheritance. The
mother tongue is so labelled not because it is the mother’s tongue but because
like the mother it is the central factor behind the nurture of the children’s mental
and emotional makeup. Their perceptions, comprehension, responses, creative
expressions, thinking and analysis – all are maximally developed through the
medium of the mother tongue (NCF-2005). To quote Sri. S. N. Chattopadhyay,
`Besides being the most potent means of communication, mother tongue is the
most effective means of transmission of culture. Mother tongue is endowed with
the eloquent virtues of speed, clarity, spread and comprehension.’ None of the
educationists and policy makers contend or challenge the importance of the mother
tongue in introducing the child to literacy i.e. when the child begins knowing
words, instructions, their contextual and associational meanings for appropriate
application in day-to-day life, or the role of the mother tongue in concept formation,
critical thinking and creativity and in imparting social values. At the same time,
merely conversing in and comprehending the mother tongue to complete reading
and writing tasks set in the classroom is not sufficient for a child in a country like
India. Why? Because if literacy is monolingual and restricted to the language of
the ethnic community, wouldn’t all channels of interaction with other communities
speaking other languages be closed? And wouldn’t the consequent isolation from
other communities and the fragmentation of the society, in general, lead to inevitable
20
stagnation?
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN INDIA Language and Learning

Way back in 1894, Sir George Grierson, a British magistrate resident in India,
conducted a Linguistic Survey of India, (which included what are now Pakistan
and Bangladesh,) and found the existence of 179 languages and 544 component
dialects of these languages in Northern India. He excluded the Dravidian speaking
parts of South India. Shortly after gaining independence, the Indian government
created states based on linguistic boundaries. For the most part, each state has
a majority language which takes precedence over the many others which exist in
the region. The official language is not always the majority language of the state;
for example, many of the north-eastern states use English for this purpose. Others,
such as Gujarat, use Gujarati and Hindi as their official language. The linguistic
demography brought out by the 1961 census of India listed 1652 mother tongues.
In the findings of the 1971 census the figure was substantially reduced, and only
108 languages spoken by more than 10, 000 people were officially recognised.
The census of 2001, recorded the existence 1365 rationalised mother tongues,
234 identifiable mother tongues and 22 major languages. The language-related
data of the 2011 Census have not been released by the Government of India.
In an informal attempt to bring to the world’s notice the phenomenal language
diversity in India, Dr. G.N. Devy, Chief Editor of the monumental People’s Linguistic
Survey of India, provides an overview of the extant and dying languages of India
as perceived by their speakers till 2011-12. It is not surprising that in a country
where 780 mother tongues belonging to six language families,( viz. Andamanese,
Sino-Tibetan, Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tai-Kadai) co-exist-- it
is difficult, rather impossible, to use only the mother tongue outside the four walls
of one’s own home or unless people are compelled to stay in some remote corner
of the country not having any contact with others. But this is never the case in
India. Language diversity is an accepted fact and way of life. No Indian has one
single language. "We speak one language at home, one language of the street,
another of the province, besides the language of communication. Even while
speaking, we are always translating from one language to another," said the
President of the Sahitya Academy in 1995.
THREE LANGUAGE FORMULA
The Indian Constitution recognizes twenty two scheduled languages. But in many
cases, a language that may or may not be the mother tongue of the student is used
as a medium of instruction in the school that the child goes to. The government
schools in the states provide for instruction in the regional language of the state
e.g. Bengali in West Bengal or Tamil in Tamil Nadu. The fact remains that no
Indian student can ever hope to complete his schooling and higher education
without learning two or three languages. The Government of India promoted the
three-language formula at least till the secondary level ( Class X) as recommended
by the Education Commission (1964 -1966) and the National Curriculum
Framework -2005 so that school going children in India can learn their mother
tongue, the state or regional language and English. Most Indians, particularly those
in urban areas, grow up in a milieu of multiple languages. Simply put, having to
interact with many languages does not strike most Indians as being anything out
of the ordinary. When communicating with others, Indians use whatever language
or mixture of languages that is understood by all parties. Code-switching is quite
common and extensively used.
21
Teaching and Assessing In fact, the National Curriculum Framework 2005, states that in many cases,
Language Across the children come to school with two or three languages already in place at the oral
Curriculum
– aural level. They are able to use these languages not only accurately but also
appropriately. “Grassroots Bilingualism” is widespread in India.

