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!) Grigor seems as if he is uncomfortable in the school setting. First I would try communicating with Grigor and finding out more about him. If Grigor does not want to talk then you could use Igoa's strategy and just have the student around you for periods of time until he is ready to talk. I do not think it is the language barrier that is holding him back since he can communicate with English speakers at home. It is probably more of just nervousness of school. The SIOP method could be implemented to make sure he is picking up language skills to help him feel more comfortable with English.