Engaging Content Learners through the SIOP Model Moroccan Secondary School English Learners as a Case Study

Proceedings of The 5th World Conference on Education and Teaching

Year: 2023

DOI:

[PDF]

Engaging Content Learners through the SIOP Model Moroccan Secondary School English Learners as a Case Study

Mohamed Hikal

ABSTRACT: 

It has been noted that ESL/EFL learners’ positive engagement deeply affect their performance and academic achievement. Content learning within an ESL/EFL context requires a great amount of cognitive and affective involvement. Passive learning tend to cause learnability problems and alter the learner’s mental representations about the discipline taught. The present study investigates the reliability of the Sheltered Instruction and Observation Protocol (SIOP) model and its effectiveness in maximizing learners’ engagement in an EFL classroom, compared to mainstream models. Very few studies addressed the issue. In collecting data, we observed and video-recorded Biology classes. The study targeted Moroccan mixed-ability ninth graders selected by means of convenience sampling. The selected students attended mainstream and the SIOP classes. Compared to mainstream classes, a considerable number of students taught the SIOP way showed better engagement and interest in the materials taught based on pertinent observable indicators. Further analysis of the results indicates that content along with language are better delivered through SIOP. Although mainstream strategies can do well with language, there will still be shortcomings as far as content areas are concerned. Meticulously developed and framed, SIOP is a lesson delivery model to plan and deliver instructions effectively while linking language objectives to content objectives in content areas such as Mathematics, Science, History and geography and so on. SIOP is an efficient way to enable English learners to improve their academic English within the school context. Thanks to its in-built strategies, covering various stages of lesson building, SIOP proves to be an efficient way to enable English learners to improve their academic English within the school context.

keywords: Biology, Content, EFL, engagement, mainstream, SIOP