Strategies for Making Social Studies Texts More Comprehensible for English-Language Learners

Reading in content areas is generally difficult for English-language learners (ELLs), but reading in social studies is particularly challenging for ELLs for several reasons. First, ELLs often lack background information that textbook authors assume readers have. Second, ELLs in the process of learning a new language do not have grade-level-appropriate vocabulary that is required for content learning; social studies vocabulary can be highly technical and abstract. Third, the discourse style of social studies texts can be cumbersome for ELLs. Together, these challenges slow ELLs' comprehension. In this article, the author illustrates the difficult nature of social studies texts and suggests concrete strategies to make social students texts more comprehensible for ELLs.