Academic language is the linguistic glue that holds the tasks, texts, and tests of school together. If students can't use this glue well, their academic work is likely to fall apart. According to the author of this article, "academic language" is defined as the set of words and phrases that (1) describe content-area knowledge and procedures; (2) express complex thinking processes and abstract concepts; and (3) create cohesion and clarity in written and oral discourse. Teachers need to help English language learners develop a set of automatic strategies--otherwise known as learning habits--that they can use to acquire academic language in any setting. The five learning habits discussed in this article can help students recognize and understand academic language in a variety of classroom contexts. The author developed the list by drawing on research from language acquisition theory, academic language development, and constructivist learning methods.