The presentation will consist of a review that synthesizes the forms that language scaffolds take in content classrooms where learners are learning subject content a second language. This synthesis serves as a point of departure for an observation tool to assess the use of language scaffolds in classrooms.
An increasing number of learners follow (part of) their secondary education in a second language. Language scaffolding is an important feature of approaches to supporting language learning in the content classroom. This applies both in the context of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), where the goal is to support foreign language learning, and of Language Oriented Content Teaching (LOCT), which supports L2 learners in mainstream schooling. There is little concrete knowledge regarding the extent to which content teachers in L2 medium classrooms utilize language scaffolds and of the forms these scaffolds take. The absence of a uniform way of conceptualizing language scaffolds in such contexts makes it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness in practice. This presentation will offer of a structured review of the various forms language scaffolds take in the context of L2 content classrooms. The focus of the central research question will be the forms that language scaffolds take in contexts in which learners are learning subject content through a second language. The review will synthesize research into the application of language scaffolding in content classrooms where the medium of instruction is not the learners’ L1. The resulting synthesis will serve as a means to conceptualize an observation tool to assess quantitatively and qualitatively the ways in which teachers of social sciences, which includes the subjects geography and civics, make use of language scaffolds in their classrooms within the context of Dutch bilingual secondary education and international transition classes.
