High-Yield Language Functions

Every ELD Curriculum should include the 11 High-Yield Language Functions. In a previous blog post about ELD Curricula, I discuss why programs for multilingual learners do not generally have curricula specifically for them. In my free 10 Steps to Creating an ELD Curriculum, I briefly mention how important it is to start with the language functions, and use those to drive the content. All content standards are based upon language functions. They are the verbs that appear in them. However, not all language functions are created equal. I want to go more in-depth about this in a series of blog posts about each of what I call High-Yield Language Functions. This first post is the introduction to language functions in the ELD Curriculum.

What is a language function?

Language functions are WHAT the students do with the language in order to interact with the content, as in academic language, or with others through social/instructional language.

11 High-Yield Language Functions

There are many language functions, but I have found in researching standards and curricula that there are 11 High-Yield Language Functions. When I say high-yield, what do I mean? This refers to the language functions that appear across across all disciplines. Once taught, they can help students access the content of any and all subjects. They are useful in both productive and receptive language and across all grade levels. These are what I consider the high-yield language functions:

1. Compare, Contrast, & Analyze- Students use language to understand how two things are similar and different, we can increase our understanding and learn more about both. This usually involves a process of analysis, in which we compare the specific parts as well as the whole. It’s all about making connections between two things, to ourselves, and the world around us. 
2. Cause & Effect: Students use language to describe why and how relationships and patterns exist between events, ideas, processes, and problems. They also identify consequences that led to the outcome.
3. Classify & Sort: Students use language to group objects or ideas according to their characteristics. When we classify things, we group and name them on the basis of something that they have in common. By doing this we can understand certain qualities and features which they share as a class.
4. Evaluate: Students use language to assess and verify the value of an object, idea or decision.
5. Infer, Predict, & Hypothesize: Students use language to infer what is not being overtly stated, make predictions, guesses or hypotheses based upon the given information. 
6. Inquire & Seek: Students use language to observe and explore their environment, they acquire information using questions like who, what, where, when, why, and how.
7. Justify, Persuade, Expressing & Supporting Opinions: Students use language to give reasons for an action, decision, or point of view. They also use it to convince others or to sway an opinion. 
8. Problem Solving: Students use language to define and represent a problem and to describe a solution or the problem solving process. 
9. Sequence & Order: Students use language to sequence events, objects, or ideas in chronological order. 
10. Summarize & Inform: Students use language to Identify, report or describe information. This language function could work for fiction narrating or retelling, or in nonfiction with recounting and informing. It is a rather general, but useful, language function. 
11. Synthesize: Students use language to combine or integrate ideas to form a whole group. It is similar to summarizing, but incorporates new ideas. Synthesis is the opposite of analysis. 

A lot of these functions will overlap. For instance, classify is sorting into categories to decide if things are alike or different. That is an obvious overlap to compare & contrast. 

My three favorite “go-to” language functions are compare/contrast, cause & effect, and sequence & order. I have found as an ELD teacher if I focus my attention on these three functions, and use the other high-yield ones embedded into units, I have covered the majority of academic language my students need in school.

In future blog posts, I will discuss each of the 11 High-Yield Language Functions and suggest activities and units to go with them.

Yours in learning,

Kim