# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many schools around the country are seeing a dramatic increase in students with limited or interrupted formal education (referred to as SLIFE or SIFE). These students can arrive at any age, with a multitude of reasons for their lack of formal schooling.

Some students were not fortunate enough to have been able to afford school in their home country. Others attend school for a time, only to have to abandon their hopes of an education due to war, the need to support their families, or a lack of education services where they live.

One challenge facing the United States when trying to track data on SLIFE enrollments is that there is no national definition for SLIFE. While many states' definitions share common characteristics, there is no single method of classifying exactly what identifies a SLIFE. Many states, such as Utah and Massachusetts, define "interruptions in formal schooling" as "at least two or fewer years of schooling than their typical peers." However, this indicator can be misleading because the definitions of "interruption" and "typical" are vague. There is no clear threshold of time to indicate an interruption in formal schooling, and there are few guidelines of what characterizes a "typical" student.

Both experienced and newer educators are finding themselves ill equipped to fully support these unique learners, but there are steps they can take to integrate SLIFE into their classrooms and empower them as learners.

1. Create a welcoming and inclusive classroom. Start with a SMILE! A smile is universal and can help to reduce the affective filter and thus begin the language-learning process.

2. Create a culturally diverse classroom. Enjoy the diversity of your students and celebrate their unique backgrounds by using resources that they can identify with. The culturally rich media in Vista's Get Ready/Get Reading series for grades K-6 and grades 6-12, for example, shows students from all around the world interacting with one another, and the embedded activities allow students to see themselves represented in videos, literature, and practice. These multicultural selections create a sense of connection for all learners.

3. Be patient. Understand that SLIFE often do not feel confident enough to speak in their new classroom on Day 1 or Week 1 (often referred to as a "silent period"). Embrace the silent period and use it as an opportunity to provide CI (comprehensible input), while allowing ample time for student output. When a student feels that they are in a safe space to try out their new language, the words will come. Vista recognizes this need for a safe space to develop oral fluency. Our Bridges series embeds speaking practices throughout the curriculum, providing many opportunities for authentic academic language practice. However, if a student is not quite ready to try out their new language ....

4. Allow for heritage language in the classroom. There is the belief that English-only classrooms best promote new language acquisition. However, as we noted in a previous blog post, studies have shown that L1 (heritage or home language) literacy readily prepares students for additional language development (L2, L3, etc.). By allowing students to speak in their heritage language, educators not only embrace the student's rich background, but they also lower the affective filter by reducing the anxiety to perform before the student feels ready.

5. Scaffold and model-ALWAYS! Oftentimes, educators recognize the need for differentiation strategies, but do not know where to begin. When there is a classroom filled with students with many unique needs, the task can seem daunting; but it does not have to be! Vista's Connect series offers scaffolds in the wrap-around text found on every page of the teacher's edition, allowing for seamless integration of many strategies designed to empower all students and create equity in the classroom.

6. Be open to learning. Vista provides teachers with a wealth of opportunities to learn best practices, discover research-based strategies, and find support in the ever-changing landscape of education. We offer blog posts, webinars, and podcasts to support educators in their journey to language development instruction and we encourage you to engage with us!

By: Jody Nolf, M.Ed., Literacy Engagement Specialist

Also read: Ho-Ho-Holiday Traditions in the US

References:
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/99f2bb5a-7b5a-49d3-b3ae-c28f38dad403 https://www.doe.mass.edu/ele/slife/default.html https://www.scholaro.com/db/countries/Guatemala/Education-System

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Empowering SLIFE Students in Your Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Educators are finding themselves ill equipped to fully support learners. Here is how to to integrate SLIFE into their classrooms!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Long Island University

Professor (retired) of Education, Hudson Campus
Director of Language Education Programs
B.A., M.A. Tufts University
Ph.D. Teachers College, Columbia University
helaine.marshall@liu.edu

Description

Dr. Marshall served on the faculty of LIU Hudson from January 2003 to December 2022. She taught courses in multicultural education, second language acquisition, linguistics, English structure, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) methodology. She co-directed LIU's Cross-Campus Online TESOL/Bilingual Education Program in collaboration with the Brooklyn and Riverhead Campuses. Dr. Marshall also served as a consultant on instructional design for the Brooklyn Campus Communication Sciences and Disorders Department as part of its New York State Education Department Grant to infuse technology and online learning into its graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology.

Before joining the LIU faculty, Dr. Marshall served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. While there, she worked with the Hmong refugee community, obtaining and directing a National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) research and demonstration grant, the Green-Bay Hmong/English Adult Bilingual Project. For this project, she developed the Intercultural Communication Framework (ICF) and the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm® (MALP®). The ICF and MALP provide culturally responsive-sustaining education for students with limited literacy and little exposure to formal education, a group of students referred to as SLIFE - Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education. For more information about this work: http://malpeducation.com

Dr. Marshall, an expert on flipped learning, has flipped her face-to-face, blended, and online course at LIU. With a Teaching Innovation Grant from the Office of Academic Affairs, she revamped her pedagogical grammar course, creating an online flipped instructional model. This model became the Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach ® (SOFLA ®) now implemented in all of her courses. For more about this approach: https://www.facebook.com/SOFLAModel

Dr. Marshall regularly presents at national and international conferences as an invited speaker. She provides consulting and professional development to school districts, community colleges, and adult education programs. When delivering training online, she implements flipped professional development, based on SOFLA, combining asynchronous and synchronous components into a series of structured, interactive, multimodal activities that include pre-work before each training sessions and follow-up tasks to be completed after the training.

Dr. Marshall has published three books with University of Michigan Press, most recently, Meeting the needs of SLIFE: A guide for educators, 2nd ed. Her articles appear in scholarly journals, such as Urban Review, Preventing School Failure, NASSP Bulletin, TESOL Journal, and ELT Journal, among others.

She served on the Advisory Board of the New York State TESOL Journal during its initial rollout, 2015-2018, and on the Board of the Flipped Learning Network, 2013-2018.

Specialties

Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education, Intercultural Communication, Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education, Non-Traditional Approaches to Grammar Teaching, Instructional Technology, Online Flipped Learning

Publications

Books

Co-author (2020). Meeting the needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education, 2nd edition. With A. DeCapua and F. L. Tang. University of Michigan Press.

Co-author (2013). Making the transition to classroom success: Culturally responsive teaching for struggling language learners. With A. DeCapua. University of Michigan Press.

Co-author (2011). Breaking New Ground: Teaching English Learners with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in U.S. Secondary Schools. With A. DeCapua.University of Michigan Press.

Referred Journal Articles

Co-author (2020). Fostering Teaching Presence through the Synchronous Online Flipped Learning Approach. TESL-EJ, 24(2), n2. With I. Kostka.

Co-author (2017). The transformational learning journey of a novice ESL teacher of low-literate adults. Journal of Transformative Learning, 16(1), 17-38. With A. DeCapua and N. Frydland.

Co-author (2016). Flipped learning in TESOL: Definitions, approaches, and implementation. TESOL Journal, 7(2), 429-437. With C. Bauer-Ramazani, J. M. Graney, & C. Sabieh.

Co-author (2015). Reframing the conversation: From the achievement gap to cultural dissonance. NASSP Bulletin, 99, 356-370. With A. DeCapua.

Co-author (2011). Reaching ELLs at risk: Instruction for students with limited/interrupted formal education. Preventing School Failure, 55, 35-41. With A. DeCapua.

Co-author (2010). The newcomer booklet: A project for limited formally schooled students. ELT Journal, 64, 396-404. With A. DeCapua.

Co-author (2010). Serving ELLs with limited or interrupted education: Intervention that works. TESOL Journal, 1, 49-70. With A. DeCapua.

Co-author (2010). Limited formally schooled English language learners in U.S. classrooms. Urban Review, 42, 159-173.With A. DeCapua.

Co-author (2010). Building literacy for SIFE through social studies. Educator's Voice, 3, 56-65. With A. DeCapua and C. Antolini.

Co-author (2009/2010). Glue: A technique for eliminating fragments and run-ons. The CATESOL Journal, 21, 175-184. With A. DeCapua.

Author (1998). A mutually adaptive learning paradigm (MALP) for Hmong students. Cultural Circles, 3, 134-141.

Book Chapters

Co-Author (2022). Making space for SLIFE in teacher education. In L. J. Pentón Herrera (Ed.), English and students with limited or interrupted formal education: Global perspectives on teacher preparation and classroom practices. With A. DeCapua. Springer.

Co-author (2017). Flipping movies for dynamic engagement. In J. Mehring, & A. Leis (Eds.), Innovations in flipped learning in the language classroom: Theories and practice (pp. 185-202). With K. Fethi. Springer.

Co-author (2017). Flipped learning in TESOL: Present, past and future. In J. Perren, et al. (Eds.), Applications of CALL theory in ESL and EFL environments (pp. 223-243). With I. Kostka. IGI Global.

Author (1989). Language variation and the ESL classroom. In M. R. Eisenstein (Ed.), The dynamic interlanguage: Empirical studies in second language variation (pp. 297-315). Plenum.

Conference Proceedings

Co-author (2020). To define is to know. In N. Pettitt, R. Farrelly, & A. Elson (Eds.), Literacy education and second language learning for adults (LESLLA): Bridging theory and practice (pp. 1-18). With A. DeCapua. LESLLA.

Co-author (2017). Creating fertile spaces for refugees with limited formal schooling. In F. Ramos (Ed.), Proceedings of the III international colloquium on languages, cultures, and identity in school and society (pp. 146-153). With N. Frydland. Loyola Marymount University. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/internationalcolloquium/

Co-author (2015). Implementing a mutually adaptive learning paradigm in a community-based adult ESL literacy class. In M.G. Santos & A. Whiteside (Eds.), Proceedings from the LESLLA (Low Education Second Language Acquisition for Adults) International Symposium 2013 (pp 151-171). With A. DeCapua. Lulu Publishing Services.

Professional Association Newsletters

Author (1994). Hmong/English Bilingual Adult Literacy Project Final Report. National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Grant #X257A20457, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI.

Litigation Consulting

Expert, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 2018 - present
Expert, Pennsylvania Human Resources Commission, Harrisburg. PA. 2017-2019.
Expert, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts, Department of Justice, Boston, MA. 2017-2018.
Expert Witness and Litigation Consultant, Pepper Hamilton, LLP, with Education Law Center of Philadelphia and ACLU of Pittsburgh. 2016-2017.

Professional Affiliations

Board Member Emeritus, Flipped Learning Network
Member, Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA)
Member, International Education and Resource Network (IEARN)
Member, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
Member, New York State TESOL
Member, TESOL International Association
Email Dr. Marshall Follow @lainemarsh View Dr. Marshall's presentations on Slideshare View Dr. Marshall's Flipped Learning Page
Listen to interview Tan Huynh's Podcast on MLLs Audio Version Video version Dr. Marshall discusses her 2020 book: Meeting the Needs of SLIFE and her work as Litigative Consultant and Expert Witness on the Lancaster School District Refugee case.

