SIOP Feature 9 Emphasize Key Vocabulary for Students

Posted by MichealH Alexander on June 10th, 2021

Part of the second component of SIOP, Building Background, is working with vocabulary.  Calling attention to the lesson’s key terminology is important for not just English learners but for all students who struggle with academic vocabulary. Explicitly working with vocabulary at the beginning of a lesson is an effective way of getting students to focus on language as well as content during the lesson.

SIOP Feature 9 Emphasize Key Vocabulary for Students

Beginning the lesson by highlighting key terms that students need to know sets the tone for the class and helps students focus their attention on vocabulary.  There are a number of ways that teachers can help students interact with key aspects of language from the start of the lesson.  Teachers need to introduce students to four aspects of vocabulary in order to lead them towards ownership.  The four components of vocabulary are:

Form = what the word looks like

Usage = how the word is used

Meaning = what the word means

Pronunciation = how the word sounds

Of these four aspects of vocabulary, most teachers spend the majority of their time on form (think spelling tests) and meaning (think definitions).  Little time is spent on usage and pronunciation.  The latter are critical to building confidence and competence, especially for English learners.

SIOP Feature 10 Use Speech Appropriate for Students' Proficiency Leve

One part of comprehensible input is speech.  What we say and how we say it is important to the overall comprehensibility of our speech.  This SIOP feature examines how to make our speech more appropriate to the students' proficiency levels.

SIOP Feature #10:  Use Speech Appropriate for Students' Proficiency Level

This 10th SIOP feature is a very important component of making content comprehensible.  Making content comprehensible is important to insure that students are getting the gist of the lesson.  While it may sound like a minor thing, the kind of speech the teacher uses can make or break a lesson. 

How can we use appropriate speech?

As teachers, we are always striving for ways to make things more comprehensible, more accessible, and more digestible for our students.  Our speech is a critical component of this comprehensibility.

While it may seem quite easy to do, there are a number of layers to making content comprehensible that SIOP helps to shed some light on.  There are a number of things that we, as educators can do to moderate the kind of language they use.