The development of academic vocabulary in k-12 ells through explicit, systematic pedagogy: A multifaceted approach

Abstract

Academic vocabulary plays a critical role in the scholastic development and overall academic success
of English language learners (ELLs). This paper outlines a pedagogical framework for the development
of such vocabulary, defining the concept, while detailing its importance in classrooms comprising L2
learners. In addition, it describes the complexities involved in word knowledge (i.e., What does it truly
mean to know a word?) as it explores the critical elements of academic vocabulary instruction (e.g.,
key word selection). This paper highlights pedagogical foci (e.g., construction of non-linguistic
representations) necessary for effective vocabulary development. Finally, this paper outlines a fivestep pedagogical approach that can be incorporated to maximize the effectiveness of vocabularycentered pedagogy, as well as particular instructional tasks to foster student understanding.