Why English Language Learners Struggle with Abstract Texts (and How to Make Them Understandable)

It is easy to say students cannot read grade-level text. That is often not the real issue.

In many secondary classrooms, English language learners are not struggling with difficulty. They are struggling with abstraction.

Think about sentences like “Industrialization transformed economic systems,” or “The author develops a central claim,” or “Complex interactions between variables.” These are not just hard. They are compressed. They carry a lot of meaning in very few words, and that meaning is often invisible to students who, in many cases, have a limited amount of knowledge on subjects teachers assume students already know.

As students move into higher grade levels, texts change. Ideas become more conceptual, vocabulary carries more weight, and sentences get denser. When students do not understand a passage, it is often because they cannot picture what is happening, they do not have the background knowledge, or they cannot unpack how the sentence is built. This hits multilingual learners the hardest, but it is not limited to them.

Good teachers already respond to this in the right ways. They give examples, rephrase ideas, break sentences apart, and connect content to real situations. In simple terms, they make language more concrete. The problem is not knowing what to do. The problem is doing it consistently, especially when time is limited and expectations are high.

This is where a more deliberate approach helps. What we call the AIR Concretization Framework is a simple way to think about the work. The goal is to make abstract ideas concrete, make hidden meaning visible, and keep the academic idea intact while increasing clarity. Tools like ChatGPT can support this, but only if they are used with clear direction. Most people use it to summarize. It is far more useful when it is guided to think like a teacher.

Below are three prompts that can be used with science, history, or ELA texts. They are meant to be practical. You can use them with tomorrow’s lesson.

1. Make Abstract Ideas Concrete for English language learners

Use this when students are reading but not fully understanding what the text is actually saying.

You are an expert secondary ESL teacher trained in making complex academic language accessible without removing rigor.

Take the passage below and rewrite it so that:- Every abstract idea is paired with a concrete, real-world example appropriate for a 12–16-year-old student- 

All implied meaning is made explicit- Academic vocabulary is preserved, but immediately explained in context- 
The tone remains academically appropriate

Finally, extract 5–8 high-value vocabulary words or phrases from the original text. Prioritize words that:
- are essential to understanding the main idea
- are abstract or academic
- are likely unfamiliar to students

List them at the bottom in this format so students can define them before reading:

Vocabulary Preview:
1. word:
2. word:
3. word:

Passage:[PASTE TEXT]

2. Break Down Complex Sentences

Use this when the sentence itself is the barrier and students get lost before they even reach the idea.

You are an expert in breaking down complex academic sentences for English learners.Take the sentence below and:

1. Break it into smaller meaningful chunks
2. Rewrite each chunk in simple, clear language
3. Explain how the chunks connect to form the full meaning

Then:- Provide a fully rewritten version of the sentence at a lower language complexity while preserving the original meaning- 
Highlight any words or phrases that may confuse students

Finally, extract 5–8 high-value vocabulary words or phrases from the original sentence. Prioritize words that:
- are essential to understanding the main idea
- are abstract or academic
- are likely unfamiliar to students

List them at the bottom in this format so students can define them before reading:

Vocabulary Preview:
1. word:
2. word:
3. word:

Sentence:[PASTE SENTENCE]

3. Surface Background Knowledge

Use this when students still do not understand even after explanation.

You are a curriculum specialist identifying hidden barriers in academic texts for multilingual learners. Analyze the passage below and identify all background knowledge a student would need to understand it.

Organize your response into:
1. Required historical, cultural, or contextual knowledge
2. Assumed academic concepts or prior learning
3. Implicit references or ideas not directly explained

Then:- Explain each item in simple, clear language- Provide a quick example for each

Finally:
- Create a short pre-teaching plan with 3–5 steps that can be done in under 10 minutes
- Extract 5–8 high-value vocabulary words or phrases from the original text. Prioritize words that are essential to understanding the main idea, abstract or academic, or likely unfamiliar to students.

List them at the bottom in this format so students can define them before reading:

Vocabulary Preview:
1. word:
2. word:
3. word:

Passage:[PASTE TEXT]

You do not need to overhaul your lesson to use this. Take a section of text, run one prompt, and use the output to introduce the lesson, support students during reading, or build background before starting. It is a small shift, but it changes access quickly.

More multilingual learners are spending their day in general education classrooms, and content teachers are expected to support language without always being given a clear process. This is one way to approach it. It keeps the content intact while giving students a way into the language.

There is more to this than three prompts, and I am putting together a full set that teachers can use directly in planning. If you have ever had the sense that students are not understanding the text in front of them, this is worth trying.

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At AIR Language, this idea shows up across everything we build. The goal is simple. Make academic language clear enough for students to work with, while keeping expectations high.