An investigation into the role of language in science education at junior cycle level in Ireland

The language of science is a problem that pupils face in both second and third-level education. Wellington and Osborne (2001) claimed that “language is a major barrier (if not the major barrier) to most pupils in learning science” (p. 2). Science has its own language and difficulties presented in acquiring and understanding the language act as barriers for many pupils. However, to-date in Ireland, little research has been conducted into the problems caused by language in the teaching and learning of science at second-level. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role which language plays in science education at Junior-Cycle level in Ireland. There were three distinct phases in this investigation. The purpose of Phase one was to examine the level of awareness of Irish science teachers of the problems which the language of science poses to their pupils in both theory and practice. This preliminary work also identifies whether teachers have experienced any of these problems and assesses if and how they respond to the problem(s) created by the complex and multi-faceted nature of the language of science. Data was collected using questionnaires which were administered to 86 second-level science teachers and case studies (Extracts of text) which were administered to 7 second-level science teachers within the Munster region in Ireland. Findings from this phase of the investigation indicate that Irish Science teachers are aware that the language of science is a barrier to pupil’s acquisition of scientific knowledge and understanding but that their awareness appears to be almost limited to the technical language of science e.g. isotope. This phase also found that 67% of the teachers (n=86) felt that they are not adequately equipped with teaching methodologies and strategies to deal with this problem especially considering the linguistic diversity of our classrooms. Phase two of the investigation involved assessing students’ level of competence with the use of non-technical language in Science education at both second and third-level through a pen and paper diagnostic test. This instrument also examined students’ ability to manipulate the meaning of non-technical words based on the context that they are provided in. Findings from this phase of the investigation indicate that very few of the words tested turned out to be satisfactory in all formats. Many of the words which science teachers use are not readily accessible to all their pupils. Phase three of this investigation involved the development, implementation and evaluation of teaching strategies and materials to alleviate difficulties that pupils have the use of language in science education. This took the form of the ‘Language in Science intervention programme ‘LiSP’, which helped address the problems that pupils have with the role of language in science teaching and learning. Evaluation of the intervention programme ‘LiSP’ showed that, within the limitation of evaluation, it did have a positive effect in addressing the problem of the use of language in science teaching and learning. It has also shown to a positive effect on teacher’s awareness to the full extent of the problem of the role of language in science teaching and learning i.e. all the areas that the term ‘language’ covers. The results suggest that such a research-based intervention programme can alleviate some of the factors that make the role of language in science teaching and learning a barrier to pupils’ acquisition of scientific knowledge and understanding. The theoretical framework of this phase of the project was that of Participatory Action Research (PAR). The aim of PAR is to ensure the value of research for practical use, and thus, close the gaps between research and teaching practice (Eilks & Ralle, 2002).