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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!) It sounds like Grigor is confident at home while at school he is insecure. As the teacher it is your first responsible to make Grigor feel comfortable while at school. You need to try and find out what is making Grigor feel as though he is unable to communicate at school. After two years in the new country Grigor should be out of the silent stage and start trying to take part in classroom activities. I would encourage lessons with small group sharing, sharing with their elbow partners, or working with partners on assignments. This type of communication will start to develop relationships and trust with others in the classroom. During small group sharing time the teacher should rotate between the groups to ask for questions or bring up information that might have been overlooked. If after several weeks of these types of interaction Grigor is still not communicating with friends during group times, I would become concerned and discuss those concerns with Grigor. |
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