Chapter 1& 1: Think like a....

In both of our texts this week, the authors talk about the importance of teaching students to think like an expert in your content area field. For example, students studying Biology would learn to approach reading tasks in the same manner as scientists do, perhaps by drawing on prior research or analyzing any biases the authors may have. In addition, students should learn to write as experts do in their content area. Students in a Biology class would practice creating a lab report and learn to report their findings through writing.

This concept certainly makes sense, and it gives guidance to content area teachers who may not know how to approach literacy development. But how does this approach work for teachers and learners of language? Language teachers who teach as linguists may give too much attention to grammar structures and word functions, while ignoring important aspects of communication, fluency, and culture.

The answer for language teachers is to teach students different strategies based on the type of text or writing task they are encountering. Teachers of language, therefore, must be comfortable in thinking like a scientist, an historian, an artist, or a novelist in order to guide students in using these methods. We can also teach students how to identify the nature of a particular task and what strategies would be useful in decoding or creating it.

Our colleagues are powerful allies in this task, since students learning these strategies in their primary language or in another subject will be able to transfer them to our language classrooms. They are also valuable resources in helping us as language teachers to "think like a....". There is a reason I am not teaching Biology, and I could certainly use some help in developing those skills!

Another interesting aspect of the reading this week was the discussion of literacy as it relates to information and communication technologies. Students who regularly use the internet are already experienced in navigating this large amount of information. Teachers can help students transfer this skill to their approach of texts at school. It is important to remember, however, that for many students, the internet and other technologies are more intimidating than a classroom textbook. This is especially English Learners who have lived as refugees and have limited or interrupted formal schooling. These students would benefit from more direct instruction on strategies to use in processing and using online texts.