Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Silent Period Grigor is in my 4th grade classroom. He came to the US last year with his family from Bulgaria. He was in 4th grade at our school last year as well. He was retained in 4th grade because he did not develop his English language skills. I learned about a "silent period" that children go through when they learn a new language. My guess is that Grigor is in the silent period. But it does not make sense to me that he would be in the silent period for almost two years. He does not say anything in class. He does not socialize with his classmates either. He can read and write in simple English though. His parents tell me that he acts completely normal at home and he is able to communicate with English speaking people at home when they have guests. This is really puzzling. I have to find a way to communicate with Grigor and discover what is holding him back from communicating with people at school. I need some help. Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) It sounds like Grigor wasn't welcomed into his first classroom the way he should have been. Students do have a silent period, but 2 years does sound like a long time. Allow Grigor to have a journal or a place that he can go for quiet time to draw or write. He needs to be expressing himself in some way in the classroom. If you talk to him and maybe allow him to bring something from home for his "reflection area" so that he feels more comfortable. A classroom full of students who don't speak your language, including the teacher, can be very overwhelming. I was just informed that English language learners develop social English long before they develop successful schooling English so that is not out of the norm.