2.2.1 Language Learning – From the Mother Tongue

to Other Tongues
Some of us as English language teachers teach English through rules of grammar.
Is that the only way we can teach our students English or is there another way?
Somebody has rightly said that languages are best learnt when the focus is not on
language learning. What does this mean? It means that instead of focusing on
language structures, it would be more fruitful to focus on the messages contained
in those structures. Let the students explore and discover or derives the rules of
English on their own.
But how can we do that? Let us take the cnsc of teaching plural-formation in
English using the multilingual method. In a context like Delhi, it is likely you’ll have
Bangla, Punjabi, Tamil, Garhwali and many other mother tongue speakers besides
Hindi in your classroom. Follow the following simple steps:

English Hindi Malyalam Assamese Bangla

Cap : caps Vksih % Vksfi;k¡ tappu : tappigal tupi : tupibore tupi:tupiguli

Dog : dogs dqRrk % dqRrsa patti : pattigal kukur : kukurbore kukur:kukurguli

Book : books fdrkc % fdrkcsa pustakam : pustakgal kitab : kitabore boi: boiguli

Cat : cats fcYyh % fcfYy;k¡ puchcha : puchchagal mexuri:mexuribore billie: bilieguli

Even with this kind of little data on board, the students could be asked to observe
and identify the plural makers in each language. In one glance, the students will
be able to tell you that the plural makers in English is – s, in Hindi it is iya, and
– e, in Malyalam it is – gal, in Assamese it is – bore and in Bangla it is – guli.
The students could be further initiated into thinking that although English has – s
as a plural maker, its realizations are different (i.e. it has the sound – s in caps
but it has the sound – z in dogs) or that there are certain exceptions in the
language which do not take – s as their plural makers (for example ox : oxen,
sheep: sheep; tooth: teeth; etc.) Or that Hindi has more than one plural maker or
that there is a connection between the singular and plural as the final sound of
singular decides the shape or form of the plural in English and Hindi, or that just
like English, almost all languages have exceptions where tlic plural maker cannot
be suffixed.
Let us take yet another example of question-formation in grammar teaching.
Adopt the same approach as in the teaching of plurals. Give them certain questions
in English and ask the students to give equivalent of those questions in their LI.
22 Again the data that you clicit may look like the following.
English: Where did you go yesterday? Language and Learning

Hindi: vki dy dgk¡ x, Fks \

Haryanvi: rq dky fd x;k Fkk \
Punjabi: rqLlh dy fdFks x, lh \
English: Why are you crying?
Hindi: vki D;ksa jks jgs gksa \
Haryanvi: rw D;k rbZ jkSos gks \
Punjabi: rqLlh D;ksa jks jgs gksa \
English: What have you brought?
Hindi: vki D;k yk, gSa \
Haryanvi: rw ds yk;k gS \
Punjabi: rqLlh dh fy;k;s gksa \
The students will be able to identify the question words in all the languages,
observe the similarities across the Indian languages such as, that, the question
word begins with – K in Indian languages whorcas it begins with – wh in English;
that the question word always comes at the sentence-initial position in English
whereas it is not the case in Indian languages.
You will notice the level of excitement and involvement as the students are initiated
into observing, exploring and deriving rules on their own. In the process, they’ll
soon discover that their own language is just as rule-governed as any other.

Check Your Progress – 3

1. Elicit some data of at least two Indian languages on the degrees of adjectives
(i.e. comparative and superlative). Derive the rules on the basis of the data
and discuss the similarities or dissimilarities across the languages. You could
begin like this:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
English Hindi ______ ______

2.2.2 Skills Acquired in the Mother Tongue are

Transferrable
Research has shown that many skills acquired in the mother tongue or the first
language can easily be transferred to another language. e.g. if a learner develops
good reading skills in Bengali, he/she is likely to be able to apply these skills for
learning English. But in India the craze for English medium instruction leaves
thousands of children illiterate in their mother tongue with equally low levels of
achievement in English.
23
Teaching and Assessing
Language Across the Activity 1
Curriculum
1. What are some of the advantages of knowing and learning your
mother tongue very well? Do bilinguals have any advantage over
monolinguals?
2. In how many languages are you proficient? What is your mother
tongue and why and how did you learn your second language?
3. What, according to you, would be the effects of learning English on
a learner who belongs to:
a. an educated, affluent family in a metropolitan city and attends
an English medium public school from day one of her schooling?
b. a lower middle class family in a small town who goes to a
Government school where English is taught as one of the subjects
from class V onwards?
c. List the factors that affect the learning of English in situations
(a) and (b).
4. J.C. Richards and T. S. Rodgers state that “some 60% of today’s
world population is multilingual. From either a contemporary or a
historical perspective bilingualism or multilingualism is the norm
rather than the exception.” Justify your answer with examples
from at least three countries around the world.

