LANGUAGE ACROSS CURRICULUM, OBJECTIVE AND LEARNING STANDARDS

OBJECTIVES
By the end of the module the participants will be able to
 Illustrate that (beyond simple communication and
interpersonal skills) language plays an important role in
higher order cognitive and academic thinking and
expression.
 Explain how language contributes to the learning of
concepts in other subjects/ domains and how language
learning also takes place through contents belonging to
other subjects.
 Design lesson plans in alignment with the core principles of
LAC.

LEARNING STANDARDS
DOMAINS
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 SOCIO-EMOTIONAL AND EHICAL DEVELOPMENT
 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
 AESTHETIC AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
 POSITIVE LEARNING HABITS

THEME DESCRIPTION
Language Across Curriculum (LAC) is a primary example of curricular reform
involving an interdisciplinary approach. LAC relates to linking different forms and
aspects of language education within the school, the role of language in all
subject learning. LAC can have two primary dimensions:
 Importance of language work
 Language learning in all subjects

LAC
“LAC leads to new forms of language use of L1 or LS (language of the
school), to new types of discourse behaviour, to extended linguistic
competencies, the bases of which are already laid, mainly through
early childhood socialization and through L1/LS education in school.”
- Language Across Curriculum- A Way Towards Plurilingualism by
Helmut Johannes Vollmer.

LAC
At the school level concept formation in any subject heavily
depends on language comprehension. It implies that
language development serves as a foundation for learning in
the other subjects. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt an LAC
approach which integrates the teaching of all the subjects at
the primary level.

LAC
“In addition to the many basic goals of LS/L1, it leads to other
forms of functional language use, to mastering new domains
and discourse types and moving towards a more explicit or
“pre-scientific” mode of thinking and communicating. In
subject-specific contexts language is used as a tool for
cognitively demanding tasks and purposes. This can be seen as
an application of the existing language proficiency in new
contexts and as an extension and transformation of this
proficiency unto a higher or deeper level of cognitive-
academic use.”- Helmut Johannes Vollmer.

Language across curriculum is thus not limited to Reading, Writing,
Listening and Speaking. It also includes visual, images, graphs,
movements – all ‘physical’ forms of human perception and expression.
Thus, there are distinct eight modes of human activities involving
language
 Listening: comprehending oral input/intake
 Speaking: constructing meaningful utterances
 Reading: understanding written texts
 Writing: producing written texts
 Viewing: attending to visual signs/information
 Watching: attending to movements
 Movements: using the whole body / person

The relationship between language and thinking
is central for LAC. In this context we understand
that;
 Language is more than communication skills
 Language is linked to thinking process and is
used in it
 Language is a tool for conceptualizing and
linking information
 Language supports mental activities and
precision in cognition

In the context of foundational stage, since there is no segregation of subjects
the domain of language development can be looked at as a foundation for
enriching the other domains of development.
For example,
 Language will help the child to comprehend the instructions given by the
teacher in an outdoor game or indoor activities like matching, pairing,
sorting etc. language will help the child to comprehend concepts like
making categories, patterns, finding similarities and differences etc.
 It will also help the child to talk about the physical properties including
textures, size, shape, volume etc. In this stage the child also learns the
appropriate language to greet people, speak politely, control emotions and
use language to express emotions and so on

In this light the Goals of LAC could be:
(a) To support language development in each and
every child in all domains of language use in each
learning activity at the school
(b) To consolidate the link between language and
learning (language proficiency and conceptual
understanding)

LANGUAGE FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
 How do children learn language at home?
 How do children learn language at school? Is there any difference
between the two?
 Is there any one way or approach to teach language in school?
 How do children develop conceptual understanding?
 How should we approach language teaching at primary level?

What are the concepts getting developed among
the children?
What is the role of language in developing these
concepts?
Can we design more such activities that will help
to develop simple but important concepts?
TASK A: Language in
developing concepts
Preschool Science Experim
ent at Bright Horizons (yo
utube.com)

The children are free to answer in any language they are comfortable with.
 Then the teacher should ask what are these used for?
ACTIVITY 1

The format in which the activity plan needs to be developed is as follows:
-
Activity name:
Age group:
Learning Outcome:
Competency:
Domain of Development:
Process description: (how the teaching and learning process will unfold)
Materials required:
Reflection of the group:

think about the different kinds of road safety signs that we see around and how language is involved when
children read and interpret these signs though they may not have scripts. Each group can also draw pictures of the
familiar road signs and explain how they can be used as TLMs in their classrooms.
Task B: Language for awareness and physical safety
Road safety for children Chapter 3 (youtube.com)

Children may be asked if they have seen any other road signs which was not shown by the
teacher. They may also be asked to share if they have seen a different image for any of these
road signs. They can draw that and explain where have they seen it and how to interpret the
sign. For example, Hospital sign may vary from place to place.

Task C: Language for higher order thinking
• Step 1- Each group will have a discussion on the story and each member of the group should try to
summarize and explain the story to the other group members.
• Step 2- Each group will think and discuss if any of them have come across any similar story or real-life
incidents in the past.
• Step 3- The groups will find out the central theme of the story and the relevant information that serves as
evidence to the theme.
• Step 4- Then the facilitator would ask to write the group a different ending to the story. Once all the groups
are done, they will pass on their story to the left-hand side group and receive the story from their right-hand
side group.
• Step 5- Each group will discuss and share which story (between their story and the story of the peer group)
has a better ending and why? They will also have to think about 3 points of feedback that they would want to
share with their peer group in order to improve the story based on certain quality parameters that they are
free to decide.

Identifies and describes finer details of the objects, signs, places, common
activities in the in the immediate environment
Compares given objects/pictures and identifies similarities and differences
Makes comparisons within and between categories
Makes predictions based on causal relationships
Sorts objects into groups based on attributes they recognize and
describes the rule of sorting.
Counts objects with understanding of cardinality till 10 accurately.
Domain of Cognitive Development

Domain of Language and Literacy Development
 Listens attentively and speaks in short conversations with familiar people around
 Initiates conversations in daily life with peers and teachers in a variety of school
settings •
 Engages in conversations based on events, stories, or their needs and asks questions
 Engages in conversations, waits for their turn to speak, and allows others to speak
 Maintains the thread of the conversation across multiple exchanges
 Engages in discussion about a topic and raise and respond to questions

LANGUAGE ACROSS CURRICULUM, OBJECTIVE AND LEARNING STANDARDS

LANGUAGE ACROSS CURRICULUM, OBJECTIVE AND LEARNING STANDARDS

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