English through Science - Figuratively Speaking

Subject: English
Level: Primary
Age Group: General
Order Number: 5125

This unique English teaching resource is designed to develop higher-level language skills of EAL learners (and many monolingual English speakers!) between 7-14 years of age.

The emphasis is on collaborative learning, since meaningful talk is the key to language acquisition! Photocopiable masters provide a starting point for discussion and shared research, which is both thought-provoking and supportive of language development. They address some of the language features that challenge EAL learners, including:

• word structure
• idiomatic expressions
• homonyms (looking at meanings across contexts)

The key words are borrowed from basic science and are, therefore, familiar. Although this is primarily a stand-alone language resource, greater impact on learning may be gained if the activities are used in parallel with the teaching of the relevant science topic.

Activities to establish the relationship between verbs, nouns and adjectives (e.g. predict/prediction/predictable) encourage purposeful use of dictionary skills whilst extending vocabulary. Exploration of word meaning across a range of contexts enriches language and enables pupils to begin to make connections in their understanding of how language works.

English is rich in idiomatic expressions, but their intended meaning is not immediately apparent. This resource provides the opportunity to enjoy the humour and to illustrate the literal meaning of such statements as 'It turned my stomach over!' whilst providing guidance towards an understanding of the intended figurative meaning.

The impact of such learning will be evident not only in higher levels of achievement in English, but also in other curriculum areas and beyond.