2.2.3 ‘Translanguaging’ *
‘Translanguaging’ is a relatively new term for an age-old practice – that of
switching between the languages one knows in order to maximise communicative
potential. Translanguaging is flexible multilingualism. Whether it involves combining
elements from different languages in the same utterance (‘codeswitching’) or
alternating between languages in different parts of a task, it is a natural means of
employing one’s linguistic resources to their greatest effect. It occurs because
individuals associate a given language with a specific
Multilingualism in the classroom task, topic or situation, or because some concepts
(such as ‘the Internet’) tend to be more commonly expressed in a given language,
or because it can be playful and witty. Translanguaging is something most people
do all the time with their friends, family and other members of the community
without even thinking about it.
In the classroom, translanguaging may involve:
 translating between languages
 comparing and being playful with different languages
 mixing words and expressions from different languages in the same spoken
or written utterance
 using the home language in one part of an activity and the school language
in another part.
Thus, students might listen to information in one language and explain the gist of
24 it orally or make written notes about it in another. Similarly, they might read a text
in one language and talk about it or summarise it in writing in another. As a Language and Learning
resource for both teachers and students, translanguaging has many educational
benefits because it:
 validates multilingualism, viewing it as a valuable asset rather than a problem
or a temporary transitional interactional tool in early schooling
 represents a more efficient and effective teaching and learning technique than
is possible in one language only
 offers opportunities for individuals to develop rich and varied communicative
repertoires for use within and outside school.
Case Study: Translanguaging in the classroom
Mrs Indra, a Class IV teacher in a rural school outside Bhopal, describes
how she has started to incorporate translanguaging in her language lessons.
Many of my students are not first-language Hindi speakers. Since I started
incorporating translanguaging practices into their language lessons three
months ago, they have become much more talkative and engaged in their
learning. Their confidence in using Hindi has noticeably improved too. I
have observed that monolingual Hindi speakers in my class are starting to
pick up words and phrases from their classmates as well. If my students are
going to read a section or page of their Hindi textbook, I begin by introducing
the topic, inviting my students to volunteer anything they know about it and
encouraging them to translate the key Hindi vocabulary into their home
language. I ask them to help me if I can’t follow what they are saying. I then
ask my students to read a section or page of their Hindi textbook aloud in
pairs or small groups, or silently and independently on their own. In either
case, I invite them to pause at the end of each page or section and discuss
what they have just read with their partner or other group members, making
sense of it and establishing the meaning of any unfamiliar words together.
I suggest to them that they use their home language for this. I encourage
them to add any new words or expressions in the dictionaries they have
created. If I want pairs or groups of students to present something to the rest
of the class in the school language, I encourage them to use their language
to discuss how they will express their ideas first. I do the same if I want them
to write a summary or report in the school language. To maintain the interest
of all my students, I try to vary the organisation of the pairs and groups,
while ensuring that they include at least two students of the same home
language each time. At other times, I place a more confident student with
a less confident one, so that the former can support the latter in their shared
home language. If there is someone in the group who does not speak the
shared home language, I ensure that my students translate what they are
discussing into the school language. Recently I located a traditional short
story that was available in Hindi and my students’ home language. I used
this with my Class VII students. I made copies of the stories in each language
and got small groups of students to read them in parallel. I then invited them
to use their home language to compare the different versions of the two
stories, including the key words that had been used in each. Students discuss
a topic in pairs using their home language.
 Notice which parts of the activities Mrs Indra encouraged her students to do
in their home language and which in the school language. Are there any
patterns here?
25
Teaching and Assessing  What instructions might Mrs Indra have used to support the translanguaging
Language Across the practices described in the case study? Make a list of all those you can think
Curriculum of.
Here are some possibilities:
 ‘In Hindi we say xxx, in [your home language], we say yyy.’
 ‘How do you say xxx in [your home language]?’
 ‘What [home language] words do you know for this topic?’
 ‘Work in pairs. One pupil says the word in Hindi, the other in [their home
language]. Then change over.’
 ‘I’m going to ask the questions in Hindi. You can tell me the answer in [your
home language].’ • ‘You can start in [your home language], then move to
Hindi.’
 ‘You can use [your home language] to discuss this topic in your pairs [or
groups], and then give your report back to the class in Hindi.’
 ‘Now we have some time for questions in [your home language].’
 ‘Make a list of new words in your notebook. Write the Hindi word on the
left and the [home language} equivalent on the right.’
(Adapted from Simpson, 2014)
Source:http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/pluginfile.php/145491/mod_resource/content/2/
LL12_AIE_Final.pdf

