Abstract:
This study presents using sheltered instruction as a solution to the national dilemma of academic failure in limited English proficient students. Noting the current drop out rates of English language learners as well as their declining performance on standardized assessments, we recognize that our schools are failing to teach the growing population of limited English proficient students. Current methods used to instruct these students such as immersion, segregation and pull-out ESL programs are analyzed and compared to the methods promoted by the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SLOP). This model provides a structure for content-area teachers to follow in order to apply sheltered instruction techniques in the mainstream classroom. With the SLOP, previously unqualified teachers are guided in how to apply tested and researched techniques that make their content more comprehensible to limited English proficient students.
