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 the diagram and the text together
Teach learners to connect labels, arrows, scales and explanatory language. Do not assume a visual is self-explanatory.
Try this: Read a particle diagram alongside a description of evaporation.
Worked example
The arrows show particles leaving the liquid surface. The particles have not disappeared; they have moved into the gas phase.
Language frame The label __ refers to __. The arrow shows __.
Teaching sequence
Identify the representation and its key.
Match one sentence to the relevant feature.
Explain what the diagram shows and what it leaves out.
What to look for: Students use the visual as evidence for an explanation.
writing · skills
Connect observation, explanation and evidence
Keep what was observed separate from the explanation offered. Model conclusions that reflect the strength and limits of the evidence.
Try this: Explain results from an investigation of temperature and dissolving time.
Worked example
The solid dissolved in less time in the warmer water. This supports an association between temperature and dissolving time in this test; repeat trials help assess consistency.
Language frame We observed __. This suggests __ because __. A limitation is __.
Teaching sequence
State the measured pattern with units.
Connect the pattern to a relevant scientific idea.
Identify a limitation or improvement.
What to look for: The conclusion uses data and avoids claiming more than the investigation establishes.
vocabulary · skills
Teach words as part of a scientific model
Connect technical terms to processes and contrasts. Address everyday meanings of force, energy, work, cell and solution.
Try this: Distinguish mass from weight.
Worked example
Mass is measured in kilograms. Weight is a force measured in newtons and depends on gravitational field strength.
Language frame __ is measured in __. It differs from __ because __.
Teaching sequence
Compare the concepts with an example.
Connect the term to its unit and representation.
Use it to explain a new situation.
What to look for: Learners use the term and unit accurately in context.
speaking · skills
Rehearse the explanation before the report
Use a diagram, demonstration or data table to support an oral explanation. Require a scientific link, not a recital of keywords.
Try this: Explain why a ball changes speed when a resultant force acts.
Worked example
The forces are unbalanced, so there is a resultant force. The ball accelerates; its velocity changes.
Language frame The evidence shows __. This happens because __.
Teaching sequence
Think through the explanation using a diagram.
Rehearse with a partner who asks why.
Record or write the improved explanation.
What to look for: The response links cause and effect using the scientific model.
listening · skills
Watch a demonstration with two separate purposes
Use a gist viewing to establish the process, then a focused replay for observations, measurements or explanation.
Try this: View a demonstration of a circuit or a change of state.
Worked example
First identify what was changed and what was observed. On replay, record a measurement or scientific explanation separately.
Language frame What changed? | What was observed? | How can it be explained?
Teaching sequence
State the focus before viewing.
Watch for the overall process.
Replay to collect details and compare explanations.
What to look for: Learners distinguish the demonstration’s observation from its interpretation.
Model present tense for general processes, past tense for a completed method, and conditional language for predictions.
Try this: Compare a general statement with an investigation prediction.
Worked example
Heating increases particle motion. If the water temperature is higher, the solid may dissolve in less time under otherwise similar conditions.
Language frame If __ changes, I predict __ because __.
Teaching sequence
Identify what the sentence is doing.
Match the tense or connector to that purpose.
Revise a sentence so the condition is explicit.
What to look for: Scientific meaning is clearer without inflating the language.
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 practical access before the equipment comes out
Make procedure, safety language, variables and the learning goal visible in advance. Follow your school’s laboratory safety and risk-assessment requirements.
Try this: Prepare a short visual method with action verbs, equipment labels and checks for understanding.
Worked example
Students can identify the changed variable, measured outcome and controlled conditions before beginning.
Teaching sequence
Pre-teach essential procedural and safety language.
Model one step and ask learners to explain it back.
Check understanding before independent practical work.
What to look for: Learners can describe the procedure and demonstrate safe actions.
routines · systems
Use an observation-to-explanation routine
Keep doing the practical separate from explaining it. Build in a short language checkpoint after a meaningful observation.
Try this: Use observe → record → compare → explain → evaluate.
Worked example
A student records a result with its unit, compares it with another trial, then explains the pattern and a limitation.
Teaching sequence
Record observations before interpretation.
Use a table or labelled diagram to compare.
Require an evidence-based explanation.
What to look for: The learner can trace a conclusion back to recorded evidence.
assessment · systems
Diagnose the concept and the language separately
Use drawings, sorting, explanation and written responses to locate difficulties before deciding on support.
Try this: Ask a learner to sort examples of balanced and unbalanced forces, then explain one choice.
Worked example
A correct sorting response with a weak written answer suggests a language need; an incorrect model needs conceptual teaching too.
Teaching sequence
Check the scientific model through an accessible representation.
Identify the language of the required response.
Use the formal assessment’s marking and access requirements.
What to look for: The next task targets the identified need while preserving subject challenge.
feedback · systems
Give the next scientific language move
Focus on an evidence link, a unit, a comparison, a condition or a distinction between observation and explanation.
Try this: Revise an unsupported claim in a conclusion.
Worked example
Replace It worked better with a comparison using the measured result and explain what better means in this investigation.
Teaching sequence
Name one strength in the science.
Model one precise revision.
Ask the learner to apply the same move to another result.
What to look for: Feedback leads to a clearer scientific claim.
multilingual · systems
Use a language bridge around the model
Allow brief multilingual meaning-making while keeping scientific diagrams, quantities and units visible.
Try this: Pairs explain a process in a shared language, then prepare an English diagram caption.
Worked example
Students test their meaning against the scientific representation before selecting the English terms.
Teaching sequence
Set a focused question and time window.
Build a short English explanation from the discussion.
Check individual understanding with a new example.
What to look for: The English response represents the scientific idea accurately.
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