Sheltered English instruction refers to a way of teaching the English language in a way centered on the student. SEI has several components unique to it. These are preparation, background knowledge, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, application, lesson delivery, and assessment (Berman, 2012). This paper will evaluate two lessons to test them for their use of proper teaching techniques
The first lesson is the SIOP lesson plan for introducing irony. The lesson can be said to successfully implement SEI strategies. This is because the elements of the strategies can be found therein. For example, the lesson plan has preparation for the students. For preparation, students are given the lesson objectives before the lesson begins. Moreover, students are given PowerPoint presentations and situational cards on irony and further grouped into groups that join higher performers with lower performers. The PowerPoint presentations and situational cards also act as effective comprehensible input since learning is made audio-visual (Echevarria, and Graves, 2009). Background knowledge on the topic is not applicable to this lesson plan since the students are new to the concept of irony. For application, the students read their situational cards and try to determine the irony depicted therein. Sentence stems will also be used for practice and application. Each student will moreover be involved in the class discussion and will present their situational card in front of the class. This will moreover help with increased interaction for the students; another element of SEI strategies. For lesson delivery, the lesson plan is SEI successful since it will use verbal communication to introduce the three ironies to the class. For assessment, the lesson plan aims to measure the success of the lessons by determining if the students match their situation cards correctly.
The SIOP lesson plan for introducing irony does not explicitly discuss academic language. However, the plan gives the different keywords that would appear regularly in the lesson. These keywords are irony, situational, verbal, and dramatic. Moreover, the lesson plan defines irony as a vocabulary to be linguistic device used by authors to surprise and shock their audiences (Echevarria, Vogt and Short, 2008). Although there are few vocabularies in the lesson plan, their instruction is assisted by a few methods and strategies. For example, the situational cards assist with instruction of the vocabulary. Moreover, the group discussions help the students to vocalize these vocabularies frequently such that they are more accustomed to the vocabulary. Additionally, the quiz designed at the end of the lesson plan ensures that the learned vocabulary is tested to confirm comprehension. The same goes for the literary essay that the students are supposed to write at the end of the lesson. This is especially helpful in instructing vocabulary since students will get the chance to use new words in a context of their making.
In comparison with the former lesson plan discussed above, the second lesson plan on the parts of a cell has adequately implemented SEI strategies (Freeman and Freeman, 2008). For example, the lesson plan begins with reminding the students what they studied during their last lesson. Moreover, important background information is presented to them prior to the beginning of the lesson. As preparation, the plan offers the different learning objectives to make the students ready for their studies. In this category, there are two types of objectives. The first, content objectives, involves ensuring the student distinguishes animal cells from plant cells, naming organelles, knowing their functions, and building a cell model. The second, language objectives, covers discussion of cells in the class, negotiating on the designs for the models, and knowing appropriate terms for the cells. The students are also prepared by being told the requisite material for the lesson. For presentation, the lesson plan aims to give the students the cell model construction instructions. Moreover, showing the students models from the previous year’s class would also help visual thinkers to comprehend how to construct the model for application and practice, students are supposed to be grouped into threes where each group will create their own 3D model of a cell. Materials to be used during the practice include cardboard foam, play dough, spheres, cakes, or fruits. There will be a lot of labeling and coloring of the organelles on the model to assure the teacher that they really understood the living cell. Assessment and review will be conducted through playing a game created on the basis of the living cell.
Just like in the first lesson plan, this latter plan does not explicitly discuss academic vocabularies. However, there are language objectives that each student needs to fulfill by the end of the lesson. Examples of these objectives include demonstration of the capacity to discuss cells in class, to negotiate on the designs for the models, and to know appropriate terms for the cells.in addition to that, the lesson states that students taking it must either be advanced beginners or intermediate speakers. As for vocabulary, there are ways that assist in its instruction (Rossell, 2015). A good example is the game that the teacher uses to review comprehension of the lesson. The game is important in teaching vocabulary since every student must enunciate the words properly during their turn to present a model
Conclusion
Sheltered English Learning is an important approach in the teaching of English as a second or third language. The approach is effective since it follows the knowledge path that everyone uses to understand a concept (Short, Fidelman and Louguit, 2012). This path starts with preparing for the reception of knowledge, learning some background information of the knowledge, an input that one will be able to understand, actual learning, applying the knowledge and reviewing if the knowledge is learned.
References
Berman, P. (2012). Meeting the Challenge of Language Diversity. An Evaluation of California Programs for Pupils with Limited Proficiency in English.
Echevarria, J., " Graves, A. W. (2009). Sheltered content instruction: Teaching English language learners with diverse abilities. Los Angeles, CA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., " Short, D. (2008). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model.
Freeman, D., " Freeman, Y. (2008). Sheltered English Instruction. ERIC Digest.
Rossell, C. (2015). Teaching English through English. Educational Leadership, 62(4), 32-36.
Short, D. J., Fidelman, C. G., " Louguit, M. (2012). Developing academic language in English language learners through sheltered instruction. Tesol Quarterly, 46(2), 334-361.
