RITELL

The Rhode Island Teachers of English Language Learners conference was very interesting.  Dr. Deborah Short is a sort of pioneer for teaching English to non-native speakers and she shared an enlightening presentation with us regarding SIOP, or Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol.  Prior to the event, I had very limited knowledge of this topic.  I actually had an opportunity to experience it being employed while doing observations at Mt. Pleasant High School, but did not realize I had witnessed its utilization until attending this conference.  I have to admit, that my ignorance left me feeling a little bit lost at times during the presentation and that there was so much information in Dr. Short’s lecture did not help matters.  However, I do feel like I have a better understanding of some of the concepts related to English language learning. 

            I was very surprised to find out that the new Common Core State Standards do not address this issue at all.  Dr. Short informed us that the CCSS that is being adopted by 46 states does not provide standards for students who are not native English speakers, nor does it address special education.  Instead, it leaves decisions about these areas up to state and local school boards.  I find this surprising because if such a broad-based program that can be implemented nationwide is being proposed, I feel as though it should clearly be all-inclusive in consideration of the wide range of learners throughout public school systems. 

            Dr. Short presented some data of a study done between schools that employed the SIOP model and those that did not.  It showed that although achievement in the SIOP schools were not always greater than non-SIOP schools, the increases from year to year were much greater among SIOP schools and clearly showed an upward trend whereas non-SIOP schools figures were much more static and even throughout.  This is a promising study, however, I noticed that it was done several years ago, dating back to 2006, and I wondered why there is not more recent data and why the study stopped after three school years. 

            In my brief experience with this strategy, it seems as though it would be a much more effective one than traditional methods of teaching English to new learners.  It does not take away from other content in order to focus on teaching English but instead integrates learning English with learning content.  I witnessed it being effectively used in a 10^th grade World History class and the majority of students in that class displayed signs of understanding and making gains in both areas simultaneously.  In addition, Dr. Short advocates using a more complete method of learning a language, including cultural effects of language, beyond just vocabulary and grammar that sometimes do not adequately serve an English language learner. 

            I will be interested to continue to study and perhaps someday employ SIOP methods in a classroom.  I left the conference with a list of sources for more information on the topic and since I am now a member of RITELL, I will continue to receive their email newsletter.