Listen to interview on MALP® with Kevin Coleman Dr. Marshall discusses how she first developed MALP® and her subsequent research with Andrea DeCapua.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Long Island University Professor (retired) of Education, Hudson Campus Director of Language Education Programs B.A., M.A. Tufts University Ph.D. Teachers College, Columbia University helaine.marsha...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Administrative Coordinator, Wheatley Heights, NY
B.A., M.A. Queens College, City University of New York
SDL Fordham University Graduate School of Education
hrubin@esboces.org

Description

Heather Rubin is an Administrative Coordinator for the New York State Education Department's Long Island Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network (L.I. RBERN) at Eastern Suffolk BOCES where she provides technical assistance for K-12 school districts on meeting the needs of multilingual learners. Her academic interests include: designing digital-age learning ecosystems for in-person, hybrid, and remote learning environments; and promoting culturally responsive-sustaining education practices for English learners, including those students who have limited literacy and little exposure to formal education (SLIFE students).

Her career as an ESOL professional began as a high school teacher for the NYC Board of Education and for Roosevelt UFSD in Long Island, NY. She has worked as an adjunct professor for Queens College, Molloy College Graduate School of Education, Hofstra University, and at Mercy College. Her combined expertise on TESOL and the use of technology to support learning developed while working for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of Nassau County (Nassau BOCES) where she was first an ESOL Program Specialist for the NYSED Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center and then the Program Coordinator of Model Schools/Digital Age Teaching and Education.

Publications

Rubin H., Estrada, L. & Honigsfeld, A. (2022). Digital age teaching for English learners: A guide to equitable learning for all students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Marshall, H.W. & Parris, H (Spring 2020). Jump start your flipped learning: Nuts and bolts. NYSTESOL Mosaic.

Parris, H. & Estrada L.M. (2019). Digital age teaching for English learners. In L.C. de Oliveira, (Ed.), The handbook of TESOL in K-12. Hoboken, NJ:Wiley-Blackwell.

Parris, H., Estrada, L. & Honigsfeld, A. (2017). ELL frontiers: Using technology to enhance instruction for English learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
Member, New York State TESOL
Member, TESOL International Association

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NYSED Long Island Regional Bilingual Resource Network (L.I. RBERN) at Eastern Suffolk BOCES Administrative Coordinator, Wheatley Heights, NY B.A., M.A. Queens College, City University of New York S...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Features a chapter on flipped classrooms!

Learners with no, minimal, or limited exposure to formal education generally do not share the expectations and assumptions of their new setting; as a result, they are likely to find themselves confounded by the ways in which the language and content are presented, practiced, and assessed in Western-style educational settings. Institutions and teachers must tailor therefore their instruction to this population. Making the Transition to Classroom Success: Culturally Responsive Teaching for Struggling Language Learners examines how understanding secondary and adult L2 learners' educational paradigm, rooted deeply in their past experiences and cultural orientations, provides a key to the solution to a lack of progress.

Making the Transition to Classroom Success builds on and expands on two earlier books, Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Schooling and Breaking New Ground: Teaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in U.S. Secondary Schools. These previous books focused specifically on a subset of struggling L2 learners--those with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) in U.S. secondary schools-and detailed the instructional model (MALP). Making the Transition broadens the applications of the MALP model to include academic thinking tasks, flipped classrooms, project design, and rubrics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making the Transition to Classroom Success: Culturally Responsive Teaching for Struggling Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Making the Transition to Classroom Success: Culturally Responsive Teaching for Struggling Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today's public schools are brimming with students who are not only new to English but who also have limited or interrupted schooling. These students, referred to as SLIFE (or SIFE), create unique challenges for teachers and administrators.

Like its predecessor, this book is grounded in research and is designed to be an accessible and practical resource for teachers, staff, and administrators who work with students with limited or interrupted formal education. Chapters 3-5 focus on classroom instruction, but others address issues of concern to administrators and staff too. For example, Chapter 6 explores different program models for SLIFE instruction, but the planning and commitment to creating a successful program require the involvement of many across the school community, not just teachers.

This edition features case studies, model programs, and teaching techniques and tips; also included is a new chapter focused on the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP (R)). A major theme of this new edition is moving school personnel away from a deficit perspective, when it comes to teaching SLIFE, and toward one of difference. The goal is to help all stakeholders in the school community create and foster inclusion of, and equity for, a population that is all too often marginalized, ignored, and underserved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators - Kindle edition by DeCapua, Andrea, Marshall, Helaine W., Tang, Frank. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Andrea DeCapua, Ed.D., is a researcher, educator, and educational consultant. Her interests include second language acquisition, intercultural awareness, and second language learners and the classroom. She specializes in teacher training for teachers working with students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) as well as other struggling culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

Dr. DeCapua is a frequent presenter and trainer at conferences, national organizations, and school districts around the country. She is the author/co-author of several books on SLIFE and other struggling language learners and MALP®:

In addition Dr. DeCapua's has contributed to numerous articles in a variety of journals including Preventing School Failure, ELT Journal, Bilingual Research Journal, Urban Review, TESOL Journal, and System. Her other books include
Email Dr. DeCapua View Dr. DeCapua's presentations on Slideshare Follow @AndreaDeCapua
INTERVIEW WITH DR. GOVONI on SLIFE

Watch Dr. DeCapua discuss SLIFE with Dr. Jane Govoni of ESOL in Higher Ed, LLC. Three short video clips are available at ESOL Tips - Working with SLIFE in the Classroom

OELA Webinar

Dr. DeCapua was a participant in a webinar March 2013 on Teaching and Learning for Students with Interrupted Formal Education & Refugee Backgrounds, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition.

Available at: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/webinars/event/39

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Andrea DeCapua, Ed.D., is a researcher, educator, and educational consultant. Her interests include second language acquisition, intercultural awareness, and second language learners and the classr...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This article is for English Learner (EL) teachers. Let me start by saying this article will likely be controversial! I, Laura Gardner of Immigrant Connections, am putting on my social work hat for you and hopefully it will be helpful.

Do you refer to the EL and immigrant students in your school as "your" students? Does everyone in your building (brick and mortar or virtual) come to you for every single need related to "your" ELs and their families? Congratulations! You've made yourself well-known....and are simultaneously bulldozing boundaries, heading towards burnout, and ultimately doing a disservice to the EL and immigrant students and families in your school.

Let's back up a minute and outline some of these red flags. You know you are an EL teacher with boundary issues when:

1. Everyone in your school comes to you for everything related to "your" ELs and their families, including calling home for any reason (whether you speak that family's language or not), interpreting for other staff members, locating community resources, handling discipline situations, and so on.

2. You pride yourself on taking care of ALL of "your" EL students/families' issues or concerns.

3. You find yourself not able to focus on your students' instruction because you're constantly getting pulled into any and all situations with "your" EL students or their families.

4. You start to think that no one can solve "your" students' and families' problems as well as you can!

5. You worry about what will happen if you leave your school or retire because who else will help "your" students?

6. Your gut says "No, not again!" to a request from a colleague or parent but you say to yourself "One more time can't hurt."

7. You realize that that you are afraid that your colleagues, students, or their families won't like you or might be angry if you don't meet all their expectations or solve all their problems.

8. You catch yourself thinking, "It feels good to be needed."

9. You spend a lot of your time at home thinking about "your" EL students and families and their needs. You feel their sense of urgency as your own and feel guilty if you don't help them with everything, no matter how many hours it takes.

10. Your own relationships (family, friends, etc.) are suffering because of the time and emotional attention given to "your" students and families at school.

I know what you're thinking: "I HAVE to do these things because no one else will!" This may be true, to some extent. To be sure, there are other factors that lead to your lack of boundaries. Administration is a big one. If your principal doesn't have a lot of experience with working with ELs and immigrants or knowledge of best practices on engaging diverse families, they will likely inappropriately use you. It's a tough spot to be in. In addition, if your district lacks an overall infrastructure for supporting EL and immigrant students and families, it will be much more difficult to focus on your role and keep healthy boundaries. For example, does your district have an interpretation/translation office or at least a contract with an OPI (over the phone interpretation) provider? A family engagement office that provides teachers with training on how to communicate and partner with families? Counselors and/or school social workers who have been trained on the needs of EL and immigrant students and families?

Another thought you're probably having is: "You're faulting me for caring?! Not to mention in a pandemic?!" I get it. We're educators. We're in this job because we care and I'm sure that most of us can identify with some of the items above. But without setting some boundaries, you will burn out, there's no doubt about it. We know that teachers burn out at a higher rate than many other professions, not to mention that most studies on the topic were pre-pandemic. Much of the talk around self-care ends up being about trivial things like booking a massage, which is fine of course, but real self-care comes down to setting boundaries.

And you, my EL teacher colleagues, need to reflect on the role you play in this over-doing-it, lack-of-boundaries, martyr situation going on here. Whether you believe it or not, you have the power to set some boundaries and by saying "no" more, you will likely see other people and departments stepping up their game. A great article on this is How to Set Boundaries as a Teacher and Why it's so Important (apologies for selecting an article with so many ads, but it's good, so skip over them and read to the end). For those in helping professions, this journey of setting boundaries and self-care is hard! Be sure to enlist the help of a therapist, life coach, or whatever other support you need. Also, check to see if your school district has an Employee Assistance Program.

In addition, you may have noticed that I mentioned above how you could actually be doing a disservice to the EL and immigrant students and families in your school. How could that possibly be? By saying "no" to various things, how could EL students/families actually benefit?

Let's take a look at a few examples:

1. Family engagement: You've often agreed to make phone calls home for the classroom teacher and others. By doing so, the parents of EL students have only one relationship with anyone in the school: you. Yet, it's important for parents to have relationships with all of their child's teachers!

Instead: With support from your administrators, train teachers on how to use whatever tools your district has in place (phone interpretation, TalkingPoints, etc.) so they can connect with parents themselves.

EL students/families benefit: EL families slowly begin to build relationships with their children's teachers and can engage in partnerships more directly. EL students benefit because their parents are now more connected with their teacher and because you, their EL teacher, now have time to focus on their instruction.

You (EL teacher) benefit: You now have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

2. Interpretation: You speak Spanish "well enough" and are regularly called on to help with language barriers between students/families and other educators at your school. Yet, you've never received any training on how to interpret, nor had your language abilities assessed.

Instead: Discuss with administrators that this is in violation of the federal governments' 2015 guidance, kindly state that you will no longer be able to interpret in these situations, and clarify your role in the building. With their support and/or central office support, train teachers on how to use whatever tools for interpretation/translation your district has in place (phone interpretation, TalkingPoints, etc.)

EL students/families benefit: EL families will get an accurate interpretation, which they are legally entitled to. (This may not happen overnight, but by saying "no" to interpreting, the school and district will have to come up with an alternative plan.)

You (EL teacher) benefit: You now won't be put in a risky situation that could lead to an OCR complaint. You will also have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

3. Socio-emotional needs: The EL students and families in your school have a lot of socio-emotional needs. You regularly find yourself attempting to be their social worker, including helping them with some really delicate situations involving immigration, domestic violence, and more.

Instead: Consistently refer to your school counselor, social worker, or psychologist. If these individuals lack the skill sets to properly work with EL/immigrant students and families, you may point them in the right direction of any appropriate community resources you're aware of. Then advocate with administrators for their professional development and the need for capacity building in this area.

EL students/families benefit: In some communities, there are resources that only a school counselor or social worker can access. For example, in communities that operate from a systems of care model or any kind of streamlined approach that relies on referrals from social workers. Ultimately, school counselors and social workers will be most knowledable about social service systems in the community and how to access them. Therefore, EL students and families will benefit by connecting with those who can most help them access those systems.

