ABSTRACT
Academic language may be more or less accessible for different students. This chapter opens by discussing some key theoretical work which can offer some insight into why this might be the case. Parallels are drawn between Bernstein’s restricted versus elaborated codes and speech versus writing, and issues surrounding implicit teaching of academic language [skills] (CALP/CALS) alongside more everyday language (BICS) are discussed. It is acknowledged that formal, academic and written language may be valued more highly in schooling, and it is argued that this may be reductive and may play into certain social justice issues. Academic language is not simply characterised by the more technical vocabulary and grammar of written language, but rather its form is shaped by its unique functions. This chapter argues for a genre and register approach to analysing academic language. Such an approach allows for a fine-grained analysis of sub-types of academic language, including disciplinary language and the language of genres within disciplines. Some particularly challenging features of academic language found across genres and disciplines around the time of the transition are discussed.
