Academic Language Mastery: Vocabulary in Context

Margarita Calderon, PhD is professor emerita senior research scientist at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Since 2004, she has been conducting research studies funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. She has conducted longitudinal studies on English learners' language and literacy development in elementary, middle, and high schools, and is now focusing on professional development designs for adopting evidence-based instruction. The author of more than one hundred articles, chapters, books, and teacher training manuals, Dr. Calderon's most recent professional book is Teaching Reading to English Language Learners, Grades 6-12. She also developed RIGOR (Reading Instructional Goals for Older Readers), a series of intervention resources for older students reading at preliterate-Grade 3 levels. RIGOR is being used in New York City, Boston, Houston, Louisville, Salt Lake City, and other major cities. Dr. Calderon has worked as an ESL high school teacher, a professional development coordinator for San Diego State University, and a bilingual director for the University of California at Santa Barbara. She presents frequently at conferences of major education organizations, including the International Reading Association, Teachers of English as a Second Language, and National Association of Bilingual Educators. Born in Juarez, Mexico, Dr. Calderon was educated in Mexico and the United States, receiving her BA in English and MA in linguistics from the University of Texas at El Paso, followed by a PhD from Claremont Graduate School in Pomona, California. Consulting Description: Academic Language Consulting Description: ELL Shadowing Consulting Description: English Language Learners Dr. Ivannia Soto is associate professor of Education at Whittier College, where she specializes in second language acquisition, systemic reform for English language learners (ELLs), and urban education. She began her career in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where she taught English and English Language Development to a population made of up 99.9% Latinos, who either were or had been ELLs. Before becoming a professor, Dr. Soto also served LAUSD as a literacy coach and district office administrator. She has presented on literacy and language topics at various conferences, including the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), the California Association for Bilingual Association (CABE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the National Urban Education Conference. As a consultant, Soto has worked with Stanford University's School Redesign Network (SRN) and WestEd, as well as a variety of districts and county offices in California, providing technical assistance for systemic reform for ELLs and Title III. Soto is the co-author of The Literacy Gaps: Building Bridges for ELLs and SELs, as well as ELL Shadowing as a Catalyst for Change and From Spoken to Written Language with ELLs, all published by Corwin Press. Together, the books tell a story of how to systemically close achievement gaps with ELLs by increasing their oral language production in academic areas. Soto is Executive Director of the Institute for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching (ICLRT) at Whittier College, whose mission it is to promote relevant research and develop academic resources for ELLs and Standard English Learners (SELs) via linguistically and culturally responsive teaching practices.

Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Introduction to the Book Series 2. Connecting the Research on Academic Vocabulary and Discourse 3. Practical Application in the Classroom: Selecting Words to Teach 4. Fostering Literacy With Vocabulary: Teaching Words 5. Vocabulary Instruction During Reading 6. Vocabulary Assessment and Teaching Vocabulary After Reading 7. Conclusions, Challenges, and Connections Epilogue: The Vision References Index