In a world facing complex challenges, chemistry education must not only equip learners with chemistry content knowledge, but the ability to justify decisions using scientific evidence (i.e., argumentation).1,2 Ongoing efforts in chemistry education have incorporated opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate their argumentation skills, such as asking students to justify the direction of an acid–base equilibrium using causal reasoning.3–5 However, most investigations thus far have focused solely on students’ English language arguments, despite the linguistic demands associated with argumentation and the increasing prominence of linguistic diversity in chemistry classrooms.6 We studied the role of language proficiency in how science students (N = 166) from a diversity of language backgrounds constructed arguments about a chemistry phenomenon (ocean acidification). Results indicate a positive association between students’ English language proficiency and the chemistry reasoning demonstrated in their arguments. We will share our findings in detail and how they can be used guide future research and teaching practices.

Students’ justifications of chemistry phenomena: The role of language proficiency

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ACS Fall 2022

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