How to Support ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs)

Who are SIFEs?

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• They are newcomers with two or more years of education interrupted in their native country
• They have attended school in the U. S., returned to their native country for a period of time, then returned to the U.S again

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• They have attended kindergarten in English (L2), 1st and 2nd grade in their first language (L1), then jumped into L2 in 3rd
• They have attended U.S. schools since kindergarten but have language and literacy gaps due to ineffective instruction

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• They have attended school in one location for a few months, then moved to another location for a few months, and perhaps had some weeks in between these changes when they does not attend school. (Calderón, 2008.)
• SIFE is starting school one or more years behind his grade-level peers.

Where do they come from?

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• Countries where poverty, disaster, and civil unrest affect the development of literacy and opportunities for education
• Countries where persecution or strict rules about gender, social class, or ethnicity prevented them from attending school

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• May have been born or raised in a developed nation but in impoverished circumstances that affect their family's stability
• Migrant workers in the U.S. move frequently based on agricultural seasons, and as a result their children move from one to school to another

SIFEs must deal with...

STRESS

• Their formal education may have been interrupted by migration, war, lack of access, &/or socioeconomic or cultural circumstances
• Student may suffer from PTSD, be under severe distress, or be overwhelmed by the need to assimilate to a new school environment in a new language.

Literacy and academic gaps

• Students may not be able to read or write in their native language, and may also lack an understanding of the basic concepts, content knowledge, and critical thinking skills that their peers will have mastered

Frustration

• Student is still chasing a moving target because English-speaking, grade-level peers are continuing to learn as well, and the realization that meeting his/her goals will be harder than expected may be devastating

High risk of dropping out

• Have a high risk for dropping out of high school given the precarious nature of their relationship with school
• At-risk Hispanic students aged 16-19 who judged themselves as not speaking English well were 4x more likely to drop out of high school than were their peers who spoke English well.

School Wide Supports for SIFEs

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• Build supportive environments that respond to the immediate social, cultural, and linguistic needs of immigrant adolescents with limited schooling
• Implement newcomer centers and/or programs to ease transitions for newly immigrated students

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• Create collaboration models across high school academic departments to support simultaneous linguistic and academic development
• Implement flexible scheduling to reflect real needs and obligations of high school immigrants

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• Increase sheltered instruction
• Consider how standards and the curriculum can be adapted so that SIFEs learn critical material in a way that is effective, accessible, and age-appropriate

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• Provide intensive literacy/language instruction
• Teach students learning strategies that they can use in the future

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• Build partnerships with local businesses, higher education and adult education programs
• Use the full resources of the community to support immigrant students

Classroom Ideas for Teaching SIFEs

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• Activate prior knowledge
• Provide a print rich environment
• Engage students in hands-on learning so students are physically involved

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• Keep the amount of new vocabulary in control
• Give frequent checks for communication
• When assessing understanding, be open-minded

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• Allow students to work in cooperative groups
• If possible, build the native language content and literacy instruction in order to build on English

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• Use teaching strategies that weave together language and content instruction, such as the SIOP model
• Keep your expectations realistic at the beginning of the year