A colleague who is presenting a session at our upcoming SIOP Virtual Conference requested that I take an opportunity on this blog to publicize the conference and the other resources available to educators of multilingual learners. Great idea!
“Teachers of multilingual learners” means essentially every educator in America since multilingual learners are the fastest growing student population comprising approximately 10% of students nationwide with much greater percentages represented in urban areas. If you don’t have multilingual learners in your class today, you will shortly. In many areas of the U.S., the numbers of multilingual students continue to grow and other areas will experience a new influx of students. The resources we offer are designed to make an impact on the lives of our multilingual learners — and their teachers.
For more than 10 years we have hosted an annual SIOP conference where educators can come together and learn from SIOP colleagues from around the U.S. and internationally. There are many excellent sessions offered to teachers and administrators on a variety of topics pertinent to educating multilingual learners. (See agenda). This year’s theme is, Making an Impact.
Also, we’re delighted to announce that a new edition of Making Content Comprehensible for Multilingual Learners: The SIOP Model is hot off the presses. Why a new edition? What educators know about effective instruction continues to evolve as we learn more from research and practice. Over the past decade, understanding of effective sheltered instruction and the needs of multilingual learners has grown substantially. As a result, there are new trends in teaching multilingual learners which are included in the book, highlighted below.
Perhaps most notable is that we have added a new author to our SIOP team, Dr. Katie Toppel, who brings a wealth of experience, creativity, and knowledge to the team. (And fun!)
We hope that you’ll use this new book as a guide for lesson planning and teaching in general education and ELD classes. SIOP teachers tell us that it’s a resource they turn to again and again as they plan and carry out effective lessons. We encourage you to highlight sections, mark pages with sticky notes, and fill margins with application ideas. There is also an e-book available.
Although the format is the same as previous editions, approximately 50% of the content is revised or new.
What are the most significant changes?
- Asset orientation. Since the creation of SIOP, we have consistently adhered to an asset orientation, but you will find it more prominently presented in this edition. We emphasize that multilingual learners bring cultural, linguistic, and experiential assets to the classroom and give concrete examples of how teachers can and must acknowledge those assets and build upon them instructionally. Another way we emphasize an asset orientation is a change of the book’s title. We have previously used the term, English Learners, but Multilingual Learners more accurately captures the linguistic abilities of these students. Oh, that we all were multilingual!
- Use of the home language. There is growing understanding that students benefit from using their full linguistic repertoire in two or more languages purposefully to accomplish a task. Translanguaging in a SIOP classroom is a pedagogical practice that encourages students to use and apply the knowledge they have gained through any language medium (e.g., meaning of words in their home language) to make meaning and perform instructional activities. You’ll find more explicit attention in chapters as to how teachers can use translanguaging practices and build upon students’ home languages and other assets. Further, SIOP Feature 19 has been slightly reworded to make it clear that using the home language in class strategically can help students acquire English and deepen their content knowledge.
- New chapter, Collaborative Practices for Implementing the SIOP Model. Collaboration between ELD/ESL specialists and general education teachers is essential for providing coherent, effective services for multilingual learners. Co-teaching is most effective so that both teachers support one another. This important new chapter provides a detailed explanation of how to implement the co-teaching process effectively. Included are profiles of a general education teacher and ELD/ESL specialist to illustrate the co-teaching process. ELD/ESL specialists and general education teachers will find the content of this chapter to be an invaluable guide for effective collaboration.
- New chapter on Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Multilingual Students (MTSS). Many educators are concerned about multilingual learners who exhibit reading or learning problems and are struggling academically because of them. Few books about teaching multilingual learners address the topic of using data-driven supports to improve students’ academic performance. We provide an illustrated step-by-step process to help educators navigate MTSS with attention to the special considerations needed with multilingual learners. The chapter also includes three case studies of struggling multilingual learners and demonstrates how these students move through the process.
- Focus on technology. During remote learning, teachers found the use of technology to be essential for teaching. Competence in technology went from a skill that was nice to have to one that was a must-have. Accordingly, we’ve integrated technology throughout the chapters to reflect the competence teachers have developed in embedding technology in their lessons. We’ve also added more ideas for using technology for remote learning, which remains a reality for some teachers.
- Teaching ideas. Teachers enjoy learning a new activity or teaching idea to use with their students that reinforces their explicit teaching. You’ll find innumerable fresh, new, use-tomorrow ideas and activities throughout the chapters.
- Research. Research studies and syntheses conducted in the past decade are included throughout the book to ensure that multilingual students are receiving instruction that is grounded in proven, tested practices. In sections that address literacy and multilingual learners, studies from the body of research known as the science of reading (SOR) are included.
- Additional resources. There are links to new videos, revised teaching scenarios for practice in analyzing and rating lessons, revised discussion questions and application exercises for use in teacher preparation classes or professional learning networks (PLNs), an updated list of resources for further information, including books, journal articles, book chapters, and downloadable research briefs.
- Professional Learning. There are links to blogs and a link for information about SIOP professional development, http://siop .savvas.com. You’ll find a variety of professional learning opportunities offered by Savvas.
The SIOP authors also have a podcast series, Essentials for Supporting English Learners / Multilingual Learners. We hope you’ll find it informative and useful.
We are gratified that for more than 20 years SIOP has provided a resource that, simply put, helps teachers help kids. With SIOP now being used in dozens of countries, and with over 50 peer-reviewed published research studies demonstrating its effectiveness, we hope that the new edition of our book and other resources we offer will continue to positively impact the education of multilingual learners.
See you at the SIOP Virtual Conference! You can register here.