2.2.4 Consequences of Using Multi- Linguialism as a

Resource
The benefits of using such an approach which is activity based will be far greater
and challenging than the usual classes which focus on learning rules.
1) Languages of the students will be used more creatively in the classroom. The
students will have enormous exposure to multiple languages at the same time.
2) The students will learn to make rules across languages in a simulating
environment which will help to sharpen their skills of observing, deducing and
reasoning, thus leading to greater linguistic and cognitive flexibility.
3) The level of participation and involvement will increase in the students are
asked to contribute by sharing language data of their mother tongues.
4) The amount of data that will be generated from within the classroom could,
in effect, turn out to be better than any standardized textbook. These learning
materials, based on students’ experiences and communicative needs, would
be far more dynamic.
5) The sole of teacher will be that of a facilitator and a learner. Apart from
planning cognitively challenging tasks to our students. We’ll also learn by
becoming a keen listener, observer who’ll have to gradually build on classroom
experiences and bridge the gap between the students as us. By giving space
to our students to participate and contribute, we’ll help them to boost their
confidence and self-esteem.
26
6) We’ll have to become reflective teachers who continuously reflect on our Language and Learning
experiences and evolve classroom practices that would enhance their linguistic
growth. We’ll have to be sensitive enough to adjust to their communicative
needs
7) The whole teaching-learning enterprise will revolve around developing functional
proficiency in English rather than focus on academic skills.
8) The final outcome may be a social change in which our students in their
journey will discover that all languages are patterned, flexible and rule-governed
and that their own language is no less complex or inferior as compared to
English.

Check Your Progress – 4

1. Do you think using multilingualism as a classroom resource will be an
asset to you? Try out this approach and make a list of the changes that
you notice in your classroom.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
Language Learning – From The Mother Tongue to Other Tongues
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
2. Can multilingual approach work in classrooms in an effective way knowing
the time frame of ‘covering the syllabus’ and examination pressure at the
end of the year? Give reasons to support your answer.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................

2.3 IS LANGUAGE IMPORTANT FOR

LEARNING? EVIDENCE FROM
RESEARCH
Let us try to answer this question with the help of some research findings of
studies carried out in New Zealand (The Relationship between English Language
and Mathematics Learning for Non-native Speakers.)
1. The Researchers (Pip Neville Barton and Bill Barton) introduce their topic
with the common perception that students from Asian countries, specially
China, enter the New Zealand education system with good backgrounds in
mathematics and they think that Mathematics is less reliant on language skills.
The purpose of undertaking the research was twofold:- 27
Teaching and Assessing  To explore the difficulties of the learners in learning Mathematics because of
Language Across the their low proficiency of English;
Curriculum
 To discover particular language features that might cause problems.
The researchers indicated that students were unaware of their disadvantage due
to low English proficiency and believed that Mathematics learning is language free.
(It must be mentioned here that English was the medium of instruction of these
learners whose L1 was Chinese (Mandarin), Tongan and Samoan. The researchers
also wanted to explore the relative importance of technical knowledge compared
with general language proficiency in the learning of mathematics at senior secondary
and undergraduate levels.
All studies undertaken in five different schools reported that students in general
performed worse than the teachers and researchers anticipated. Both general and
technical English were factors in the problems experienced by these non-native
speakers of English. Prepositions and word-order were key features causing
problems at all levels. So were the logical structures such as implication, conditionals
and negation. Students indicated that they had most difficulty with understanding
the contextual questions with combinations of complex phrases, syntax and technical
mathematical vocabulary. Mathematics couched in everyday contexts caused
problems. Researchers also observed that students having difficulty with language
switch off in class, relying on texts or handouts. They tend to focus on procedures
and approach mathematics problems in tests by trying to recognize a suitable
procedure without trying to understand the context, e.g. the word less produced
a response of subtract even when inappropriate. Language difficulties limited
students’ mathematical solving techniques e.g. such students had difficulty drawing
a diagram and were restricted to symbolic mode. Moreover, the type of language
causing difficulty is related to mathematical proficiency of the students.
In the words of one of the teachers/researchers, the project had uncovered an
iceberg. The recommendations not only suggested further research into
mathematical discourse (in student’s home language) but also further studies on
the feasibility and effectiveness of providing opportunities for students to discuss
mathematics in their home language as part of the pathway to learning mathematics
in English. The project was also a step towards the capacity building of the
teachers who became aware of how to transact better to benefit non-native
mathematics learners. The feedback from teachers that bear this out are given
below:
- I now try to speak slowly and pronounce words clearly.
- I write meanings on the board. Make those meanings clear. Repetition of
these keywords is vital.
- Encourage mathematical discourse amongst the students.
- I am more appreciative of the gaps in their mathematical language and
encourage them to ask for help or tell me when they do not understand a
term used.
The NCF 2005 (Position Paper in English: page 20) makes a point regarding the
use of Indian English in the context of mathematics. “…The use of into in
mathematics: (it) means the division of one number by another in British English,
but the multiplication of two numbers in India.” If the teachers are aware of such
28
minor differences, they can make their students mindful of such usage.
2. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2014) (facilitated by Pratham) Language and Learning
reports that of all children enrolled in standard V about half cannot read, at
standard II level in Hindi (their L1). 48.1% can read standard II level text
(or higher). Without being able to read well, will these children progress in
the education system? It further provides data for children enrolled in
government schools in standard V and reports that apart from a decline in
reading levels between 2010 and 2012, reading levels over time are ‘low’
and ‘stuck’. And although reading levels in standard V in private schools are
not high, the gap in reading levels between children enrolled in government
and private schools seem to be growing over time. Without basic skills in
place, it is difficult for children to cope with grade level content. Knowing
numbers and operations is needed before tackling higher content. The report
suggests that children need to be encouraged to speak, to discuss, to express
their opinions and to solve problems together.This has huge implications for
the teacher who needs to question his/her role in the context of the role
language plays in learning in all subjects.

