TeacherServer.com
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!)
There are several things that may be contributing to Grigor's unwillingness to speak in the school setting. For example, does Grigor have a shy, self-conscious, or anxious temperament? Are any children ostracizing him because he is an immigrant learning a new language? Are there any cultural factors contributing to this long "silent period"? Are there any developmental or language delays affecting his language development? Further investigation into some of these questions, may assist in removing the "silent" barrier. I would also encourage you to provide lots of hands-on activities and interactive small group work for Grigor to participate. This might give Grigor more confidence speaking to his peers. There are also some great programs out there that other schools have implemented that may help. I read about one called the "Newcomer School Program" in Garland, Texas. In this school, they group all ELLs in a self-contained classroom for all core classes and then send ELLs with regular ed to electives or P.E. This program, according to the teacher, Marie Heath, has had tremendous success helping students acquire English and at the same time maintain continued academic growth and progress. It was intriguing and might be worth investigating.