Discourse Skills or Academic Language
Discourse requires that children go beyond the word or sentence to produce
several utterances, or to engage in several conversational turns, to build a linguistic
structure such as a fictional or factual narrative or account, an argument or an
explanation (Hickman, 2003). In addition to having the vocabulary and sentence
structure to carry the topic, children must develop specific discourse skills such
as understanding how to regulate the flow of information across utterances and
how sentences relate to each other and extend meaning while maintaining a
coherent and cohesive structure (Hickman, 2003). The language of discourse is
a literate language requiring different forms of expression to those of everyday
conversation. Snow (2014) identifies specific features as including: displaying
subject knowledge using subject specific vocabulary and the ability to talk
about complex ideas, hypotheses and abstractions. The language forms required
include sophisticated vocabulary and grammatical elements such as the use of the
embedded clause and passive voice.