Upcoming Webinar: Cultivating Academic Language and Literacy in Science Instruction

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Note: Archives of the Education Connections webinars are available through free registration to the online network.

Academic language is in! Following our posts about the Teaching Channel's recent video series on developing ELLs' academic language, we learned that the Education Connections Network will be hosting a free webinar on academic language this month.

Titled "Cultivating Academic Language and Literacy," the webinar will take place on Tuesday, December 9, from 1-2 pm EST. Dr. Laura Wright and Ms. Annie Duguay will describe the use of language in science settings and its implications for academic language development in K-12 classrooms through reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The presentation will include practical methods and activities that teachers can implement to cultivate students' use of academic language.

Laura and Annie are co-authors of a recent workbook for teachers, Developing Academic Literacy and Language in the Content Areas, part of the Center for Applied Linguistics' Hot Topics in ELL Education series. (Their biographies are included below.)

Educators are invited to view the webinar on their own or with a group from their school or district. There will be time for Q&A, so come with your questions! You can register for the webinar online.

More Academic Language Resources

For related academic language resources, be sure to take a look at the following from Colorín Colorado:

Common Core and ELLs: Planning Professional Development About Academic Language
Academic language webcast with Dr. Robin Scarcella
Academic language video playlist featuring teachers and researchers (great for PD sessions!)
Academic language resource section featuring articles, tips, and books

About CAL's Education Connections:

Education Connections is an online network of teachers managed by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), providing access to a nation-wide community and a broad range of resources for implementing standards-based instruction with all students, and English learners in particular. Education Connections provides Professional Learning Communities for connecting with your colleagues; resources that are practical and teacher-oriented; webinars by experts in the field of EL education; and lesson plans and a monthly lesson planning competition with a $100 prize.

About the Presenters

Annie Duguay

Annie Laurie Duguay, Associate Director of PreK-12 English Learner Professional Development, has been working at the Center for Applied Linguistics since 2009. During this time she has worked on a variety of projects in the PreK-12 English Learner Program Area, including vocabulary intervention studies. Most recently, Annie helps to coordinate and deliver professional development (PD) for educators working with English learners in school districts throughout the country. PD topics include the SIOP Model, the What's Different about Teaching Reading to Students Learning English program, Research-Based Vocabulary Instruction, and CAL's Hot Topics series (Listening & Speaking, Math & Science, and Developing Academic Literacy and Language in the Content Areas). Additionally, she is a co-author on the CAL Practitioner Brief: Implementing the Common Core for English learners: Responding to common questions from educators. Prior to coming to CAL, Annie was a certified ESL teacher and taught at a STEM-focused public charter school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Annie holds two master's degrees: an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an M.A. in Immigration and Settlement Studies from Ryerson University in Toronto.

Laura Wright

Dr. Laura Wright is Assistant Director of the Institute for Innovative Assessment and Project Director for the new IES-funded grant, Technology-interactive, Classroom-embedded Modules for Measuring Challenging Math and Science Skills of English Learners (ELs). She has been working with ELs for approximately the last 20 years in a variety of capacities including classroom teaching, curriculum and assessment development, and research. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked at the Center for Applied Linguistics where she was a Senior Research Associate. Laura has worked on a variety of federally-funded projects including Project FAST Capacity, an NSF Noyce grant focused on developing an MAT program for pre-service science teachers, the ASSETS project, a USED Enhanced assessment grant to develop a computerized English language proficiency assessment, and ONPAR mathematics and ONPAR science, innovative content assessments for ELs. Laura holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Georgetown University, specializing in sociolinguistics.