ABSTRACT
Children solve practical tasks with the help of their speech as well as their eyes and hands.
(Vygotsky 1978)
Although science is a ‘practical subject, science teaching occurs mainly through the medium of language, both spoken and written. The aim of this chapter is to focus on that language and the way that teachers, texts and pupils use it. We start from three basic premises: 1) Language can be a major barrier in learning science; 2) we can identify the main sources of difficulty; 3) there are many teaching and learning strategies that can help to lower the language barrier in science.