You (EL teacher) benefit: You won't be held liable for how you responded to situations that weren't in your wheelhouse, such as a suicidal student or parent or student/family in a domestic violence situation. In addition, you will also have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

As a former central office administrator, I will leave you with this. Until you say "no" to some of these roles and responsibilities you've managed to acquire, nothing will ever change. No administrator will ever hire additional staff and/or provide current staff with additional professional development on working with EL students and families if you always take care of everything. Clarify your role, establish your boundaries, say "no" more often, and focus any extra time and energy on building the capacity of fellow educators and systems. It may take time for things to shift but this will ultimately help your EL students and families AND reduce your chances of burning out.

10 likes. Post not marked as liked 10

This article is for English Learner (EL) teachers. Let me start by saying this article will likely be controversial! I, Laura Gardner of Immigrant Connections, am putting on my social work hat for you and hopefully it will be helpful.

Do you refer to the EL and immigrant students in your school as "your" students? Does everyone in your building (brick and mortar or virtual) come to you for every single need related to "your" ELs and their families? Congratulations! You've made yourself well-known....and are simultaneously bulldozing boundaries, heading towards burnout, and ultimately doing a disservice to the EL and immigrant students and families in your school.

Let's back up a minute and outline some of these red flags. You know you are an EL teacher with boundary issues when:

1. Everyone in your school comes to you for everything related to "your" ELs and their families, including calling home for any reason (whether you speak that family's language or not), interpreting for other staff members, locating community resources, handling discipline situations, and so on.

2. You pride yourself on taking care of ALL of "your" EL students/families' issues or concerns.

3. You find yourself not able to focus on your students' instruction because you're constantly getting pulled into any and all situations with "your" EL students or their families.

4. You start to think that no one can solve "your" students' and families' problems as well as you can!

5. You worry about what will happen if you leave your school or retire because who else will help "your" students?

6. Your gut says "No, not again!" to a request from a colleague or parent but you say to yourself "One more time can't hurt."

7. You realize that that you are afraid that your colleagues, students, or their families won't like you or might be angry if you don't meet all their expectations or solve all their problems.

8. You catch yourself thinking, "It feels good to be needed."

9. You spend a lot of your time at home thinking about "your" EL students and families and their needs. You feel their sense of urgency as your own and feel guilty if you don't help them with everything, no matter how many hours it takes.

10. Your own relationships (family, friends, etc.) are suffering because of the time and emotional attention given to "your" students and families at school.

I know what you're thinking: "I HAVE to do these things because no one else will!" This may be true, to some extent. To be sure, there are other factors that lead to your lack of boundaries. Administration is a big one. If your principal doesn't have a lot of experience with working with ELs and immigrants or knowledge of best practices on engaging diverse families, they will likely inappropriately use you. It's a tough spot to be in. In addition, if your district lacks an overall infrastructure for supporting EL and immigrant students and families, it will be much more difficult to focus on your role and keep healthy boundaries. For example, does your district have an interpretation/translation office or at least a contract with an OPI (over the phone interpretation) provider? A family engagement office that provides teachers with training on how to communicate and partner with families? Counselors and/or school social workers who have been trained on the needs of EL and immigrant students and families?

Another thought you're probably having is: "You're faulting me for caring?! Not to mention in a pandemic?!" I get it. We're educators. We're in this job because we care and I'm sure that most of us can identify with some of the items above. But without setting some boundaries, you will burn out, there's no doubt about it. We know that teachers burn out at a higher rate than many other professions, not to mention that most studies on the topic were pre-pandemic. Much of the talk around self-care ends up being about trivial things like booking a massage, which is fine of course, but real self-care comes down to setting boundaries.

And you, my EL teacher colleagues, need to reflect on the role you play in this over-doing-it, lack-of-boundaries, martyr situation going on here. Whether you believe it or not, you have the power to set some boundaries and by saying "no" more, you will likely see other people and departments stepping up their game. A great article on this is How to Set Boundaries as a Teacher and Why it's so Important (apologies for selecting an article with so many ads, but it's good, so skip over them and read to the end). For those in helping professions, this journey of setting boundaries and self-care is hard! Be sure to enlist the help of a therapist, life coach, or whatever other support you need. Also, check to see if your school district has an Employee Assistance Program.

In addition, you may have noticed that I mentioned above how you could actually be doing a disservice to the EL and immigrant students and families in your school. How could that possibly be? By saying "no" to various things, how could EL students/families actually benefit?

Let's take a look at a few examples:

1. Family engagement: You've often agreed to make phone calls home for the classroom teacher and others. By doing so, the parents of EL students have only one relationship with anyone in the school: you. Yet, it's important for parents to have relationships with all of their child's teachers!

Instead: With support from your administrators, train teachers on how to use whatever tools your district has in place (phone interpretation, TalkingPoints, etc.) so they can connect with parents themselves.

EL students/families benefit: EL families slowly begin to build relationships with their children's teachers and can engage in partnerships more directly. EL students benefit because their parents are now more connected with their teacher and because you, their EL teacher, now have time to focus on their instruction.

You (EL teacher) benefit: You now have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

2. Interpretation: You speak Spanish "well enough" and are regularly called on to help with language barriers between students/families and other educators at your school. Yet, you've never received any training on how to interpret, nor had your language abilities assessed.

Instead: Discuss with administrators that this is in violation of the federal governments' 2015 guidance, kindly state that you will no longer be able to interpret in these situations, and clarify your role in the building. With their support and/or central office support, train teachers on how to use whatever tools for interpretation/translation your district has in place (phone interpretation, TalkingPoints, etc.)

EL students/families benefit: EL families will get an accurate interpretation, which they are legally entitled to. (This may not happen overnight, but by saying "no" to interpreting, the school and district will have to come up with an alternative plan.)

You (EL teacher) benefit: You now won't be put in a risky situation that could lead to an OCR complaint. You will also have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

3. Socio-emotional needs: The EL students and families in your school have a lot of socio-emotional needs. You regularly find yourself attempting to be their social worker, including helping them with some really delicate situations involving immigration, domestic violence, and more.

Instead: Consistently refer to your school counselor, social worker, or psychologist. If these individuals lack the skill sets to properly work with EL/immigrant students and families, you may point them in the right direction of any appropriate community resources you're aware of. Then advocate with administrators for their professional development and the need for capacity building in this area.

EL students/families benefit: In some communities, there are resources that only a school counselor or social worker can access. For example, in communities that operate from a systems of care model or any kind of streamlined approach that relies on referrals from social workers. Ultimately, school counselors and social workers will be most knowledable about social service systems in the community and how to access them. Therefore, EL students and families will benefit by connecting with those who can most help them access those systems.

You (EL teacher) benefit: You won't be held liable for how you responded to situations that weren't in your wheelhouse, such as a suicidal student or parent or student/family in a domestic violence situation. In addition, you will also have more time to focus on instruction and overall better boundaries so you don't burn out.

As a former central office administrator, I will leave you with this. Until you say "no" to some of these roles and responsibilities you've managed to acquire, nothing will ever change. No administrator will ever hire additional staff and/or provide current staff with additional professional development on working with EL students and families if you always take care of everything. Clarify your role, establish your boundaries, say "no" more often, and focus any extra time and energy on building the capacity of fellow educators and systems. It may take time for things to shift but this will ultimately help your EL students and families AND reduce your chances of burning out.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
English Learner (EL) Teachers & Setting Boundaries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article is for English Learner (EL) teachers. Let me start by saying this article will likely be controversial! I, Laura Gardner of Immigrant Connections, am putting on my social work hat for you and hopefully it will be helpful. Do you refer to the EL and immigrant students in your school as "your" students?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Join English Learner Portal colleagues Brenda Custodio and Judith O'Laughlin as they discuss this growing sub-group of English learners.

In this webinar, Brenda and Judith will share:

a description of students with interrupted education (SIFE/SLIFE);

causes of interrupted schooling;

two main categories of SLIFE in Western schools: Refugees and Latinos;

issues unique to SLIFE; and

academic and socio-emotional supports needed.

Recorded May 18, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SLIFE Webinar with Dr. Brenda Custodio and Judith O'Laughlin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Join English Learner Portal colleagues Brenda Custodio and Judith O'Laughlin as they discuss this growing sub-group of English learners. In this webinar, Brenda and Judith will share: a description of students with interrupted education (SIFE/SLIFE); causes of interrupted schooling; two main categories of SLIFE in Western schools: Refugees and Latinos; issues unique to SLIFE; and academic and socio-emotional supports needed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The International High School is a New York City public school dedicated to serving newly arrived immigrant teenagers, with more than 300 students speaking two-dozen languages from 50 countries. The students strive to master English, adapt to families they haven't seen in years, confront the universal trials of adolescence, and search for a future they can claim as their own.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Supporting Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Accreditation/Rule 10 & School Improvement Afterschool Programs AQuESTT Early Childhood Education English Learner Programs Expanded Learning Opportunities Family and Community Engagement Federal Programs Migrant Education Program Multicultural/Diversity NDE STEM Nebraska eBooks Nebraska Math and Science Partnerships Nebraska Milken Educators Nebraska Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (NPBIS) Nebraska Teacher of the Year Nutrition Services Poverty and Limited English Private Postsecondary Career Schools (PPCS) and Veterans Education Response to Intervention (RtI) School Safety Special Education Teach In Nebraska 21st Century Community Learning Centers Work Based Learning Vocational Rehabilitation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ask a REL Response

Supporting students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) - April 2019

Question

Could you provide research on supporting students with interrupted formal education ( SIFE)?

Response

Following an established REL West research protocol, we conducted a search in ERIC for research reports and resources on supporting students with interrupted formal education ( SIFE). (For details, please see the methods section at the end of this memo.)

We have not evaluated the quality of references and the resources provided in this response. We offer them only for your reference. Also, we searched for references through the most commonly used sources of research, but the list is not comprehensive and other relevant references and resources may exist. References are listed in alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of relevance.

Research References

DeCapua, A. (2016). Reaching students with limited or interrupted formal education through culturally responsive teaching. Language and Linguistics Compass, 10, 225-237. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301714482

From the abstract: "This article considers how developing an understanding [of] the beliefs, values, norms, and ways of thinking and learning of students with limited or interrupted formal education ( SLIFE) is central to effective instruction for this population. Because these students are different from other English language learners ( ELLs), teachers must develop the ability to suspend judgment by building deep cultural knowledge of SLIFE. This can then inform curriculum and pedagogical practices that best support SLIFE in their transition and adaption to formal education. Following a review of culturally responsive teaching as outlined by Gay (2000; 2010), I continue with an examination of the Intercultural Communication Framework (Author, 2011; Marshall, 1994) intended to develop teachers' understanding of cultural factors influencing students' ways of thinking and learning. The article concludes with an exploration of a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (Author, 2011; 2013), designed to better serve SLIFE."

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2015). Promoting achievement for ELLs with limited or interrupted formal education: A culturally responsive approach. Principal Leadership, 15, 48-51. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272158329

From the abstract: "Content-area teachers are often frustrated because they have low-performing English language learners ( ELLs) in their classes and they don't know what to do to address their needs. As the number of ELLs continues to grow in U.S. schools, such concerns will increase, especially with the parallel growth in the number of students who have limited or interrupted formal education ( SLIFE). Teachers and administrators find this subpopulation of ELLs particularly challenging. We take the stance, derived from culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000), that to address the needs of this population we must understand, accommodate and incorporate different ways of thinking to make learning accessible. By implementing a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm ( MALP), educators create fertile spaces that foster academic engagement and academic achievement. This mutually adaptive approach constitutes a major shift in perspective for educators but, we believe, an essential one if we are to reframe the conversation from deficiencies to cultural dissonance. By gaining a deeper appreciation for who SLIFE are and what they bring along with them to their new educational setting, rather than focusing on what they lack, educators provide them with a pathway to school success."

