Use headings, a short model and a language frame; allow paired rehearsal before an independent response. Adapt the scaffold to what the learner can already do.
Six ways to make subject language visible
Language skills for EAL learners.
reading · skills
Read a source without losing the question
Separate what a source says from what it can tell us about the enquiry. Make provenance and perspective part of the reading, rather than a label added afterwards.
Try this: Compare a campaign poster with a newspaper account of the same event.
Worked example
The poster calls for support, so it gives evidence of the campaign’s message. It does not by itself show how widely the public agreed.
Language frame This source suggests __. Its purpose may explain __. To judge __, I also need __.
Teaching sequence
Preview who produced it, when and for whom.
Underline one relevant detail and paraphrase it.
Ask what the source can and cannot establish.
What to look for: A learner can support an interpretation while identifying a limit.
writing · skills
Build a causal explanation
Teach the relationship between factors, rather than asking for a longer list. Model the difference between chronology, cause and consequence.
Try this: Explain how poor harvests could contribute to unrest.
Worked example
Poor harvests can reduce food supply. Rising food prices may increase pressure on households, making existing grievances harder to manage. This can contribute to unrest without explaining every protest.
Language frame __ contributed to __ because __. Its effect depended on __.
Teaching sequence
Sort factors into background conditions and immediate triggers.
Rehearse the causal link orally.
Write a paragraph with evidence and a qualification.
What to look for: The response explains a mechanism and avoids presenting one cause as the whole explanation.
vocabulary · skills
Teach disciplinary meanings
Words such as power, source, settlement, development and significant carry subject meanings. Connect the word to an example, a non-example and a usable phrase.
Try this: Distinguish a source’s reliability from its usefulness.
Worked example
An openly persuasive poster may be limited as evidence of public opinion, but useful as evidence of what its creators wanted people to believe.
Language frame It is useful for investigating __, although it is limited for __.
Teaching sequence
Identify the meaning required by this enquiry.
Compare two uses of the word.
Use it to make a judgement about a fresh source.
What to look for: Students use the concept in context, rather than repeat a definition.
speaking · skills
Make discussion accountable to evidence
Give learners time to formulate a claim and locate evidence before a discussion. Teach ways to question an interpretation without dismissing a person.
Try this: Discuss whether one factor was more important than another.
Worked example
I agree that transport mattered, but the evidence about employment suggests there was also an economic reason for migration.
Language frame I interpret this as __ because __. How does your explanation account for __?
Teaching sequence
Think and annotate independently.
Rehearse a claim with a partner.
Compare interpretations and revise one claim.
What to look for: Each learner cites evidence and responds to another interpretation.
listening · skills
Watch a documentary as a constructed account
Give the first viewing a gist purpose. On replay, separate the narrator’s claim from the evidence, visuals and omissions.
Try this: Use a short documentary segment about an historical change or geographical issue.
Worked example
The narrator argues that urban growth brought opportunity. The interviews show some benefits, but they do not represent every resident’s experience.
Language frame Main claim | Evidence offered | Perspective or question
Teaching sequence
Identify the main message on the first pass.
Replay to record a claim and supporting detail.
Compare the clip with another source.
What to look for: Notes distinguish a claim, its evidence and a question that remains.
Make the grammar of the task visible: past tense for events, connectors for relationships and cautious wording for interpretation.
Try this: Improve a paragraph that lists events but does not explain change.
Worked example
After the policy changed, migration increased. However, the timing alone does not establish that the policy caused the increase.
Language frame After __, __. This may have contributed to __, although __.
Teaching sequence
Notice the relationship in a model paragraph.
Replace a vague connector with a precise one.
Check that the revised wording matches the evidence.
What to look for: The paragraph’s language distinguishes sequence from causation.
Routines that make support part of everyday teaching
Classroom systems for EAL support.
Build language support into planning, modelling, assessment, feedback and multilingual participation. Use these routines consistently, then reduce support as learners become more independent.
planning · systems
Plan the enquiry and its language together
Identify what students must understand and the language act they must perform: compare accounts, explain a cause or evaluate evidence.
Try this: Keep an ambitious enquiry question and add a specific language goal.
Worked example
Content: explain a population change. Language: connect a factor to a consequence using evidence.
Teaching sequence
List the evidence students will use.
Choose one model and one scaffold.
Plan an independent response that reveals understanding.
What to look for: The lesson has a content goal, language goal and evidence check.
routines · systems
Use a consistent source-analysis routine
A familiar routine frees attention for the difficult source. Keep the questions stable while varying the evidence and gradually reducing prompts.
Try this: Use the same short routine with an image, map, written account and data table.
Worked example
Observe → locate in context → infer → support → qualify.
Teaching sequence
Model one source.
Use the routine in pairs with a different source.
Ask for an independent interpretation.
What to look for: Students can explain why a detail supports their inference.
assessment · systems
Separate historical or geographical understanding from avoidable language barriers
Use oral explanation, diagrams and annotated sources diagnostically, then teach the written form required by the formal task.
Try this: Compare an oral explanation with a written paragraph before concluding that a learner lacks understanding.
Worked example
The oral answer identifies a valid cause. The paragraph needs language to connect that cause to evidence.
Teaching sequence
Check the concept through a short accessible response.
Identify the language demand of the assessed genre.
Follow the formal assessment’s access and marking rules.
What to look for: Feedback identifies conceptual and language needs separately.
feedback · systems
Make feedback a revision task
Select a teachable next move: stronger evidence, a clearer causal link or a more defensible judgement.
Try this: Give a learner a paragraph and one focused revision instruction.
Worked example
Add one sentence explaining how this detail supports your interpretation; then identify one limitation.
Teaching sequence
Name the strength in the reasoning.
Model the next language move.
Require a revised sentence and check its effect.
What to look for: The learner improves the explanation rather than merely corrects spelling.
multilingual · systems
Use multilingual thinking with a visible bridge
Allow purposeful first-language thinking or comparison of terms, then make the English disciplinary language available for the final response.
Try this: Let pairs compare what a concept such as sovereignty means in languages they know.
Worked example
Students discuss meaning briefly, then agree an English explanation and use it in the enquiry.
Teaching sequence
Set a purpose and a short time window.
Produce an English glossary entry or annotated source.
Check each learner’s independent English response.
What to look for: The language bridge preserves the complexity of the enquiry.
Course and school systems
Fit the support to your curriculum.
These teaching routines can be adapted to different courses. Use the current subject guide, examination year and school assessment policy to determine the formal requirements.
Context
What to align
Teacher action
KS3 / lower secondary
Subject concepts, progression and the language of explanations.
Connect a modelled response to the next independent subject task.
IGCSE / GCSE
The exact syllabus, command words, paper format and assessment conditions.
Practise the relevant subject response, then fade the scaffold before independent practice.
IB MYP / Diploma
The current subject objectives, criteria and task requirements.
Use the subject’s criteria to judge the response; diagnose language needs alongside conceptual understanding.
HSC / senior secondary
The selected course outcomes, required response forms and current assessment rules.
Use a relevant model and feedback routine without replacing the subject’s criteria.
Use subject-specific reading, writing and talk to make the reasoning visible. Start with an authentic task, identify its language demands and review learner independence.
reading · skills
writing · skills
vocabulary · skills
speaking · skills
grammar · skills
planning · systems