Academic English most commonly refers to the forms and functions of the language that students can expect to encounter in educational settings. The formal features that occur at the word, sentence, and discourse levels of the language may make the English used for academic purposes different from its counterparts used in nonacademic settings. The functions or purposes to which English is put in school may also differ from out-of-school usage. Command of these forms and functions is often thought critical for establishing access to academic content in school and for displaying knowledge of newly acquired subject matter across the academic content areas, namely language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. This entry provides an overview to situate the current educational interest in academic English and ...

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