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2015). Reframing the conversation about students with limited or interrupted formal education: From achievement gap to cultural dissonance. NASSP Bulletin, 99(4), 356-370. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285773917

From the abstract: "U.S. schools face increasing pressure to ensure that all students succeed, yet the dropout rate for English learners is alarmingly high, especially for those with limited or interrupted formal schooling ( SLIFE). Serving SLIFE can be challenging because they not only need to master language and content but also need to develop literacy skills and learn to operate in formal classroom settings. We describe a culturally responsive instructional model that prepares SLIFE to access curriculum and instruction, and succeed on standardized testing."

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2011). Reaching ELLs at risk: Instruction for students with limited or interrupted formal education. Preventing School Failure, 55(1), 35-41. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254347313

From the abstract: "The United States is receiving unprecedented numbers of immigrants, with a parallel increase in the number of English-language learners ( ELLs) entering our schools. Many of these ELLs are students with limited or interrupted formal education who face great challenges, especially at the secondary level where they have little time to master academic content, develop literacy skills, and build English proficiency. Fundamental to school success for these students is their need to adjust to culturally different ways of learning. In this article, the authors examine salient academic and cultural issues and describe a new instructional model to help teachers adapt their instruction to facilitate the active engagement of this student population, as well as transition them to the learning environment of the U.S. educational system."

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2010). Students with limited or interrupted formal education in US classrooms. The Urban Review, 42(2), 159-173. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11256-009-0128-z

From the abstract: "Considerable attention has focused on the challenges of English language learners without age-appropriate formal education and first language literacy. They are viewed here as students with high-context learning experiences and expectations (Hall in Beyond culture, Anchor, New York, 1976), and a collectivistic orientation, with a pragmatic, rather than academic way of looking at the world, who are marginalized and disoriented in US classrooms. Building on Ibarra's Beyond affirmative action: Reframing the context of higher education, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison (2001) 'cultural dissonance' construct, the two learning paradigms are contrasted, and a third, the mutually adaptive learning paradigm, is posited as a pathway to academic success for this population."

Marshall, H., & DeCapua, A. (2009). The Newcomer Booklet: A project for limited formally schooled students. ELT Journal, 64(4), 396-404. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249252736

From the abstract: "The Newcomer Booklet has become a popular classroom activity among ESL teachers at many different levels and with many types of learners. In this article, we explore why this is the case and why this type of project works so well for a particular population of English language learners, those with limited or interrupted formal schooling. We situate our discussion within a framework that we have developed after working extensively with this population. This framework, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm ( MALP), helps ESL teachers of such learners to understand why a project like the Newcomer Booklet is so successful. MALP identifies ways to combine elements of the students' familiar learning paradigm and those associated with westernized formal education. By extension, ESL teachers can use MALP to help them maximize the effectiveness of other activities or projects."

Menken, K. (2013). State-of-the-art article: Emergent bilingual students in secondary school-Along the academic language and literacy continuum. Language Teaching, 46(4), 438-476. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1020290

From the abstract: "This article offers a critical review of research about emergent bilingual students in secondary school, where the academic demands placed upon them are great, and where instruction typically remains steadfast in its monolingualism. I focus on recent scholarship about the diversity within this student population, and center on 'students with interrupted formal education' (SIFE, new arrivals who have no home language literacy skills or are at the beginning stages of literacy learning) and 'long-term English language learners' ( LTELLs, primarily educated in their receiving country yet still eligible for language support services). Little has been published about these students, making this a significant area of inquiry. Moreover, both groups are characterized by poor performance and together illustrate the characteristics of secondary students at various points along an academic language and literacy continuum. While existing research provides important information to help us improve secondary schooling for emergent bilinguals, it has also perpetuated deficit views of these students by focusing solely on their perceived academic shortcomings. Grounded in a new body of research in applied linguistics that examines the students' complex, creative, and dynamic language and literacy practices, I apply a translanguaging lens to critique the positioning of such students as deficient, with implications for research and practice."

Montero, M. K., Newmaster, S., & Ledger, S. (2014). Exploring early reading instructional strategies to advance the print literacy development of adolescent SLIFE. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(1), 59-69. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264806362

From the abstract: "The research presented in this article examines the English language and print literacy development of adolescent refugee students with limited and interrupted formal education ( SLIFE) aged 14 to 21. The aim of this research was to determine if and how teaching early reading strategies to secondary ESL/ ELD teachers could improve students' English language and literacy development. Specifically, teachers were taught to use guided reading and running records with leveled informational texts related to the students' life experiences, background knowledge, and interests. Over five months, we tracked the English language and literacy development of 11 refugees in one ESL/ ELD teacher's class. Findings demonstrate that, on average, students achieved statistically significant gains in receptive and expressive vocabulary as well as total reading achievement. Students made an average gain of eight reading levels over one semester of instruction. The article also offers insights and growth made by the ESL/ ELD classroom teacher."

Musetti, B., Salas, S., & Perez, T. (2009). Working for and with Latino/Latina immigrant newcomers in the English language arts classroom. English Journal, 99(2), 95-97. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234689741

From the abstract: "'Newcomers' are English learners who are new to the United States and arrive with limited or interrupted formal schooling. These students have below-grade-level literacy skills in their home language and do not speak English. Newcomers' arrivals to the middle school and high school classrooms often present a formidable 'what to do' for classroom teachers and other literacy professionals. However, 'what to do' is often clouded in local folklore and even myths about language learning. This situation is frequently accompanied by media messages framing immigrant children as drains on public resources or threats to regional identities. Simply put, there are no quick or easy answers to the challenges faced by language arts practitioners working with newcomers. However, the authors' goal in writing this article is to argue that what they know about second language literacy from a developmental standpoint should inform the choices English language arts practitioners ought to take-or, at times, resist-in better decision-making for diverse literacy classrooms. Their focus on 'Latino/Latina' newcomers results from the fact that 76.9% of all English language learners ( ELLs) in US schools are native speakers of Spanish. In this article, the authors suggest effective approaches to teaching ELLs in ways that can be of benefit to all students in mainstream middle and high school English classes."

Potochnick, S. (2018). The academic adaptation of immigrant students with interrupted schooling. American Educational Research Journal, 55(4), 859-892. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1185393

From the abstract: "This study provides the first national-level assessment of the size and academic performance of immigrant students with interrupted schooling. Exploiting unique aspects of the Educational Longitudinal Study (2002), a national-level survey of U.S. 10th graders, this study identifies students with interrupted schooling and uses multivariate analysis to assess their academic performance compared to other immigrants and nonimmigrants. Results indicate that over 10% of foreign-born youth experience interrupted schooling. These students have lower academic achievement and attainment than their peers, but are just as or more engaged in school. Premigration demographics, but not postmigration family and school characteristics, explain some of these academic performance differences and the consequences of interrupted schooling differ for primary- and secondary-grade-age arrivals."

U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition. (2016). Newcomer tool kit. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/newcomers-toolkit/ncomertoolkit.pdf

From the abstract: "The Newcomer Tool Kit provides (1) discussion of topics relevant to understanding, supporting, and engaging newcomer students and their families; (2) tools, strategies, and examples of classroom and schoolwide practices in action, along with chapter-specific professional learning activities for use in staff meetings or professional learning communities; and (3) selected resources for further information and assistance, most of which are available online at no cost."

Additional Organizations to Consult

From the website: " ACSD is dedicated to excellence in learning, teaching, and leading so that every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. Comprising 114,000 members-superintendents, principals, teachers, and advocates from more than 127 countries-the ACSD community also includes 57 affiliate orgamizations."

REL West note: ACSD has two resources relevant to this request:

DeCapua, A., Smathers, T., & Tang, L. F. (2007). Schooling, interrupted. Educational Leadership, 64(6), 40-46. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar07/vol64/num06/Schooling,-Interrupted.aspx

Zimmerman-Orozco, S. (2015). Border kids in the home of the brave. Educational Leadership, 72(6), 48-53. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1062901

Colorín Colorado - http://www.colorincolorado.org/

From the website: "Colorín Colorado is the premier national website serving educators and families of English language learners ( ELLs) in Grades PreK-12. Colorín Colorado has been providing free research-based information, activities, and advice to parents, schools, and communities around the country for more than a decade."

REL West note: Colorín Colorado has one resource relevant to this request:

Robertson, K., & Lafond, S. (2008). How to support ELL students with interrupted formal education (SIFEs). Arlington, VA: Colorín Colorado. Retrieved from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-support-ell-students-interrupted-formal-education-sifes

Council of Chief State School Officers - https://ccsso.org/

From the website: "The Council of Chief State School Officers ( CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education and the five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. As an organization, we are committed to ensuring that all students participating in our public education system-regardless of background- graduate prepared for college, careers, and life. To realize this, we bring together dedicated leaders and exceptional ideas to achieve measurable progress for every student."

REL West note: CCSSO has two resources relevant to this request:

Spaulding, S., Carolino, B., & Amen, K. (2004). Immigrant students and secondary school reform: Compendium of best practices. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED484705

Umansky, I., Hopkins, M., Dabach, D. B., Porter, L., Thompson, K., & Pompa, D. (2018). Understanding and supporting the educational needs of recently arrived immigrant English learner students: Lessons for state and local education agencies. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from https://ccsso.org/resource-library/understanding-and-supporting-educational-needs-recently-arrived-immigrant-english

New America, Education Policy Program - https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/about/

From the website: "New America's Education Policy program uses original research and policy analysis to help solve the nation's critical education problems, crafting objective analyses and suggesting new ideas for policymakers, educators, and the public at large. We combine a steadfast concern for historically disadvantaged populations with a belief that better information about education can vastly improve both the policies that govern educational institutions and the quality of learning itself.

Our work explores the full range of educational opportunities, from early learning to primary and secondary education, college, and the workforce. We are deeply engaged in ongoing developments in educational technology at all levels of child and adult learning. We believe new organizational models have potential to achieve breakthroughs for all students. And we believe that all providers of education must be held accountable for the quality of their work."

REL West note: New America has one resource relevant to this request:

Colon, I. T. (2019). Starting behind: Interrupted formal schooling among immigrant students. Washington, DC: New America. Retrieved from https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/starting-behind-interrupted-formal-schooling-among-immigrant-students/

Method
Keywords and Search Strings
The following keywords and search strings were used to search the reference databases and other sources:

[(" SIFE" OR " SLIFE " OR "interrupted formal education" OR "interrupted formal schooling" OR "limited formal education" OR "limited formal schooling")]

We searched ERIC for relevant resources. ERIC is a free online library of over 1.7 million citations of education research sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences.
Reference Search and Selection Criteria
When searching and selecting resources to include, we consider the criteria listed below.

Date of the Publication: References and resources published within the last 15 years, from 2004 to present, were included in the search and review.

