Language Power

Key Uses for Accessing Content

"As educators strive for equitable, collaborative classrooms inclusive of all students in an uncertain educational and political landscape, Gottlieb and Castro focus on students who may find themselves marginalized or otherwise left out due to their developing grasp of academic language. This timely book provides educators with accessible, research-based tools for students to learn the power of language. They have taken a complex, nuanced concept and synthesized it into an easy-to-access framework chock full of authentic examples that teachers across all disciplines can easily implement into their instruction. Through its careful construction framed around an inquiry cycle, the book easily lends itself to a wide audience from K-12 through post-secondary educators. I’m definitely integrating Gottlieb and Castro’s framework into my future professional development!"

“Language Power is helpful not only for teachers who want to adapt materials for English learners, but also for all teachers, no matter what content area, who want to move their students beyond the comprehension level.  It breaks down the notion of academic language to four key uses--discuss, argue, recount, and explain--identifies the language associated with those uses, and offers practical examples for classroom instruction. With handy charts to apply to your own situations, and examples of scaffolds and supports, this book is a practical guide that highlights the language students need in order to access, engage in, interact about, and demonstrate learning of content in school. We’re very proud at BrainPOP to provide content for the examples used in this valuable resource for teachers.”

"For the first time, Drs. Gottlieb and Castro move beyond a theoretical description of the critical role of academic language to describe key uses, tools, and strategies that facilitate the instruction and acquisition of academic language across content areas and relevant assessment resources to capture students' performance level. This is a powerful resource."

"Language Power is a compelling resource for educators in 21st century schools. Through skillful use of the inquiry cycle and practical tools for application, Gottlieb and Castro empower teachers to support learners in multilingual and multisemiotic classrooms. Understanding key uses of academic language helps teachers unlock opportunities for their multilingual students. With a commitment to social justice and integration of technology, Language Power challenges teachers with a forward-thinking perspective on how we can serve multilingual students who must navigate today's globally interconnected learning environments."