2.4 LANGUAGE AND LEARNING: THE

RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SUBJECT
TEACHER
Think for yourself, can you learn any subject, including Maths or Music, without
using a language as a medium of instruction or thinking? The National Curriculum
Framework 2005 (NCERT, India) highlights the role of language in learning:

‘Language – as a constellation of skills ...cuts across school subjects

and disciplines. Speech and listening, reading and writing are all
generalized skills, and children’s mastery over them becomes the key
factor affecting success at school. In many situations, all of these skills
need to be used together. This is why it is important to view language
education as everybody’s concern at school and not as a responsibility
of the language teacher alone.’

The document further states that, “Language education is not confined to the
language classroom. A science, social science or mathematics class is ipso facto
a language class. Learning the subject means learning the terminology, understanding
the concepts and being able to discuss and write about them critically.” In other
words, there has to be roughly equal opportunities for learning through the four
strands of
 Meaning focussed input – learning through listening and reading;
 Meaning focussed output – learning through speaking and writing;
 Language focussed output-learning through deliberate attention to
language features; and
 Fluency development –learning through working with known materials
across the four skills at a higher than usual level of performance. (Paul
Nation)
Given the centrality of the four language skills to promote effective use of language
across the curriculum, why do subject teachers restrict themselves only to correcting
sentence structures and spelling mistakes in their students work? 29
Teaching and Assessing HOW CAN SUBJECT TEACHERS SCAFFOLD LANGUAGE
Language Across the LEARNING?
Curriculum
 Develop in students competency and skills required for comprehending,
identifying, selecting and integrating information in connection with
specific tasks and materials, e.g. it is not enough to ask students to extrapolate
(from the graph or ask them to write a hypothesis relevant to the experiment
or compare source A and source B).
It is very important for the subject teacher to know if the students know how to
go about such tasks. Rather than assuming that students have developed these
skills, classroom time should be devoted to teaching such thinking skills directly
where the subject content becomes the vehicle for thinking.
A word of caution though. Teachers know that students do not learn anything at
one go. Hence, the need to repeat similar tasks. But students should be given
credit when they try to express any idea in their own way and not just memorize
answers from textbooks or teacher dictated notes.
 Focus on subject-specific vocabulary These can be either content obligatory
(=you must do it) or content-compatible (=words that can be used together;
consistent with the topic being taught). For example, when studying the topic
of volcanoes in geography – content obligatory language might include words
like magma, lava, core, erupt, force, melt and linking devices such as
therefore, as a result, etc. Content compatible language can include recycling
description of a process with linking devices like – first, then, after that, etc.
 Highlight the underlying conceptual framework : Concepts are the
building blocks of thinking. A concept is a category used to group similar
events, ideas, objects or people. Concepts are abstractions. They do not
exist in the real world. Concept learning therefore, refers to the development
of the ability to respond to common features of objects or events.Teachers
do not just introduce their students to new concepts but also help them to
comprehend the relationship between different concepts through concept
maps which visually illustrate the relationships between concepts and ideas.
The concepts are written either in circles or in boxes, and are linked by
words and phrases that explain the connection between the ideas, helping
students to organize and structure their thoughts to understand information
and new relationships. Most concept maps represent a hierarchical structure
with the broad concept first with connected subtopics, more specific concepts,
later.
Given below is an example of a map concept.

30
(downloaded from net)
Moreover, if teachers just read out from prescribed textbooks without reformulating Language and Learning
the ideas and concepts, if they do not pitch their explanations to the level of their
students, then students take recourse to memorising without comprehending a
word of the topic being taught. Hence it is important to adapt texts so that it is
at the right level of difficulty for the class being taught and is a good model of the
sort of phrases that underpin effective expression in different subjects.
 Analysing subject specific word formation (i.e. prefixes, suffixes, word
roots) and comprehend and apply this knowledge of parts separately and all
parts put together to arrive at the meaning of a word. e.g.

