#Definition of sheltered english instruction series

Saunders, Goldberg and Marcelletti made a series of recommended guidelines for teaching ELD that are helpful, but urge that more research in this area is needed. Similarly, there is not a strong research base that focuses specifically on ELD in K-12 schools. However, much research in this field still needs to be done to determine the effectiveness of helping English learners reach academic English proficiency and closing the achievement gap. These models are promising and have differing levels of research that support their implementation. Two popular models of instruction - The SIOP Model and Project GLAD - will be explored in the next section of this article. In sheltered instruction courses, the content is the focus, and the teacher uses strategies to make the content comprehensible while at the same time helping to develop academic English.Ĭlaude Goldenberg recently reviewed research on sheltered instruction and found that little empirical research is available that demonstrates the effectiveness of sheltered instruction in terms of closing the achievement gap. Though the students may use content or content area topics as a vehicle, the learning and practice of language skill is the emphasis in these classrooms. The emphasis in ELD courses is on English language skills. In ELD, English learners are explicitly taught the language skills needed to be successful in classrooms. The distinction between ELD and sheltered instruction is important. Other names and acronyms such as ESL, ESOL, TESOL and other terms are also used to discuss this concept.Īccording Saunders, Goldenberg and Marcelletti, ELD is 'instruction that focuses specifically on helping English learners develop English language skills and that is delivered in a portion of the school day separate from the academic content that all students need to learn.' Sheltered instruction should take place in each of the content-area classrooms where English learners are present and may additionally benefit students that struggle academically for a variety of reasons.ĮLD refers to the specific language instruction English learners need in order to continue to learn English language skills. In order to shelter instruction effectively, teachers need to make content comprehensible, scaffold content and language, and develop language objectives, as well as integrate language instruction and development in the classroom. This includes carefully analyzing the language demands of the lesson and designing language objectives that will help students increase academic language proficiency. Sheltered instruction refers to carefully scaffolding instruction to make the content accessible to English learners in content-area instruction. The two are related, but vary to some degree.

It is important that we are clear on the two concepts being discussed: sheltered instruction and English language development (ELD). In this two-part series, sheltered instruction and English language development (ELD) will be explored. Some schools are unaware of the need for each, some schools focus on one more than another, or omit one or the other. How schools implement these two instructional pieces varies widely. However, two key ingredients are necessary: sheltered instruction and English language development.

Our diverse classrooms make the job challenging, but through the implementation of research-based best practices, schools can meet these needs.įor English learners, research is scant on what works to close the achievement gap. Schools today are charged with meeting the needs of each child: the average, the gifted, the special-needs student, the English learner.