Beyond language: Academic communication and student success

•Teaching academic language across the curriculum is one, among several, crucial components of effective literacy instruction.•Literacy engagement has emerged as a major determinant of literacy achievement.•Instruction that promotes identity affirmation will maximize the effects of literacy engagement and academic language teaching. This paper argue that an explicit focus on teaching the nature of academic language and how it works to create meaning in complex texts is a crucial component of effective instruction for students who are at risk of underachievement. However, it is just one among several crucial components. Equally important are the promotion of literacy engagement and identity affirmation. Despite extensive empirical evidence supporting the impact of these variables, they have been largely ignored in educational policies and instructional practices.