Word meaning Suffix (meaning) Prefix (meaning)

Life Science -ology (study of a Bio – (life)
particular science
or subject)
Writing about -graphy Bio – (life)
someone’s life
Heat under the -thermal (caused Geo – (earth)
earth’s crust by heat – root
word/not suffix)

Please note: thermo – means heat and is a prefix – hence thermal is an adjective
here – thermal means relating to or caused by heat or change in temperature.
Don’t we use thermals – clothes specially designed to keep us warm in cold
weather? Hence geothermal springs are hot water springs – springs with water
temperatures above its surroundings. Now you can easily understand the meaning
of words like geology, sociology, etc. Understanding word formation is essential
for improving language because once learned it gives students skills to decode
unfamiliar vocabulary.

Activty:Write the meaning of words given below with the help of a

dictionary. Can you break the word into prefixes, suffixes and
word roots?
genocide, nanotechnology, geothermal, biometric, exothermic,
quadrupeds

 Develop an ability to focus on the structure of texts. Understanding the

features of a text type and how these texts are arranged, are vital to better
comprehension and reading and help students when writing. When a student
is able to understand texts at a deeper level, they can perceive language not
just as a set of rules but as a set of options available for constructing a
variety of meanings. Students can anticipate what information would be
included and use this knowledge to summarise the key points.
There are a variety of structures that authors use to organize information. Let us
go through a few of them.
Chronological/sequential – Related to time, order or a series of events or things
that come one after the other e.g. there is a particular procedure to be followed
when a new law is made in our country; stories (narratives) also have a
chronological order; or you have to follow a particular process (a series of steps)
to make cookies or to bake a cake. 31
Teaching and Assessing Critical words: First, second, before, after, finally, then, earlier, next, etc.
Language Across the
Curriculum Cause and Effect – Informational texts often describe cause-effect (causal)
relationships. For example, you must have studied in your geography classes why
earthquakes are so frequent in Japan, Nepal, India, Indonesia and the havoc that
comes in the wake of earthquakes. Even a simple thing like an apple turning
brown when you leave it half eaten can be explained as cause and effect pattern.
Of course, you have learnt all about it in your chemistry lessons. But did you ever
think about it as a particular style of organizing information? If you think of it,
you’ll find many examples of causal relationship in our daily lives. (If there is a
CAUSAL relationship between two things, one thing is responsible for the other
thing e.g. the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth’s oceans causes tide. But
unfortunately people often misread or misspell the word as CASUAL. Minor
changes in spelling thus change the meaning and correct use of a word.)
Critical Words: Because, since, if/then, due to, as a result, consequently,
etc.
Problem-Solution: The text describes a problem and suggests solutions e.g.
Global warming; Road rage on the rise in Delhi; Diabetes – the silent killer, etc.
Critical words: Propose, conclude, a solution, the reason for, the problem
or question.
Compare and contrast: Text books often highlight the similarities and differences
between objects. For example –
A study of two different forms of carbon, diamonds and graphite; differences
between deltas and estuaries or hot and cold deserts in the world, etc.
Critical words: While, yet, but, rather, most, same, either, as well as, like/
unlike, as opposed, to, etc.
Descriptions: Sensory details help the reader to visualize information which can
be organized in order of space e.g. a description of a room from left to right or
from outside to inside or description of a process e.g. how paper is made.
Critical Words: Description adjectives and words like – on, over, beyond,
within, etc.
These are just a few text structures that you often find in your textbooks. There
are many others like narrative, argumentative (discussing for or against a topic)
or classification. You must also understand that one particular text structure
is not used through a lesson/chapter.
We would also like to draw your attention to the critical words given after
each text structure. These are different linkers (or cohesive devices) that add
to the meaning of the text, e.g.
and (addition, more information) Hot and humid.
but (difference/contrast) Speed thrills but kills.
or (alternative) Igneous or sedimentary rocks transform to metamorphic
rocks)
because (reason) Because of daily heavy rainfall equatorial rainforest have dense
vegetation.
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 Language and Learning
The use of correct and appropriate linkers makes a text coherent and meaningful.
“We often find a science text book, e.g. which asks students to make
a conclusion based upon data observed during an experiment. We
assume students know how to draw conclusions, yet we seldom teach
students that skill.” While we may assume that students know how to
summarize, analyse or extrapolate i.e. perform the thinking skills implied
in the subject matter, “… we often find they have never learned what
it means to perform these basic thinking skills. As a result, students
