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  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!)
From what I have learned, the first step a teacher should take in this situation is to bridge the gap between the child's home culture and the school's culture. It seems as though Grigor is not culturally secured or feels a sense of belonging at school. In this regard, the teacher should reach out more to Grigor by inviting him to share aspects of his culture with the class. Also, I would make it my business as his teacher to adorn the classroom with elements of Grigor's culture that would make him feel more at ease at school.

In addition, I will try to allocate times for one-on-one conferences with Grigor to identify what is really hindering his progress, as well as to use such times to teach him strategies to support his learning.