1 To apprear as: Buxton, C., Cardozo Gaibisso, L., Xia, Y., & Li, J. (2017). How perspectives from linguistically diverse classrooms can help all students unlock the language of science. In L. Bryan & K. Tobin (Eds.). 13 Questions: Reframing Education's Conversation: Science. New York: Peter Lang, 273- 291. How Perspectives from Linguistically Diverse Classrooms Can Help All Students Unlock the Language of Science -- Cory Buxton, Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso, Jiong Li and Yu Xia In this chapter, we discuss the specialized language that has evolved over centuries to communicate scientific ideas, and the role that this language plays in modern science education. Scientific language can be seen as a code that is used to unlock scientific thinking and communicating, but that can also appear mysterious and inaccessible to those who are first trying to make sense of it. Scientific language can also be viewed as an exclusive discourse that may intentionally or unintentionally alienate many people who then come to believe that they cannot or do not wish to engage with science. Whichever the case, it has been an ongoing national concern that too many students leave school and live their lives without basic scientific literacy; it is clear that the language of science is both part of this problem and must also be part of any solution. In this chapter, we set out to explore the nature of the language of science, its role in science education, and strategies that we might use as science educators to prevent the language of science from being a barrier to students learning (and wishing to learn) science. We begin the chapter with a discussion of how and why the language of science evolved to function the way it does. Second, we discuss the language of science in the science classroom and some ideas about how students encounter and begin to make sense of this language, or else fail to do so, deciding that science is “not for them.” Third, we consider the role that everyday language can play in understanding and explaining science concepts and how it may (or may not) serve as a bridge to adopting the academic language of science. Fourth, we consider the unique aspects of students learning science in a second (or additional) language and the roles that home language, school language, and various combinations (translanguaging) can play in supporting science learning. More specifically, we explore how a translanguaging orientation can assist teachers in understanding the dynamic role of students’ multiple languages for enhancing the learning of science concepts while sustaining of students’ diverse linguistic repertoires. Fifth, we consider several practical strategies for supporting all students in learning to use the language of science by providing examples from our current research. We conclude the chapter by summarizing recommendations for language use in the science classroom and we raise some additional questions that must be answered to more fully understand how language affects and is affected by the science education process. We note that the majority of the examples we provide come from work done in U.S. contexts. While we believe that our claims and recommendations largely hold true across diverse linguistic, cultural and geographic contexts, we refer the reader to other chapters in this volume for perspectives that draw more centrally on work that does not privledge English as the dominant language of science instruction.