are often dismayed, confused and handicapped when asked to perform
them.” (Costa, A.I)
When subject teachers explain the requirements of the task in detail
(e.g. to write a summary the students should read the given text
carefully; underline the important ideas, pay special attention to the
first and the last sentence; should not include examples etc;) and
allow the students to write in small groups so that they get an
opportunity to formulate their responses in their own words/language,
students are compelled to think and learn. Similarly, when a student
is expected to analyse trends; interpret bar diagrams or pie charts or
graphs, subject teachers in geography/statistics or economics can
provide appropriate language prompts like (an increase, growth of
………….. or from ……… to …………., a decrease, went down,
plummeted, drastic/sudden change; remained stable, fluctuated; a
plateau after a rise etc.). Such verbal cues help students to organize
their answers better.
In this section we tried to bring to your attention why and how “language is in
every subject” and how language and subject teachers can and should cooperate
to encourage learning in schools. While teachers cannot make students learn, they
can promote learning by helping students become motivated to learn, handle
information and experience, develop knowledge, attitude and skills and transfer
their learning from the classroom to the real world. In practice, this means students
often need to have the opportunity to say or write things in their own ways, in
their own styles rather than copying from books or taking notes from dictation.
Thus a learner at any level should be able to reformulate what he/she is learning.It
is true that teachers at all levels have time and resource constraints and many of
them are more than happy to complete a given syllabus, accept memorized answers
from the text or guide books. Moreover, in the Indian context, maintaining discipline
in a class means pin-drop silence; thus making pair/small group work for allowing
children to construct their own knowledge, formulating and expressing their ideas,
paraphrasing a given text or interpreting and analyzing trends difficult if not
impossible. But revisiting their teaching in the light of the discussions above will
facilitate learning, make the process more exciting and help them save time.
Discussing, explaining, questioning and using talk and writing to tussle
with ideas are all means of achieving better understanding of a subject.
Structured talks enable students to rehearse their ideas, solve problems, develop
thinking skills and prepare for writing. Students would learn better if teachers
generate open questions and extend students’ thinking through partner and group
discussions. In practice, this means students often need to have the opportunity
to say or write things in their own ways, in their own styles rather than copying
from books or taking notes from dictation. Thus a learner at any level should be
33
able to reformulate what he/she is learning.
Teaching and Assessing
Language Across the Activity: Regardless of whether you teach science or geography, language
Curriculum is essential. Explain.
1 Read the following paragraph selected from an NCERT Physics textbook.
Will it be easy or difficult for an English teacher to teach the given text?
Give reasons for your answer.
The Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism and Hertz experiments
on the generation and detection of electromagnetic waves in 1887
strongly established the wave nature of light. Towards the same period
at the end of 19th Century, experimental investigations on conduction
of electricity (electric discharge) through gases at low pressure in a
discharge tube led to many historic discoveries. The discovery of x-
rays by Roentgen in 1895, and of electron by J. J. Thomson in 1887,
were important milestones in the understanding of atomic structure. It
was found that at sufficiently low pressure of about 0.001mm of mercury
column, a discharge took place between the two electrodes on applying
the electric field to the gas in the discharge tube. A fluorescent glow
appeared on the glass opposite to the cathode. The colour of the glow
of the glass depended on the type of glass, it being yellowish green for
soda glass. The cause of this fluorescence was attributed to the radiation
which appeared to be coming from the cathode. These cathode rays
were discovered in 1870, by William Crookes who later, in 1879,
suggested that these rays consisted of streams of fast moving negatively
charged particles. The British physicist J. J. Thompson (1856-1940)
confirmed this hypothesis. By applying mutually perpendicular electric
and magnetic fields across the discharge tube J. J. Thompson was the
first to determine experimentally the speed and the specific charge
[(charge to mass ratio (e/m)] of the cathode ray particles. They were
found to travel with speeds ranging from about 0.1. to 0.2 times the
speed of light (3x108 M/S). The presently accepted value of e/m is
1.76x1011 C/Kg. Further, the value of e/m was found to be independent
of the nature of the material/metal used as the cathode (emitter), or
the gas introduced in the discharge tube. This observation suggested
the universality of cathode ray particles.
4 Based on the concept map given in this section (1.4) write two paragraphs
focusing on the two questions:
 What is a concept map?
 What are the advantages of a concept map drawn by a student?

