If Language Functions were a car, then Language Forms would be the tires, gas, engine, steering wheel and all the other parts that make that car drive. Teaching language functions has been the driving force (no pun intended, LOL) behind my English Language Development (ELD) instruction for several years and I love it! Students in every grade level, K-12 and beyond, use language functions across all content areas, so IMO, teaching Forms and Functions is an excellent way to build academic language and provide a pathway to language proficiency for English learners.
My previous post was all about teaching Language Functions. Well, Form and Function go hand in hand, so let's dive into how Language Forms plays a role in ELD instruction.