I was in a non-English speaking country a few months ago and survived several situations by pointing, miming, and using gestures to make my message understood. It made me think, once again, about how difficult it must be for our English learners and their families to navigate everyday life in an English-speaking country. It’s no wonder that people gravitate to neighborhoods to live where their home language and culture are understood.
In classrooms, using techniques to make a message (oral or written) understood is referred to as comprehensible input, and is one of the components of SIOP.
When working with teachers, we find that comprehensible input is one of the easiest places for teachers to begin providing more support for English learners because it builds on practices they are likely already using. There are innumerable ways to make information or instructions – or whatever the teacher is communicating — understandable for English learners. In the SIOP Model, we focus on three features of comprehensible input and have found that the best results come when teachers:
Adjust their speech so that it’s appropriate for a students’ proficiency levels. While it is important for English learners to gain exposure to grade-level academic language, there are times when teachers make adjustments for English learners, particularly those at the beginning or intermediate stages of language acquisition. For example, slowing the pace of speech and enunciating clearly are helpful techniques to use with beginning English learners. With more advanced speakers, the teacher may use native-like speech but will restate, articulate more clearly, or clarify as needed. Likewise, teachers should accept students’ contributions commensurate with their levels of proficiency. A beginning speaker may use only a few words to convey meaning while a more advanced speaker might use complete sentences, perhaps with some errors. Both students are demonstrating their knowledge. For writing, adjustments might include providing word banks, sentence frames or partially completed outlines to support students’ expression.
Clearly explain the expectations for academic tasks. Most individuals are more comfortable and perform better when they know the expectations of a situation. For example, if you are asked to speak before the Board of Education you would want to know the parameters, right? What the topic is, the length of time, the precise message you are supposed to deliver, the desired outcome, etc. The same is true for every task or assignment English learners are asked to complete. Oral explanation by the teacher is ineffective for English learners who likely will have gaps in their understanding of what was said. Here’s where modeling is powerful. Walk students through a step-by-step process of how the task should be done; show a completed example of the assignment; do think-alouds while explaining the task or assignment. Further, write the steps for completing a task or assignment on the board for reference. When students are unsure about what to do, not only do they disengage from learning, but their off-task behavior may result in disruption. Making expectations clear to students contributes to effective and efficient teaching.
Use a variety of techniques to make content concepts clear and understandable. After expectations are made clear, then provide supports to make English learners successful. This feature reflects the “do whatever it takes” approach to making a lesson understandable: visuals, hands-on experiences, previewing material, gestures, graphics, real objects, and so forth. Technology allows teachers to provide visually rich lessons, a huge benefit for English learners when the use of multimedia is well-planned and done with intention. I experienced the power of visuals recently at an annual charity event I attend to support a friend. Typically, it is difficult to hear the after-lunch speaker due to side conversations throughout the room. This year, the speaker captured the attention of the entire audience. She moved around the platform, used gestures, was animated, engaged in question-response with the audience and, perhaps most importantly, used PowerPoint to augment her oral presentation. When she used a term such as zeitgeist, it appeared on the screen and was defined. The difference in delivery – and audience response — was striking. The power of visual representation cannot be overstated, especially for English learners.
Think about TED Talks. These talks are wildly popular. Why? In part, it is because they use the features of comprehensible input. In addition to discussing fascinating, timely topics, TED Talk speakers:
- Adjust their speech to the audience by limiting jargon, acronyms, and overly complex ideas; they speak clearly and concisely; and although they use a natural pace, it is slightly slower to aid in comprehension for listeners who are unfamiliar with the content.
- Make the topic of the presentation clear up front and they stick to the topic which provides the audience an idea of what to expect; listeners are interested and engaged.
- Use techniques to enhance their talk such as gestures and visuals.
The SIOP features of comprehensible input are intended for teachers to use with English learners to help them understand lessons but when you think about it, those features work well with almost any group.