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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!) While we may be rushed to call this a "silent period" the student could simply be shy at school. Try building a relationship with him. Ask his parents the activities or hobbies that he enjoys and communicate with him about that. Then maybe you can find out why he is quiet. I had a similar case with one of my soccer players. He was extremely quiet and typically only talked when he was on the soccer field. Even then it was only soccer related. I asked him why he didn't talk to the others and he told me, "I don't have anything to add to their conversations." While I encouraged him to trust and talk to his teammates, I can't really see fault in his statement. |
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