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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!) I experienced this same situation with one of my students in Kindergarten. The little girl could speak some English but at school she did not speak at all, she actually only spoke to the intervention teacher in private. I also spoke with the parents and they also said that she was completely normal at home. One thing that we found helpful was to pair her with another girl in the class. This other student had a very sweet and caring personality. It got to the point where she would mouth the words the other student and to myself. Over the summer the two girls spent a lot of time together and she began using her words. |
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