Search Priorities of Reference Sources: Search priority is given to study reports, briefs, and other documents that are published and/or reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations and academic databases. Priority is also given to sources that provide free access to the full article.

Methodology: Priority is given to the most rigorous study designs, such as randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs, and we may also include descriptive data analyses, survey results, mixed-methods studies, literature reviews, or meta-analyses. Other considerations include the target population and sample, including their relevance to the question, generalizability, and general quality. Priority is given to publications that are peer-reviewed journal articles or reports reviewed by IES and other federal or federally funded organizations. If there are many research reports available, we select those with the strongest methodology, or the most recent of similar reports. When there are fewer resources available, we may include a broader range of information. References are listed in alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of relevance.

This memorandum is one in a series of quick-turnaround responses to specific questions posed by educational stakeholders in the West Region (Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah), which is served by the Regional Educational Laboratory West at WestEd. This memorandum was prepared by REL West under a contract with the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences ( IES), Contract ED-IES-17-C-0012, administered by WestEd. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Supporting students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) - REL West

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Supporting students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) - April 2019 Could you provide research on supporting students with interrupted formal education ( SIFE)? Following an established REL West research protocol, we conducted a search in ERIC for research reports and resources on supporting students with interrupted formal education ( SIFE).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
NBPTS | Shaping the profession that shapes America's future.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This year, I'm in a new position as the Director of English Language Learners for my school. Part of this role involves leading a team of teachers who serve students with limited and interrupted formal education. These students are newcomers to the United States, coming from places where schooling was either inaccessible or non-compulsory, and therefore they've had little exposure to academic language and literacy in their native languages.

In educational terms, these students are referred to as Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE). Our program organizes SLIFE education into two groups - Spanish and multilingual. A majority of our Spanish speaking students come from the Dominican Republic, while our multilingual students have a range of first languages including Somali, Haitian, Cape Verdean Creole, Tigrinya, and Vietnamese. The SLIFE classes are substantially separate settings, with small class sizes and intense support (2 teachers to 15 students). Our team of educators is responsible for teaching content area material, as well providing English language instruction and supporting native language literacy. However, academic teaching is not enough.

We are also responsible for responding to and advocating for services for individualized needs of each child in the SLIFE classrooms. This year, we have students struggling with homelessness, sensory processing problems, hearing impairments, oppositional defiant disorder, and in a majority of cases, the effects of trauma as well.

Despite these challenges, our team is determined to ensure that these students have a strong sense of belonging in our school community, and to foster a belief in our students that school is a pathway to success. When our principal requested that I develop a plan as part of a school-wide data improvement initiative, I chose to focus our team on three key areas aligned with school goals to meet student needs: attendance, social emotional/executive functioning, and high quality academic work.

Our team monitors student attendance carefully and addresses absences immediately; academic failure and dropout rates for SLIFE students are incredibly high. We work closely with our Family Engagement Coordinator to ensure that both students and parents understand the importance of regular attendance, a primer step for staying in school. Our work in this area includes home visits and listening conferences. Both of these practices help our team to strengthen relationships with our families through better understanding their journeys and their immediate needs.

On a recent home visit to the home of one of our SLIFE students, we learned that the family had lived in a shelter for four years and had only recently obtained more permanent housing, albeit without proper heating for the Boston winter. At listening conferences, a parent is interviewed by one member of our team while others are charged with note taking and coming up with clarifying questions. Through these conferences, we learned that one of our 8th grade students is living with her mother for the first time in 12 years, and another student with slow speech development is being treated for a punctured eardrum, and has a history of early childhood ear infections.

Having this type of specific background knowledge about our students allows our team to advocate for and provide services that are better focused on students' specific needs. As families trust that our school is a supportive and nurturing place for their child and that our team has their best interests in mind, they will work harder to ensure that their children attend regularly and be more responsive to inquiries about absences.

Explicit instruction in social-emotional skills ensures that our students are learning how to self-regulate behavior, and use problem-solving skills when faced with social dilemmas. This year, during our team's professional development meetings, I am co-facilitating adaptation of lessons from the Zones of Regulation book for beginning English language learners. We have found that many connections exist between social-emotional skills and content area curriculum. This week, for example, through a lesson about calming tools, our team examined how deep breathing practice can reduce muscle tension and increase oxygen to the bloodstream. This provided a connection to a current science unit on human body systems.

While our students are coping with significant personal challenges, our team must still ensure that students gain academic skills that will help them succeed in a larger classroom setting. My responsibility is to provide 1:1 coaching sessions for teachers to support in planning of cognitively demanding end-of-unit tasks in each content area. During these sessions, we review grade-level district curricula, alongside Common Core standards for primary grades, and grade-level language skills from the WIDA Can Do descriptors . In many cases we design developmentally appropriate tasks that support students in meeting standards for lower grades. While this would not be appropriate for English language learners who have had regular schooling, it is important for our SLIFE students who are still trying to acquire foundational math and literacy skills to which they have not yet been exposed. For example, an end-of-unit task on the topic of geometry requires students to create models for a set of geometric shapes, count their sides and vertices, and measure their perimeter. While this is essentially a 3rd grade task according to Common Core standards, it presents significant challenges for our SLIFE students in terms of language comprehension and expression, and fine motor skills. Most of these concepts and tasks are unfamiliar to middle school students who have had limited schooling, and they need plenty of practice and repetition to master this kind of work.

My current position is the most difficult I've had in my entire career. It seems that there could never be enough time, money, or resources to support the needs of our students in preparing for college and career. However, when I return to the National Board's 5 Core Propositions , I am reminded of the capital our team does have - a team of teachers who are committed to students and their learning, who engage in deep reflective practice, and who are members of professional learning communities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Addressing the Needs of Students with Limited and Interrupted Formal Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This year, I'm in a new position as the Director of English Language Learners for my school. Part of this role involves leading a team of teachers who serve students with limited and interrupted formal education. These students are newcomers to the United States, coming from places where schooling was either inaccessible or non-compulsory, and [...]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Jane Hill, Educational Leadership author

With headlines like, " Germany's challenge: How will schools absorb thousands of Syrian children?" ( Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2015) appearing in the media, the worldwide refugee crisis is calling attention to a growing segment of second language learners-newly arrived secondary students with limited or interrupted formal education. Although strategies for beginning-level English-language learners (ELLs)-like the "do's and don'ts" I wrote about in the February 2016 EL -apply to these students, this group has different needs and it requires different approaches.

Several state education departments in the United States are seeing increases in these types of students and are looking for guidance. After speaking with a couple of local districts, I learned that they haven't been able to find commercially available, appropriate English language development curricula for this population. So what can teachers do?

If you serve older ELLs with limited formal education in your district, a focus on "functional literacy" and speaking basics can help get you and your students started.

Building functional literacy (before academic literacy) helps students read what they need to read right now-for example, signs, social services forms, job applications, and ads they see while shopping. As a first step to teaching key English words, I suggest finding out if there are similar sounds in a student's native language and English, since these sounds will readily transfer, whereas other sounds will need more attention. For instance, in the Mayan language K'iche, some vowels and the sounds ch, k, m, n, p, s, (among others) are similar to English sounds. It's important to strike a balance between providing students direct skill instruction in English phonics and helping them quickly do the authentic reading and writing they need to function.
Also, make strengthening speaking and listening skills a priority. One interesting approach used by Stanford University researcher Jeff Zwiers uses the acronym PIE to help teachers remember that activities must be purposeful, must build in an intentional language or information gap (so students need to supply certain necessary information) gap, and must be used for e xplicit language development. Zwiers teaches a massive open online course (a MOOC) on such communication-focused activities.

Here's an example of putting PIE into action. Ask students to tell you exactly how to do something they are familiar with-for example, make a sandwich, wrap a present, or address an envelope to someone in their home country. This task is purposeful-students will have to use many verbs and nouns to explain the steps. You can intentionally create a gap by pretending you don't know how to complete this task (for instance, when told to pick up the knife, do so by the blade), and you can explicitly teach vocabulary for the task, such as the language of sequencing ( first, then, next). PIE can eventually be used for more academic purposes, too-solving multi-step math problems, for example, or using maps to explain the students' course of travel to the U.S.

My Educational Leadership article, " Engaging Your Beginners," gives many suggestions for providing good instruction for ELLs at beginning stages of learning English.

What other strategies have you tried that are effective with ELLs with interrupted formal schooling?
***

Jane Hill is a managing consultant with McREL International, in Denver, Colo.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Helping ELLs with Limited Formal Education Get Started - ASCD Inservice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Jane Hill, Educational Leadership author With headlines like, "Germany's challenge: How will schools absorb thousands of Syrian children?" (Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2015) appearing in the media, the worldwide refugee crisis is calling attention to a growing segment of second language learners-newly arrived secondary students with limited or interrupted formal education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students with interrupted formal education, also known by the acronym SIFE, are a relatively small proportion of recently arrived English language learners (ELLs), probably somewhere between 10 and 20 percent. ¹ However, these students often represent the most challenging of our ELLs because of their limited first-language literacy skills, frequent gaps in academic knowledge and skills, and, sometimes, critical social and emotional needs. Also, many tend to arrive unaccompanied as teenagers, making their need to catch up academically even more urgent.

Educators and other professionals who have the responsibility and privilege of getting to know these students, and who will be helping them to reach their full potential, need to have an understanding of where these students have been and why they may have certain gaps in their academic knowledge. Such an understanding will build empathy for these students, and it can also help classroom teachers discover the most effective methodologies and materials that will bridge the gap between what SIFE already know and can do, and what they will be expected to be able to do in their new academic setting. Since most ELLs spend the majority of their school day in mainstream classrooms, we hope that all teachers will see the value in knowing more about the background of their students and how their previous educational experiences (or lack thereof) impact their ability to perform on a daily basis.

So, who are these students, and where are they coming from?

The highest percentage of SIFE in the United States comes from Latin America, mainly Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Refugee children make up the second highest number, with students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Other smaller groups are composed of immigrant children from countries where schools were poorly equipped, teachers were inadequately trained, or school was not accessible due to geography, economics, or religion.

Characteristics of SIFE

What specifically defines students with interrupted formal education and sets them apart from a "typical" English language learner? One list created by researchers ² states that these students:

Are overage for their grade-level placement due to their weak academic skills and limited or inadequate formal schooling;

Have needs that traditional ESL (English as a second language) and bilingual programs can't or don't meet;

Have low or sometimes even no literacy skills in their first language and/or in English, and have little academic content-area knowledge;

Are socially and psychologically isolated from mainstream students;

Need approaches and materials that will help them catch up to and compete with mainstream students; and

Are at risk of failing or dropping out of traditional academic programs.

The final bullet point, the higher dropout rate of SIFE, is especially disturbing. Richard Fry, of the Pew Research Center, estimates that about 70 percent of immigrants with interrupted schooling drop out of high school! ³ Why are we seeing this huge number? One strong possibility is that the support these students are currently receiving is not adequate to meet their needs.

