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!) If Grigor is communicating with people in English at home and can read and write in English in class, then the problem does not seem to be a language skill issue. I think it's just a personality one- Grigor is just shy. He speaks English at home because he is comfortable there in his own environment, but he is hesitant to at school because he is uncomfortable for some reason. Have you ever corrected his English? Perhaps this embarrassed him. Perhaps he speaks English with an accent and other students made fun of him. Perhaps he really is just a quiet person, introverted, and doesn't like to communicate verbally. I think the only thing you can do is make sure you get to know Grigor as a person so as to make him feel comfortable with you and in the classroom. What are his interests? How can you incorporate these in the classroom? Since he is able to write in English, you could ask him to write why he chooses not to speak in class.