Science Education And Literacy

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“Although Science is a “practical subject”, science teaching occurs extensively through the medium of language, both spoken and written.....We start from three basic premises (i) language is a major barrier in learning science; (ii) we can identify the main sources of difficulty; (iii) there are teaching strategies which can help to lower the language barrier” Wellington (200, p166) For many pupils language is a major barrier to learning science throughout their school life. Across the curriculum from key stage 3 to A Level, science is a demanding and challenging subject that involves a high degree of understanding and analytical thinking. And this is without considering the difficulties pupils may have with science as a language before even considering concepts and ideas. Language plays a pivotal role in learning in science. Learning the language of science is a major part of science education. The key to understanding a subject is to understand its language (Postman and Weingartner, 1971). Every science lesson is a language lesson (Wellington and Osbourne). Words and ideas are useful but there can never be one correct meaning or definition of each one. It is therefore imperative to uncover how children use words. As teachers we need to listen carefully to children as they use words. We need to be observant and watch out for understanding that may be there but is overshadowed by an underdeveloped and inadequate vocabulary. Language in science can be compared to a foreign language. The words on their own have no meaning like the scientific words we as teachers present to pupils. Our challenge is to explore the range of meanings and the origin of words and how they link together to enable pupils to gradually build them into their own world. Language therefore is one of the most important resources for learning. It is easy to see how words mean different things
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