2.5 COMPLEMENTARITY OF LANGUAGE

SKILLS AND SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE OF
TEACHERS

In the words of John Clegg, “…The problem comes to a head in urban

poor, (small towns) or rural areas where children get little exposure to
English.…It is difficult for students to learn school knowledge in a
language in which they are still struggling. It is also difficult for teachers
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 Language and Learning
to teach, and they may be struggling with the language almost as
much as their students… There is no hiding the fact that learning
school subject-matter knowledge satisfactorily is often well-nigh
impossible when neither teacher nor pupils can really speak English
adequately to use it as a vehicle for giving or getting an education…”
(From Innovation and Best Practice: 1999; pp.70-77)

Reading out from textbooks by teachers, without adequate explanations and

discussion, compel students to memorise information without comprehension. What
is true in the subject of Maths, as discussed earlier, is true for all content areas.
As Buchmann (1984) quoted in the study – The Subject Matter Preparation of
Teachers by Deborah L. Ball and G. W. McDiarmid – points out,

`It would be odd to expect a teacher to plan a lesson, for instance,

writing reports in science and to evaluate related student assignments,
if that teacher is ignorant about writing and about science, and does
not understand what student progress in writing science reports might
mean.’

What teachers need to know about the subject matter they teach extends beyond
the specific topics of their curriculum. For example, while English teachers need
to know about particular authors and their works, about literary genres and styles,
they also need to know about interpretation and criticism. A history teacher needs
content knowledge but must also understand what history is: the nature of historical
knowledge and what it means to find out or know something about the past.
History teachers want their students to understand that history in fundamentally
interpretive. Learning history means studying accounts of the past have already
been constructed as well as learning about alternative accounts of the same
phenomenon and how such accounts are constructed. Nevertheless, teachers may
adopt either a teacher – centered and teacher-fronted pedagogy or a student-
centered approach to teaching the same content.
As teachers, we know that each subject has its own vocabulary and sentence
patterns. As Julia Strong points out in her paper, ‘LiteracyAcross the Curriculum’
that the language of explanation for science is different from the patterns of
arguments needed by the historian. She observes that ‘…Talk is central to learning.
To deepen understanding, talking through problems plays an important role.
Discussing, explaining, questioning and using talk and writing to tussle with ideas
are all aspects of the struggle towards clarity and deepening thought in any
subject. If teachers know how to generate open questions and extend their students
thinking through focussed discussion and through partner and group discussion,
they can not only promote thinking but also encourage learning. Similarly, by
promoting co-operation among students, encouraging active learning, by providing
prompt feedback, by communicating high expectations from students, a teacher
can impact a learner. Let us conclude this section by saying that there is no doubt
about the fact that subject matter is an essential component of teacher knowledge
but integrating it with the use of language is important. After all, if teaching involves
helping others to learn, then understanding what is to be taught is a central
requirement of teaching. We all accept that teaching involves, not just dissemination
of a particular thing or concept, rather it is the responsibility of the teacher to offer 35
Teaching and Assessing many interconnected concepts in such a way that students are cajoled into making
Language Across the difficult connections. This can be done with the help of making language-content
Curriculum
connections. The teacher’s ability to frame thought provoking questions would
definitely encourage students to become independent thinkers if shown the right
direction.

2.6 LET US SUM UP

The very basis of language and learning are the four language skills of Listening,
Speaking, Reading and Writing where the ability to think is the invisible thread that
runs through all the four strands. However, if the foundation of literacy is poor,
any attempt to progress further would collapse like a house of cards.
Leaving the development of language skills to the English teachers per se would
compel students to struggle to express their ideas in other subjects. Each subject
has its own vocabulary and sentence patterns. The language of explanation for
science is different from the patterns of arguments needed by historians. Each
subject has its own pattern of language that is tied up inextricably with meaning.
An English teacher cannot teach students the vocabulary of science let alone the
patterns of language needed to express scientific thoughts effectively. Only a
science teacher can do that. Having said that, all teachers whether teaching science
or geography need to be proficient in the language used in the classroom for
purposes of instruction.

2.7 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READING

1. Devy. G. N.2016. People’s Linguistic Survey of India. Volume Twenty
Three, Part II. Bhasha Research and Publication Centre, Orient Blackswan
Private Limited, New Delhi.
2. Kennedy. Chris. (ed).1999. Innovation and Best Practice. Longman in
association with The British Council.
3. Language across the Curriculum Policy –George Mitchell School Guidelines.
4. Literacy across the Curriculum – Julia Strong.
5. Language across the Curriculum-- Examining the place of language in our
school – Bryant Fillion.
6. MEG—04 Aspects of Language IGNOU, New Delhi.
7. National Curriculum Framework .2005. National Council of Education and
Training. New Delhi.
8. Pattanayak, D.P. 1977. Language Curriculum. Central Institute of Indian
Languages. Mysore
9. Woolfolk. A.E. 1998. Educational Psychology. Allyn and Bacon.
10. The relationship between English Language Learning for Non-Native
speakers –Pip Neville Barton and Bill Barton. Downloaded from the net.

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