What kind of language do our students need in a didactic unit (D.U.)?

[Manuel F. Lara]

The language our students need is academic language (AL)
We should see first what language functions are required in the unit: describe, explain, narrate, ....
Then we must see the key vocabulary and language structures needed in order to perform that function.
The question is: how to work the vocabulary and sytactic structures in that unit?
Why should no linguistic teachers work vacabulary, structures and linguistic functions with their students?

[Manuel F. Lara]

In realtion to academic language here you have an interesting document:

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Langua... by By Julie Meltzer and Edmund T. Hamann

[Manuel F. Lara]

I really think any teacher is a language teacher. We learn concepts mainly through language and any teacher must be aware of how language is used in the subject she/he is teaching. What specific vocabulary and language functions should students dominate to succeed in that subject.