Academic language in the classroom is often assumed rather than taught. Yet words such as explain, justify and compare carry hidden expectations about structure and reasoning. This article explores practical ways to teach academic language explicitly, so students can show what they know with confidence.
Many classroom tasks depend on academic language.
Words like explain, justify, compare, and evaluate appear constantly in instructions, assessment criteria, and curriculum documents.
But here’s something we don’t always say out loud:
Academic language is nobody’s home language.
Even fluent speakers have to learn how it works.
When students ‘know it’, but can’t show it
You may have seen this in your own classroom.
A student understands the science concept.
They can talk about it confidently.
They seem engaged.
But when asked to:
- Explain how evaporation happens
- Justify an answer using evidence from the text
- Compare two characters’ motivations
…the written response falls short.
It’s tempting to assume the student doesn’t understand the content. But often, the issue isn’t knowledge. It’s language.
The hidden demands inside task verbs
Every academic instruction carries linguistic expectations.
When we ask students to explain, we expect them to:
- show cause and effect
- link ideas clearly
- structure reasoning logically
When we ask them to justify, we expect:
- a claim
- supporting evidence
- connective language
When we ask them to compare, we expect:
- similarities and differences
- balanced structure
- linking words such as both, however, whereas
Yet these expectations are rarely made explicit.
We assess them.
But we don’t always teach them.
Conversational fluency is not academic readiness
Students may sound fluent in everyday conversation.
They can chat confidently. They can participate in discussion.
But conversational fluency does not equal academic readiness.
Academic language (the language of reasoning, evaluating, and structuring ideas) develops through schooling. It requires modelling, guided practice, and supported use.
This is why students who appear confident verbally may still struggle in written tasks.
It’s not a deficit. It’s a developmental stage.
The missing step: ‘noticing’
One of the most overlooked aspects of language development is noticing.
Students may hear words like because, however, as a result, and this shows that hundreds of times.
But unless attention is drawn to how those words function, they remain background noise.
Language is not acquired simply through exposure.
It develops when learners:
- notice patterns
- see how ideas are linked
- hear how reasoning is structured
- and try those patterns themselves
When a teacher pauses and highlights:
Listen to what comes after because.
Notice how this explanation begins.
What does the writer do first?
they are not adding extra content.
They are making the language of thinking visible.
A practical approach: teaching academic language through MMM
One way to structure this work is through a simple progression: Meet, Manipulate, Make it Your Own.
MEET – Show the language in action
Before students are expected to use academic language, they need to see and hear it clearly.
You might:
- Highlight the verb explain in a task
- Show a short model answer
- Read it aloud and ask what the writer does first
- Display a sentence such as:
This happens because…
At this stage, the goal is understanding, not production.
MANIPULATE – Practise without pressure
Students then need structured opportunities to work with the language.
For example:
- Matching task verbs to sentence starters
- Completing a partially written explanation
- Reordering steps in an academic response
- Rehearsing an answer orally using a frame
This is where confidence begins to build.
Students are trying out the language before being assessed on it.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN – Use the language to think
Only after meeting and manipulating the language should students be asked to produce it independently.
You might:
- Provide a scaffold, then gradually remove it
- Ask students to justify orally before writing
- Guide comparison using a structured prompt
Accuracy develops over time.
What matters first is meaningful use.
Academic language is taught through the learning
Academic language is not a prerequisite for learning.
It is something we teach through the learning.
When we plan for the language demands of a task, not just the content, we support all students, not only those labelled as EAL.
And when we build in moments of noticing, rehearsal, and structured practice, we transform invisible expectations into teachable tools.
A simple starting point
If you want to begin this week, try one small shift:
- Identify one academic verb in your lesson.
- Decide what kind of structure it requires.
- Provide one sentence starter.
- Give students one opportunity to rehearse orally before writing.
That alone can make a difference.
Frequently Asked Questions About Academic Language
What is academic language in the classroom?
Academic language refers to the vocabulary, sentence structures and patterns used to explain, justify, evaluate and compare ideas in school tasks. It differs from everyday conversational language.
Why do students struggle with academic language?
Students often understand the content but have not been explicitly taught how academic responses are structured. Without modelling and rehearsal, the language remains invisible.
Is teaching academic language only important for EAL learners?
No. Academic language develops through schooling for all students. Explicit modelling supports both multilingual learners and native English speakers.
How can I teach academic language without adding extra workload?
Rather than adding new activities, teachers can highlight task verbs, model sentence structures, build in oral rehearsal and gradually remove scaffolds. This integrates language teaching into existing lessons.
Final Reflection
Before setting a task, ask yourself:
Have I taught the language this task requires, or have I just set the task?
Making academic language visible does not make lessons heavier.
It makes thinking clearer.
If you’d like practical support with identifying language demands and planning lessons that make academic language accessible, you can explore this further in my Language Learning Toolkit, a course designed to help teachers recognise and teach the language hidden inside everyday classroom tasks.
