Successful classrooms are places of expectation and responsibility. Academic Language Academic language refers to the language of literacy, the language of books, tests, and formal writing. There are several interrelated aspects of academic language that differ from conversational speech. They include language function, vocabulary, background knowledge, text structure, syntactic complexity, and abstract thinking. Proficiency in academic language is related to achievement in reading and writing as early as third grade.
Academic language is learned by repeated and extended use.
Reading, writing, and talking about books and school subject matter are key. The central importance of students reading widely at increasingly more challenging levels cannot be overemphasized.