ABSTRACT
When considering how instruction and assessment should be planned and implemented for maximum comprehensibility and participation, it is important to understand how communication can be hindered or furthered for English language learners. English language learners who began schooling in another language may understand scientic concepts they were previously taught, but they just don’t understand them in English. On the other hand, many English language learners are learning concepts in their science classes that are completely new to them, and they need to comprehend the concepts via their teachers’ and classmates’ communication, both verbal and non-verbal, about the concepts.