In addition to the dropout rate, there is another possibility that many of these young people never bother to enroll in school at all. While our book, Students with Interrupted Formal Education: Bridging Where They Are and What They Need, from which this article is excerpted, looks at what educators can do to provide assistance and support for the students who enter our classrooms, a larger societal issue is the number of students who choose work over school, as Fry notes:
The dropout rate for teens with school problems before migration is in excess of 70 percent, in comparison with 8 percent for other foreign-born youths. And their characteristics, especially for males, suggest that many of them are labor migrants. Their purpose in migrating was probably to seek employment in the labor market, and they may have never enrolled in U.S. schools. Recently arrived males who did not make adequate school progress before migration are twice as likely to be working as other foreign-born males, and nearly 40 percent of them are in the agriculture and construction industries, in comparison with 10 percent of other foreign-born youths. In contrast to the living arrangements of other foreign-born youths, the majority of recent arrivals with prior school problems do not reside with any parent in the household. Given their participation in the labor market and the degree to which they were behind in school, the prospects of enrolling these youths in traditional high school settings appear to be remote.⁴
Unfortunately, the programming designed for ELLs with academic skills and first-language literacy, as well as for the students who have been in Western schools for most if not all of their education, is not sufficient for most students with interrupted schooling. The gap between what students are expected to be able to do and the skill set that students have at their disposal is often too great, and students frequently give up.

Students with interrupted education need specialized programming and assistance, above and beyond what is normally provided to ELLs. This belief is supported in a recent statement from WIDA (a consortium of 40 states whose education departments have joined together to develop English proficiency standards and assessments)* about SIFE: "Students with this background often need their emotional, psychological, and physiological needs to be met before they are able to engage fully in the educational setting." ⁵ Once these needs are met, schools must help students build literacy skills in their home language and English, fill in the gaps in content knowledge, and support their social and emotional needs.

The Council of Chief State School Officers ⁶ created this list of supports it recommends for secondary school newcomers (including those with interrupted education):

1. Build environments that respond to the immediate social, cultural, and linguistic needs of immigrant adolescents with limited schooling.

2. Create structures that transcend high school academic departmental divisions to support simultaneous linguistic and academic development.

3. Form newcomer centers to ease transitions for newly immigrated students.

4. Implement flexible scheduling to reflect real needs and obligations of high school immigrants.

5. Align high school programs with higher education and adult education.

6. Use the full resources of the community to support immigrant students.

Identification of SIFE

One of the challenges of working with students with interrupted education is simply identification. Many school districts don't keep track of how much education students have received in their home country and their level of first-language literacy. Even when schools do ask, the answers are not always as helpful as it is assumed they would be. First of all, parents may state that their children have six or eight years of schooling, but attendance may have been sporadic; they may have attended one-room schoolhouses with poorly trained teachers; or school may have only been for a few hours a day.

Sometimes, the parents do not want to admit that their child was not in school regularly out of fear that they may not be permitted to enroll. They may not want to admit that the child was not able to attend because of the inability to pay for required books or uniforms, or that the child stayed home regularly to provide needed income for the family. In some countries, children with learning issues are not able to be provided for in a regular school setting, and the child simply stays home. To guarantee that their child will be admitted to the new school, certain facts are not disclosed, or the parents may not realize how schooling is different in their new setting.

As some researchers have written, "Gaps in school attendance are often due to sensitive matters; parents/guardians may be embarrassed, distressed, or feel threatened if they sense in any way that they are being censured or blamed for the lack of complete [and accurate] school records or their children's incomplete prior educational experiences." ⁷

However, it is important that schools collect as much data as possible about each student and share that information with the classroom teacher. As long as schools are unable to collect accurate knowledge of previous literacy and content instruction, matching students with the best instructional program will remain an elusive goal.

Brenda Custodio is an independent education consultant who prepares pre-service and in-service teachers at Ohio State University to work in second language classrooms, and is a former middle and high school English as a second language (ESL) teacher. Judith B. O'Loughlin is an independent education consultant, a former trainer of pre-service educators at New Jersey City University, and a former English, ESL, and special education teacher. This article is excerpted with permission from their book, Students with Interrupted Formal Education: Bridging Where They Are and What They Need. Copyright 2017, Corwin. All rights reserved.

*For more on WIDA, visit https://wida.wisc.edu. ( return to article)
†For more on building ELLs' literacy skills, see "Educating English Language Learners" in the Fall 2018 issue of American Educator, available at www.aft.org/ae/fall2018/august. ( return to article)

Endnotes

1. Advocates for Children of New York, Students with Interrupted Formal Education: A Challenge for New York City Public Schools (New York: 2010); and J. Ruiz-de-Velasco and M. Fix, Overlooked and Underserved: Immigrant Students in U.S. Secondary Schools (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2000).
2. Y. Freeman and D. Freeman, Closing the Achievement Gap: How to Reach Limited-Formal-Schooling and Long-Term English Learners (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002), 33.
3. R. Fry, The Higher Drop-Out Rate of Foreign-Born Teens: The Role of Schooling Abroad (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2005).
4. Fry, The Higher Drop-Out Rate, 1.
5. WIDA Consortium, Focus on SLIFE: Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (Madison, WI: 2015), 2.
6. Council of Chief State School Officers, Immigrant Students and Secondary School Reform: Compendium of Best Practices (Washington, DC: 2004), 11.
7. A. DeCapua, W. Smathers, and L. Tang, Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Schooling (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2009), 10.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Interrupted Formal Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students with interrupted formal education, also known by the acronym SIFE, are a relatively small proportion of recently arrived English language learners (ELLs), probably somewhere between 10 and 20 percent. 1 However, these students often represent the most challenging of our ELLs because of their limited first-language literacy skills, frequent gaps in academic knowledge and skills, and, sometimes, critical social and emotional needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
These articles and videos provide a profile of students with interrupted formal education (SIFEs) and their needs, recommendations of best practices, and examples of the kinds of quality support that will accelerate their academic achievement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Interrupted Formal Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These articles and videos provide a profile of students with interrupted formal education (SIFEs) and their needs, recommendations of best practices, and examples of the kinds of quality support that will accelerate their academic achievement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Refugees with Limited Formal Schooling | Toward a Brighter Future

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This WIDA Focus Bulletin focuses on the needs of students who have limited or interrupted formal education. Because the vast majority of students in this group are enrolled in grades 6 through 12, we will focus on those grade levels. However, many of the tips and suggestions can be applied in lower…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students with limited interrupted formal education (SLIFE) make up an important subset of English learners. The Minnesota Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act defines SLIFE as an English learner with an interrupted formal education who meets three of the following five requirements:

1. Comes from a home where the language usually spoken is other than English, or who usually speaks a language other than English.

2. Enters school in the United States after grade 6.

3. Has at least two years less schooling than the English learner's peers.

4. Functions at least two years below expected grade level in reading and mathematics.

5. May be preliterate in the English learner's native language.

( Minn. Stat. § 124D.59, Subd. 2a)

Districts and charters identify SLIFE on an annual basis via the Student Support Data Collection (SSDC) . The Commissioner of Education is required, under the LEAPS Act, to report the academic and linguistic growth of SLIFE.

SLIFE Learning Modules
Educating SLIFE offers unique opportunities. In order for schools to support and foster the abilities and talents of SLIFE, the Minnesota Department of Education has prepared the following learning modules for educators and educational leaders. Additional modules will be posted as they are completed.

Student Support Data Collection (SSDC) User Guide - 12/6/21
The purpose of the Student Support Data Collection (SSDC) is to report the required student identification information to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).

SLIFE Identification Checklist - 4/21/16
"Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Schooling" by DeCapua, Smathers & Tang. Copyright University of Michigan 2009. Used with permission.

Sample Student Interview Questions - 4/20/16
"Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Schooling" by DeCapua, Smathers & Tang. Copyright University of Michigan 2009. Used with permission.

Sample Parent Interview Questions - 4/20/16
"Meeting the Needs of Students with Limited or Interrupted Schooling" by DeCapua, Smathers & Tang. Copyright University of Michigan 2009. Used with permission.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students with limited interrupted formal education (SLIFE) make up an important subset of English learners. The Minnesota Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act defines SLIFE as an English learner with an interrupted formal education who meets three of the following five requirements: Comes from a home where the language usually spoken is other than English, or who usually speaks a language other than English.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Seidlitz Education Virtual SLIFE Conference

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Posted by Jill Kester

On September 13, 2017

0 Comments

Advocacy, ELL, English as a Second Language, ESL, SIFE, SLIFE

by Diane Staehr Fenner | First published on LinkedIn September 12, 2017

Have you noticed any changes to your English learner (EL) population lately? As educators of ELs, we are aware that world events often have an impact on our newly arrived ELs' backgrounds. In this point in time in which immigrants and ELs are often the topic of conversation among policymakers, it is important to consider the strengths and challenges that a small but significant subgroup of ELs brings. Students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) are a group of ELs whose presence can have a profound impact on schools and educators.

This post will provide you with a definition of SLIFE, share some statistics on SLIFE, and highlight SLIFE's strengths. It will briefly detail some considerations for SLIFE instruction, families, and programming. It will end with information on our new online SLIFE course at SupportEd as well as some resources for further information on SLIFE.

SLIFE Definition and Challenges

SLIFE are students with limited or interrupted formal education. Certain states and districts have their own unique definition of SLIFE, but generally they come from a home in which a language other than English is spoken, have gaps in their education from their home country, and are below grade level in reading and mathematics. They may have attended school in the U.S. but can have gaps in language and literacy due to ineffective instruction. They generally have little or no home language literacy, are at risk for dropping out of school, and need support beyond traditional English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs. In addition to academic needs, SLIFE often present socioemotional challenges stemming from poverty, poor health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), family separation and/or reunification, and changes in family roles in the US.
SLIFE Statistics
Even though SLIFE represent a relatively small proportion of ELs, estimated to be between 10% and 20% of ELs (Advocates for Children of New York, 2010; de Velazco & Fix, 2000), their challenges can overwhelm districts, administrators, and teachers. Certain school districts that we have worked with have seen a dramatic increase in the number and percentage of SLIFE they are enrolling with few resources in place. When a school or district experiences an unexpected rise in SLIFE students, they may not have policies and practices in place to address SLIFE's unique socioemotional and academic challenges described above that often extend beyond ELs' need to acquire English.
SLIFE Strengths
Instead of focusing solely on the challenges that SLIFE bring, we like to frame our work with SLIFE and their educators around SLIFE's many strengths . Some strengths that SLIFE tend to bring to their education include resiliency, problem solving, cultural pride, strong family ties, motivation, and sense of community. In addition, SLIFE's "funds of knowledge," or "the skills and knowledge that have been historically and culturally developed to enable an individual or household to function within a given culture" (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), can be a helpful place to begin once the teacher identifies them.

Considerations for Instruction

The Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) can provide a useful frame of reference for the instruction of SLIFE. Many SLIFE need immediate relevance and interconnectedness in order to learn. Over time the MALP framework combines processes so that SLIFE can be successful in U.S. Schools. The framework starts with shared responsibility and introduces features of American school culture such as individual accountability and written word as a means of transmitting information. The model progresses to focus on new activities with familiar language and content to develop skills to complete academic tasks (DeCapua & Marshall, 2011). Some other considerations for instructing SLIFE include building upon students' home languages and oracy as well as carefully choosing and adapting instructional materials.

Considerations for SLIFE Families

We should also consider families of SLIFE, who would like to deeply support their children but may need some extra assistance to do so. Schools and districts should discuss providing additional support services for SLIFE families, such as after-school tutoring, trauma support, language classes for adults, and cultural liaisons so that their children can be successful in school.

