Different Types of Vocabulary: A Tool for Improving Science Talk in School

The paper takes its point of departure in the professional development of science
teachers and their challenges in supporting students in developing appropriate
academic discourse and science literacy in their science classes. The work reported on acts as an extension of an educational research and development
project in progress, “Semantic Waves & Linguistic Snails”, the aim of which is to
make science lessons in the Danish middle-school (grades 4-6) more accessible
to all students by increasing science-teachers’ awareness of the linguistic
challenges second-language learners in particular (can) encounter in science
lessons and materials. In this paper we highlight how findings from the research
and development project translate to and are implemented in a professional
development science module, and how these, in turn are implemented by a
fourth-grade science teacher in her science lessons in 2022 and 2023. The aim of
this paper is to demonstrate how explicitly working with three different types of
vocabulary in science, including what is known as general academic vocabulary,
can be used as a tool for developing metalinguistic awareness for both teachers and students while also promoting their understanding of the science being learned.