The content-ESL program model offers a promising alternative designed to minimize the time gap between when ELL students master English and when they begin receiving content area instruction. A key feature of the model is a strong emphasis on active student communication on content topics. By providing opportunities to use language in meaningful contexts, teachers can facilitate their students' transition into mainstream courses. Academic Language A prerequisite to developing integrated language and content lessons is an understanding of the academic language competencies needed to function successfully in the content classroom. Students need to use tools that correspond closely to social studies, such as globes and maps.
Conceptual vocabulary is more abstract and thus more difficult for students to comprehend.
Mastery of both types of conceptual vocabulary is critical to understanding history. Teachers of ELLs should take care to instruct students in the meanings and uses of conceptual words by drawing connections to current events or students' personal experiences. For example, both teachers and students define terms and sequence events, but rephrasing student responses, conducting information reviews, or giving directions are generally limited to the teacher's domain. Teachers should provide students opportunities to practice using their functional language. Researchers' examination of textbooks used in middle school American history courses also revealed common text structures.