Considerations for Programming

There are many aspects of effective programming to consider. These include identification of SLIFE, enrollment process and materials, and program models. When identifying and enrolling SLIFE in districts, districts should have a clear identification process, consider providing an oral interview in the home language to determine students' backgrounds, and provide literacy and math assessments in the home language (New York State Department of Education, 2011). In terms of effective programs, small classes should be provided for SLIFE with support for both academic as well as socio-emotional growth, an intensive skills focus, and appropriately scaffolded instructional strategies. Many models for SLIFE exist, including newcomer programs, stand-alone models, integrated ESOL models, and extended learning opportunities (Custodio & O'Loughlin, 2017).

Our Summer SLIFE Course (July 1 - August 9, 2019)

If you're interested in exploring this topic further, we encourage you to join a supportive cohort of teachers, administrators, and course facilitators Jill Kester and Joanna Duggan. Together, we'll explore the specific strengths and challenges of SLIFE in our six-week guided online course . Over the three self-paced components, you will delve more deeply into SLIFE topics including supporting and engaging SLIFE and their families; developing of materials, activities, and programs; and effectively instructing SLIFE.

Like our other courses , the heart of this course is a Professional Learning Community-based discussion. You'll have the opportunity to share your expertise with your colleagues as well as provide and receive feedback. At the end of the course, you will have a SLIFE-specific plan for instruction and/or a plan for a SLIFE program, depending on your educational role. Upon completion of the course, you'll receive a certificate for 10 hours of professional development.

You can read more about our online SLIFE course here . For more information, please email info@getsupported.net .

When we fully understand what experiences SLIFE bring to their schools, we are better equipped to provide appropriate resources for SLIFE and their families, improving their chances for academic and personal growth. We look forward to working with you to fill your toolbox with useful strategies for supporting SLIFE and to build a network of support.

SLIFE Resources

Custodio, B., & O'Loughin, J. (2017). Students with interrupted formal education: Bridging where they are and what they need. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H. (2011). Breaking new ground: Teaching students with limited or interrupted formal education in U.S. secondary schools. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press ELT.

DeCapua, A., Smathers,W., & Tang,L. (2009). Meeting the needs of students with limited or interrupted schooling. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press ELT.

Keppler, L., Morales, L., Cortada, J., Austin, M. (2015). WIDA Focus On SLIFE: Students with interrupted or limited formal education. Retrieved from https://www.wida.us/get.aspx?id=848

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, XXXI, 2, 132-141.

New York State Department of Education. (2011). Guidelines for educating limited English proficient students with interrupted formal education. Retrieved from https://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/docs/NYSEDSIFEGuidelines.pdf

Robertson, K. & Lafond, S. (2012). How to support ELL students with interrupted formal education (SIFEs) [blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/how-support-ell-students-interrupted-formal-education-sifes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Serve your Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) - SupportEd

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Posted by Jill Kester On September 13, 2017 0 Comments Advocacy, ELL, English as a Second Language, ESL, SIFE, SLIFE by Diane Staehr Fenner | First published on LinkedIn September 12, 2017 Have you noticed any changes to your English learner (EL) population lately?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
English Learner Education

Each year, Massachusetts schools enroll an increasing and diverse number of English learners (ELs) with limited or interrupted formal education. Students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) often possess a variety of school readiness skills, sociolinguistic proficiencies, content knowledge, and academic ways of thinking different from students who have consistently attended Massachusetts schools.

Interactive Guide to SLIFE Students

Last Updated: December 6, 2019

Contact Us

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906

Voice: (781) 338-3000
TTY: (800) 439-2370

Directions
Disclaimer: A reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public and does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
massachusetts department of elementary and secondary education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education - English Language Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The goal of the Massachusetts public K-12 education system is to prepare all students for success after high school. Massachusetts public school students are leading the nation in reading and math and are at the top internationally in reading, science, and math according to the national NAEP and international PISA assessments.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education

Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) "are English language learners who have experienced interrupted education due to war, civil unrest, migration, or other factors; who have never had the opportunity to participate in any type of schooling before entering school in the United States; or who have experienced limited education in their home countries due to lack of resources or trained teachers, the type of schooling they participated in, or other circumstances." (DeCapua & Marshall, 2010)

Join the MATSOL SLIFE Special Interest Group

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm® (MALP®): A culturally responsive instructional model for struggling language learners. It is intended to transition these learners from their preferred and customary ways of learning to Western-style formal education by integrating key elements of formal education while acknowledging and balancing the needs, preferences, and priorities of struggling language learners. With MALP®, instructors have a concrete, practical set of guidelines to follow in designing and delivering instruction to this population.

Principles for Culturally Responsive Teaching, Education Alliance, Brown University

Project-Based Learning (PBL)

WIDA

Documentaries

Organizations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) "are English language learners who have experienced interrupted education due to war, civil unrest, migration, or other factors; who have never had the opportunity to participate in any type of schooling before entering school in the United States; or who have experienced limited education in their home countries due to lack of resources or trained teachers, the type of schooling they participated in, or other circumstances."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
English Learners (EL) / Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this program model, students are all newcomer ELs who are ages 9 or older, have ELD levels 1 or 2, are at least two years behind their grade level peers in native language literacy, and have limited or interrupted formal schooling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SLIFE are Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal E ducation are a subpopulation of English learners (Els) and face significant challenges in school. These students are different from other ELs. SLIFE have not had opportunities to engage in age-appropriate formal education, unlike other ELs. Their education may have been interrupted because of war, natural disasters, socio-economic or cultural reasons, migration, or other. Some SLIFE experienced limited formal education. They may, for example, have attended schools with limited resources, very large classes, inadequately trained teachers, and an emphasis on memorization and repetition. SLIFE come from diverse countries and cultures and speak a multitude of languages. What they share in common is low literacy and unfamiliarity with typical school practices. Thus, SLIFE face challenges in the classroom beyond learning a new language.

Why do SLIFE need different instructional strategies?

The learning experiences of SLIFE have, for the most part, taken place outside the classroom in the real world. Here they have developed skills and knowledge necessary for everyday life. Literacy has not been important in their lives and learning has not focused on book learning. This contrasts to the important role literacy and literacy-based school tasks play in formal education. In addition, SLIFE are unfamiliar with the requirements and expectations of formal education as we know it. Traditional ESL instructional strategies have been developed for literate and age-appropriately educated ELs and are generally ineffective with SLIFE. Therefore, educators face the challenge of developing appropriate alternative instructional strategies to meet the distinct needs of SLIFE.

Productive instructional strategies

When SLIFE do not respond to instruction, educators frequently take the view that these students are a problem. Instead, we encourage educators to take a difference view. In our work, we explore how SLIFE, because they have experienced limited or interrupted formal education, have different, additional needs than other Els. We examine productive pedagogical practices for addressing these needs. For example, in Promoting Achievement for Struggling ESL Students, we outline five recommendations for teaching SLIFE and describe how one teacher implemented these in her classroom. Integral to these recommendations for productive instructional strategies is an understanding of our culturally responsive instructional model, The Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm©.

An instructional model

The Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm©, or MALP©, is a culturally responsive instructional model. MALP© is designed to transition SLIFE to formal education. It is mutually adaptive because educators must incorporate elements from the preferred learning paradigm of SLIFE together with elements from the learning paradigm of formal education. MALP© helps educators evaluate which instructional strategies will (or will not) be productive when working with struggling Els, especially SLIFE.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
SLIFE are Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal E ducation are a subpopulation of English learners (Els) and face significant challenges in school. These students are different from other ELs. SLIFE have not had opportunities to engage in age-appropriate formal education, unlike other ELs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Resources

DeCapua, A. Marshall, H and Tang, L (2020). Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon

Today's public schools are brimming with students who are not only new to English but who also have limited or interrupted schooling. These students, referred to as SLIFE (or SIFE), create unique challenges for teachers and administrators.

(2019). DeCapua, A. SLIFE What every Teacher Needs to Know Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon

Deepening an understanding of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal E ducation (SLIFE), sometimes also referred to as SIFE. SLIFE face different challenges in the classroom than more traditional ELLs.

(2013). Marshall, H. W., & DeCapua, A. Making the transition to classroom success: Culturally responsive teaching for struggling second language learners. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon Language Learners examines how understanding secondary and adult L2 learners' educational paradigm, rooted deeply in their past experiences and cultural orientations, provides a key to the solution to a lack of progress.

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2011). Breaking new ground: Teaching English learners with limited or interrupted formal education in U. S. secondary schools. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon: Breaking New Ground introduces readers to and engages them in the implementation of an instructional model that has been developed over many years of working with SLIFE.

DeCapua, A., Smathers, W., & Tang, F. (2009). Students with limited or interrupted schooling: A guide for educators. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon: a welcome new resource for secondary teachers and administrators working in areas with burgeoning immigrant populations, as well as ESL instructors and researchers. The book addresses some of the many issues facing the subpopulation of English language learners who have limited or interrupted formal schooling.

Scholarly Articles

Marshall, H. W. & DeCapua, A. (2018). Promoting Achievement for Struggling ESL Students: Five Recommendations. TESOL Secondary Accents, April.

Globally, secondary schools are receiving large numbers of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Educators find themselves challenged in developing appropriate alternative instructional strategies because many SLIFE do not respond well to conventional ones. We outline five recommendations for teaching this population and then provide an examination of how one teacher implemented them in her classroom.
DeCapua, A. (2016). Building Bridges to Academic Success Through Culturally Responsive Teaching. MinneTESOL, spring.
English learners are a diverse group entering our schools with a wide range of backgrounds and needs. Many readily develop the necessary language skills and content knowledge, and progress satisfactorily. But others struggle and school presents major challenges. I describe the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP®), a culturally responsive approach that builds bridges to formal education for these struggling learners.
DeCapua, A. (2016). Reaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education Through Culturally Responsive Teaching. Language and Linguistics Compass, 10, 225-237.
This article considers how developing an understanding the beliefs, values, norms, and ways of thinking and learning of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) is central to effective instruction for this population. Because these students are different from other English language learners (ELLs), teachers must develop the ability to suspend judgment by building deep cultural knowledge of SLIFE. This can then inform curriculum and pedagogical practices that best support SLIFE in their transition and adaption to formal education. Following a review of culturally responsive teaching as outlined by Gay (2000; 2010), I continue with an examination of the Intercultural Communication Framework (Author, 2011; Marshall, 1994) intended to develop teachers' understanding of cultural factors influencing students' ways of thinking and learning. The article concludes with an exploration of a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (Author 2011; 2013), designed to better serve SLIFE.
DeCapua, A. & Marshall., H.W. (2015). Implementing a Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm in a Community-Based Adult ESL Literacy Class. In M. Santos & A. Whiteside (Eds.). Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition. Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium (pps. 151-171).
This study examined the engagement of one teacher with the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) in community adult basic education ESL literacy programs and her development as she implemented this model in a community-based adult language and literacy program for Haitians. We adopt a qualitative methodology to study teacher practices consistent with this model, which is designed to transition learners with little, interrupted, or no formal education to Western-style formal education and literacy practices. We examine how, using MALP, the teacher was able to encourage active participation, develop a sense of community, and reduce the cultural dissonance (Ibarra, 2001) that students were experiencing. Our results describe how these practices led to increased engagement in and ownership of learning and greater self-confidence. We conclude the study with an examination of the difficulties of doing research with immigrant adults in community-based organizations and a consideration of the importance of continuing to conduct such research despite the barriers.
DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2015). Reframing the Conversation About Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education: From Achievement Gap to Cultural Dissonance. NASSP Bulletin, 1-15. DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2015). Promoting Achievement for English Learners with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education: A Culturally Responsive Approach. Principal Leadership, 15, 48-51. DOI: 10.1177/0192636515620662 DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2011). Reaching ELLs at risk: Instruction for students with limited/interrupted formal education. Preventing School Failure, 55, 35-41.
U.S. schools face increasing pressure to ensure that all students succeed, yet the dropout rate for English learners is alarmingly high, especially for those with limited or interrupted formal schooling (SLIFE). Serving SLIFE can be challenging because they not only need to master language and content but also need to develop literacy skills and learn to operate in formal classroom settings. We describe a culturally responsive instructional model that prepares SLIFE to access curriculum and instruction, and succeed on standardized testing.

