Introduction
Teaching English Language Learners is part of the reality of teaching in New York City. As evidenced from test results, studies, and mere observation all students in the system are limited in their knowledge of the language, even those born and raised in the five boroughs. This reality is the product of many variables, including the transformation of a language that is shared by people from many parts of the world. As groups of immigrants take on English as their way of communication the language is transformed into a new variation, taking on new words from each of the native languages represented by these groups. New York City might be, then, the birthplace of the language of the future. At a given point it was ‘spanglish’, representing the influence of Spanish speakers in the future of the language. I prefer to see it plainly as English, knowing that a language is a living thing, and that it morphs to accommodate the uses and needs of its speakers.
As a teacher, particularly as a bilingual educator, I can see the transformation from different perspectives. Yes I understand the influence people have in what their language is, but I also know the importance of ‘academic’ or ‘standard’ English as a mean to access power. It is the language of power in this country, and in most countries for that matter. Therefore, committed as I am to transform society and promote equity and social justice, I welcome all and any new or old way to guarantee my students the best possible opportunities to access the language they need to succeed as citizens of this nation and as members of this world.
This paper is intended as a critical look at the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol and its possibilities to improve the acquisition of the ‘language of power’ by immigrant students. My view is that of an immigrant, recently moved from a Spanish speaking country to the USA; my view is also that of a teacher of immigrant students, all from Spanish speaking countries, so inevitably the approach and emphasis will be from this particularities. Still the SIOP model can work for any setting, regardless of the native language. This critical view comes as a result of research, individual and shared, over the summer of 2006, in which my own conclusions are combined with those of other teachers in an effort to understand and find ways to use the SIOP model in our classrooms, if possible and convenient, to enhance our learning experience and pass on knowledge to the students.