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!) During the silent period students can seem moody, fearful, or even terrified. Yet their silence is not an indication that they are unwilling to socialize or cooperate (Igoa, 1995). In Grigor's case he seems to be unwilling, especially since he talks at home, which makes me think it is more than the silent period. You are right. It does not make sense that he would be in the silent period for almost two years. You as the teacher you need to find out if it is the content his is not understanding, if he is uncomfortable with it, or if it is a lack of communicate not only with content, but language abilities. If he is willing to talk to you outside of the classroom I would start there. I would ask specifically why he does not want to or does not feel comfortable talking in class. He might give you information you would have never figured out without asking him specifically. If Grigor were not willing to talk to you I would ask his parents to ask him questions. They could then relay the information to you. This is a very complicated situation and I would hope that he opens up to someone, somehow.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I agree with your thoughts here. Grigor shouldn't be going through a silent period 2 years later. There must be something else going on. Rated On: October 15, 2014 12:32 am Rated By: ySaryN