Eleazar Gómez
Dr. Osisioma
TED 467
3 May 2021
E-Learning #5
The role of the teacher in the teaching of a second language plays a determining role for
students to assimilate, learn, and understand what acquiring a language implies. The SDAIE is a set of
strategies designed with the purpose of making academic content accessible and understandable for
English learners. Although this methodology is designed for English learners, the strategies can be
adapted for teaching the Spanish language. This methodology must cover four essential elements for
the acquisition of a language, such as the content, the connection of what has been learned and what is
going to be learned, understanding the content, and the interaction of the content and the students.
Michael Genzuk, Ph.D. University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education, in its
document “specially designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE) for language minority students”,
points out that, “to acquire a language, we need to understand what is said, not how it is said. This
statement indicates that the understanding of a lesson, topic or concept supported with resources and
strategies used by the teacher can be a determining factor in the acquisition of the student's language.
Darrel exposes many interesting strategies that the teacher can use during the lesson, for example,
“Building on the student's prior knowledge”; Through a diagnosis or through interaction with the
student, the teacher can know what the student has learned at home or in a previous class, so a
connection can be made between what the student has previously learned and the ideas and concepts
that the student will learn in the lesson, which can lead to finding similarities and differences (Genzuk
16).
One of the strategies Genzuk mentions is “Support the student’s home language and culture;
bring it into the classroom”. As Luis C. Moll also points out in his document “Funds of knowledge for
teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms”. Regardless of whether the
students are learning a second language, the student must maintain the language that she learned at
home, which fosters a multicultural environment in the classroom; students can share with their
classmates, for example, some dance, games, and pictures. Through this strategy, a new vocabulary is
learned, the culture is expanded, and the students also contribute to the lesson with this knowledge
(Genzuk 16-17).
Understanding that students often learn through what they visually perceive, another strategy
that Genzuk proposes is “Demonstrate, use visuals and manipulative”. This strategy aims to activate the
student's perception of the images and objects, that is, the teacher can use gestures, images, and
objects around to convey the meaning, which also helps in understanding the words in question. As
mentioned at the beginning, the purpose is for the student to understand the meaning of the words, of
the verbs. It is not a matter of simply memorizing, but also that the meaning of the words is understood
to be able to use them in a conversation, but also in writing, this and the knowledge funds of the
students enrich the work of the teacher and the student Gnezuk 15).
