Introduction to

Bridging
Connecting English to
Other Academic Disciplines
In Project Based Learning

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Rules for the hour

1. Teachers must be in a group with three other teachers. Each group will have
four members.
2. Each small group will communicate through Zoom, WhatsApp, or any other
platform.
3. Each teacher will have a role in the group during all discussion activities:
a. Discussion Leader - make sure that each teacher participates.
b. Reflection Leader - make sure that each teacher shares in the reflection.
c. Timekeeper - make sure that teachers stay on schedule during any discussion or reflection.
d. Salvavida - if there is a problem, the communicator contacts Susan on WhatsApp.

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 Workshop Goals

English teachers will identify

elements of bridging and use them in
project-based lesson planning.

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In this workshop about bridging, teachers will:

1. Share a common experience with other teachers (5

minutes)
2. View a short video to experience bridging (5
minutes)
3. Read and discuss a short text on bridging. (15
minutes)
4. Try applying the bridge in lesson planning with other
teachers (25 minutes)
5. Share a reflection on bridging in English classes (10
minutes)
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1. Share a common experience (5 min.)

1. Think of an ability that you have learned, but not in school.

For example, maybe you learned how:
a. to surf c. to sew clothing
b. to play the guitar d. To make colada morada
2. How did you learn this ability? Was it easy to learn?
Difficult? How did you feel when you learned how to do it?
How did this ability help you to do other things, too?
3. Share your thoughts with your group.
4. In writing, identify common elements of your experiences.

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2. Watch the Video to Experience Bridging (5 min.)

As you watch the video, think about:

1. How will your students experience
bridging?
2. How can language teaching
techniques that you have used in
the past support bridging?
3. What questions do you have about
the bridging process?
Ready? You may watch the video now!
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Example 1: Building background/motivation through a shared, concrete
experience: Guess the Animal

1. Guess the animal.

a. I am thinking of an endemic animal that lives in the Galapagos.
b. This animal is black in color.
c. This animal can swim in the ocean, but it is not a fish.
d. This animal lays eggs, but it is not a bird. (Continue until the
head of the animal is visible).
e. This animal is a marine iguana.
2. Ask students if they have seen marine iguanas, and where they have
seen them.
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Marine Iguana

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Example 2: Language transfer &
metalinguistic awareness through Activity 2. New Vocabulary
discovery
Often, Spanish and English words are similar.
For example, océano and ocean have the same
Activity 1. Words that look similar. Many
meaning. We call these words cognates. Can
English words are similar to Spanish
you match them? Draw a line to connect the
words. Which Spanish words look like the
Spanish and English cognates.
English words? Write the word in Spanish
on the line. Spanish English
visit _visitar_____________
marine iguana ___________________ áreas protegidas ocean
human ___________________
animal ___________________ océano endemic
problem ___________________
naturaleza protected areas
The teacher wonders: Will
students need a word bank for the acciones public areas
first activity? How could listening to
an audio of the vocabulary after áreas públicas nature
completing both activities help
students? endémico actions
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 Practice & Produce
Instructions
1. Listen to and watch the short video about
marine iguanas.
2. Now, read the text. You will see many
cognates. Underline the problems that
tourists can cause for marine iguanas.
3. In the last paragraph, we see a question:
What actions will protect marine iguanas?
There is one action. Underline the action.
4. What do you think? Are there more actions
that humans can take to protect marine
iguanas and other endemic animals? Go to
the pier or the beach to think of some
solutions.
5. Write down your ideas in a few sentences to
share with your teacher and classmates.
Protect Marine Iguanas
Tourists visit the Galapagos Islands to see
the endemic animals. Marine iguanas are
part of nature in the Galapagos. Although
marine iguanas find food in the ocean, they
rest on land in the warm sun.
We can see marine iguanas in protected
areas and in public areas. Sometimes
humans can cause problems for marine
iguanas while they rest. Tourists walk too
close to the animals and take photographs.
They touch the marine iguanas. Tourists offer
the animals human food.
What actions can protect marine iguanas?
We can ask tourists to keep distant from
marine iguanas and other wild animals in the
Galapagos.Together, we can protect nature.
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3. Read and Discuss a Text on Bridging (15 min.)

1. Pre-reading. The text is on the next two

pages. Before you read it, think about what
you experienced in the video and write
down your thoughts.
2. During reading. As you read, note the
important components of bridging. Is
bridging similar to how you have taught
before? Is it different? How?

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 3. Read and Discuss a Text on Bridging
Bridging in Language Teaching, p. 1

In bridging, one skill transfers, or bridges, to a new skill. In language teaching, bridging is an approach
to teach disciplinary language learned in language #1 in language #2 (Beeman & Urow, 2013). For
example, students first learn about the process of global warming in Spanish (language #1). Then, the
students learn the essential terminology in English (language #2) to communicate in English. Spanish
knowledge supports English academic proficiency.
There are two purposes for the bridging approach: 1) language transfer (Spanish to English) and 2)
developing metalinguistic awareness. Metalinguistic awareness means metacognition about how
Spanish and English are both similar and different. For example, marina and marine are cognates, but
tierra and land are not. Students can notice that word order is different, too. In Spanish, we have iguana
marina (noun-describing word) and in English, marine iguana (describing word-noun). Students develop
academic literacy more completely in both Spanish and in English when they actively compare elements
of both languages.
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 3. Read and Discuss a Text on Bridging
Bridging in Language Teaching, p. 2

Teachers must prepare students for the bridge across languages. How do we do it?
1. First, teachers prepare a common, concrete learning experience for the students. In the video, visual
aids and a chant introduced students to key words in English about climate change and global
warming.
2. Next, teachers guide students in studying the key words and phrases of the discipline in English. The
teacher guides the students to notice similarities and differences between the two languages.
3. Then, students apply their understanding. For example, they can label a picture or a diagram in both
languages, using the key words OR they could circle cognate pairs, add them to a list, and discuss how
they are similar.
4. Finally, the students are ready to use this language in activities related to the interdisciplinary project.

In bridging, the teacher coaches the students in making observations about language in a dynamic way.
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3. Read and Discuss a Text on Bridging
Post-reading Discussion

1. Name the two purposes of bridging.

2. Explain metalinguistic awareness in your own words.
3. Why is important for students to share in a common experience (such as
using visual aids and a jazz chant) in a bridging lesson?
4. How can comparing academic Spanish and English help students to
develop their English vocabulary?
5. How can bridging lessons be used in interdisciplinary, project-based
learning about sustainability in the Galapagos?

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4. Applying the bridge in lesson planning
(25 min.)

Within your group of 4:

1. Identify essential or key words and phrases in the interdisciplinary project.

What are the corresponding English words or phrases for the bridging
lesson?
2. Consider the English level of your students. Which technique will you use for
the shared experience? Explain the technique with the words and phrases
you have identified.

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5. Share a reflection on bridging (10 min.)

1. Complete these statements:

a. The most interesting idea about bridging is ________ because ______.
b. The most challenging part about bridging is _____ because ______.
c. I would like to know more about _______________________________.
2. Share your statements with the others in your group of 4.
3. Ask others in your group about their responses.
4. Do you have any questions or comments for Susan about bridging? Invite
her to join your discussion.

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 Credits and References

Slide 1. Bridge over Río Atabampa by Marcelo Uguña & Rodrigo León. Portal
web varios autores, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59422739

Slide 8. Beeman, K. & Urow, C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy: Strengthening

bridges between languages. Caslon.

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