Content-area teachers are often frustrated because they have low-performing English language learners (ELLs) in their classes and they don't know what to do to address their needs. As the number of ELLs continues to grow in U.S. schools, such concerns will increase, especially with the parallel growth in the number of students who have limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Teachers and administrators find this subpopulation of ELLs particularly challenging. We take the stance, derived from culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000), that to address the needs of this population we must understand, accommodate and incorporate different ways of thinking to make learning accessible. By implementing a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) educators create fertile spaces that foster academic engagement and academic achievement. This mutually adaptive approach constitutes a major shift in perspective for educators but, we believe, an essential one if we are to reframe the conversation from deficiencies to cultural dissonance. By gaining a deeper appreciation for who SLIFE are and what they bring along with them to their new educational setting, rather than focusing on what they lack, educators provide them with a pathway to school success.

The United States is receiving unprecedented numbers of immigrants, with a parallel increase in the number of English language learners (ELLs) entering our schools. Many of these ELLs are students with limited or interrupted formal education who face great challenges, especially at the secondary level where they have little time to master academic content, develop literacy skills, and build English proficiency. Fundamental to school success for these students is their need to adjust to culturally different ways of learning. In this article, the authors examine salient academic and cultural issues and describe a new instructional model to help teachers adapt their instruction to facilitate the active engagement of this student population, as well as transition them to the learning environment U.S. educational system.

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2010). Limited formally schooled English language learners in U.S. classrooms. Urban Review, 42, 159-173.
Considerable attention has focused on the challenges of English language learners without age-appropriate formal education and first language literacy. They are viewed here as students with high-context learning experiences and expectations (Hall in Beyond Culture, Anchor, New York,(1976), and a collectivistic orientation, with a pragmatic, rather than academic way of looking at the world, who are marginalized and disoriented in US classrooms. Building on Ibarra's Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing the Context of Higher Education, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison (2001) "cultural dissonance" construct, the two learning paradigms are contrasted, and a third, the mutually adaptive learning paradigm, is posited as a pathway to academic success for this population.

DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2010). Serving ELLs with limited or interrupted education: Intervention that works. TESOL Journal, 1, 49-70. http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=1997&DID=13152
This article reports on the results of a 5-month intervention in one high school class of English language learners (ELLs) with limited or interrupted formal education using an instructional model developed by the authors. These students are a challenging group for educators, especially at the high school level because they must master content knowledge and develop English language and literacy in a relatively short amount of time. Furthermore, they must also learn how to participate effectively in U. S. schools, institutions with their own culture and culturally based assumptions. The two research questions of this study were: How could the implementation of the instructional model assist this subpopulation of ELLs in the development of literacy and academic thinking? Would the implementation of the model improve the engagement and participation of these students? Findings indicate that through the implementation of this instructional model, the teacher in this study was able to facilitate students' transition to the U.S.educational system. Classroom observations and analysis of student work revealed that students were participating more actively in their learning and had developed increased facility with both print and academic-style thinking.

DeCapua, A., Smathers, W. & Tang, F. (2007). Addressing the challenges and needs of students with interrupted formal education (SIFE). Educational Policy & Leadership, 65, 40-46.
Schools across the United States are seeing an increase in students with limited English proficiency. A growing number of these limited English proficiency students are students with interrupted formal education (SIFE). The SIFE population presents a range of special challenges to U.S. education systems, especially at the high school level where the overall dropout rate of immigrant teens is very high (Morse, 2005; Osterling, 2001). Because their formal education has been interrupted, limited, or may even be non- existent prior to entering a U.S. school, these high school SIFE lack basic skills and concepts, content knowledge, and critical academic thinking abilities. They must develop basic literacy skills and academic knowledge while simultaneously learning English in the comparatively few years available to them. This article reviews the challenges of identifying the SIFE population, and presents some of the promising program models and practices observed in New York City public schools with SIFE. The program models and promising practices are based on the results of our ongoing involvement with the New York City School SIFE program since its inception, visiting, observing and meeting with students, teachers, and administrators of schools receiving grant monies to develop and implement SIFE programs.

Marshall, H.W. & DeCapua A. (2010). The newcomer booklet: A Project for limited formally schooled students. ELT Journal, 64, 396-404.
The Newcomer Booklet has become a popular classroom activity among ESL teachers at many different levels and with many types of learners. In this article, we explore why this is the case and why this type of project works so well for a particular population of English language learners, those with limited or interrupted formal schooling. We situate our discussion within a framework that we have developed after working extensively with this population. This framework, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) helps ESL teachers of such learners to understand why a project like the Newcomer Booklet is so successful. MALP identifies ways to combine elements of the students' familiar learning paradigm and those associated with westernized formal education. By extension, ESL teachers can use MALP to help them maximize the effectiveness of other activities or projects.

Marshall, H.W., DeCapua, A., & Antolini, C. (2010). Building literacy for SIFE through social studies. Educator's Voice, 3, 56-65. http://bit.ly/1sxR9bB
Carol Antolini, who teaches Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), participated in a research project on a new instructional model for this population. Here, the researchers who developed the model and mentored Carol describe the model, the implementation process and the results, while Carol reflects on her experience. The focus is on secondary social studies, specifically U.S. history.

Early Development of MALP

Marshall, H. W. (1994). Hmong/English Bilingual Adult Literacy Project. Final report of research conducted under the National Institute for Literacy, grant #X257A20457. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Eric Document: #ED376750. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED376750.pdf
The Hmong/English Bilingual Adult Literacy Project, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was designed to explore more effective ways of reaching and teaching a previously "unteachable group," nonliterate adult Hmong refugees. Throughout the project, the staff struggled with the apparent mismatch between an orientation towards literacy as empowerment and the determination of the students to cling to a traditional, teacher centered, textbook-driven, classroom results oriented instructional delivery model. From this cultural dissonance, there emerged a mutually adaptive approach to the literacy instruction of Hmong learners. The Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) examined the conditions, processes, and activities characteristic of each setting and outlined how teachers could use their knowledge of these two conflicting paradigms to design a mutually adaptive paradigm that could help Hmong learners succeed in the program. This new framework was then be implemented using three strategies: (1) Hmong students' conditions for learning, namely, a relationship and immediate relevance, are accepted and maintained; (2) traditional Hmong learning processes, including cooperation and oral transmission, are gradually combined with formal educational processes, individual achievement and the use of the written word; and (3) activities for learning are initially confined to practice, slowly yielding to analysis of familiar material and finally, analysis of unfamiliar material. Results showed improved confidence levels in using English and improved levels of literacy. Ultimately, through a process of ongoing cross-cultural negotiating, several learner-generated uses for literacy emerged, resulting in real-world applications.

Marshall, H. W. (1998). A mutually adaptive learning paradigm (MALP) for Hmong students. Cultural Circles, 3, 134-141. ERIC Document: #ED505352. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505352.pdf
Numerous studies (Goldstein, 1985; Rumbaut and Ima, 1988; Walker, 1989; Trueba, Jacobs, and Kirton, 1990 and Walker-Moffat, 1995) have found that the Hmong have extreme difficulties adjusting to the American educational system as compared with other language minority groups. Underlying this difficulty is a fundamental conflict between learning in traditional Hmong cultural settings and learning in American classroom settings. Despite this conflict, many Hmong students have successfully negotiated our school systems. Most of them did this, however, by compensation strategies, such as memorizing, repeating, spending extended periods of time attempting to master large amounts of material, and receiving extensive help from friends and siblings, rather than by mastering the requirements of successful learning in a formal educational setting. Shuter (1985) refers to this phenomenon as residual orality. This paper demonstrates that success in our educational system constitutes a paradigm shift for the Hmong learner, a shift from the Hmong learner's paradigm to the formal educational learning paradigm. The position taken is that active participation in formal education is itself an important part of the acculturation process, requiring the building of a cluster of formal schemata having to do with learning in a specific setting. The paper first examines the conditions, processes, and activities characteristic of each setting and then outlines how teachers can use their knowledge of these two conflicting paradigms to design a Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) that can help Hmong learners succeed academically. Classroom applications are included to demonstrate how the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm can be effective with Hmong learners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Books, Articles and Educational Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
DeCapua, A. Marshall, H and Tang, L (2020). Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon Today's public schools are brimming with students who are not only new to English but who also have limited or interrupted schooling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Resources

DeCapua, A. Marshall, H and Tang, L (2020). Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon

Today's public schools are brimming with students who are not only new to English but who also have limited or interrupted schooling. These students, referred to as SLIFE (or SIFE), create unique challenges for teachers and administrators.

(2019). DeCapua, A. SLIFE What every Teacher Needs to Know Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon

Deepening an understanding of Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal E ducation (SLIFE), sometimes also referred to as SIFE. SLIFE face different challenges in the classroom than more traditional ELLs.

(2013). Marshall, H. W., & DeCapua, A. Making the transition to classroom success: Culturally responsive teaching for struggling second language learners. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon Language Learners examines how understanding secondary and adult L2 learners' educational paradigm, rooted deeply in their past experiences and cultural orientations, provides a key to the solution to a lack of progress.

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2011). Breaking new ground: Teaching English learners with limited or interrupted formal education in U. S. secondary schools. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon: Breaking New Ground introduces readers to and engages them in the implementation of an instructional model that has been developed over many years of working with SLIFE.

DeCapua, A., Smathers, W., & Tang, F. (2009). Students with limited or interrupted schooling: A guide for educators. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon: a welcome new resource for secondary teachers and administrators working in areas with burgeoning immigrant populations, as well as ESL instructors and researchers. The book addresses some of the many issues facing the subpopulation of English language learners who have limited or interrupted formal schooling.

Scholarly Articles

Marshall, H. W. & DeCapua, A. (2018). Promoting Achievement for Struggling ESL Students: Five Recommendations. TESOL Secondary Accents, April.

Globally, secondary schools are receiving large numbers of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Educators find themselves challenged in developing appropriate alternative instructional strategies because many SLIFE do not respond well to conventional ones. We outline five recommendations for teaching this population and then provide an examination of how one teacher implemented them in her classroom.
DeCapua, A. (2016). Building Bridges to Academic Success Through Culturally Responsive Teaching. MinneTESOL, spring.
English learners are a diverse group entering our schools with a wide range of backgrounds and needs. Many readily develop the necessary language skills and content knowledge, and progress satisfactorily. But others struggle and school presents major challenges. I describe the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP®), a culturally responsive approach that builds bridges to formal education for these struggling learners.
DeCapua, A. (2016). Reaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education Through Culturally Responsive Teaching. Language and Linguistics Compass, 10, 225-237.
This article considers how developing an understanding the beliefs, values, norms, and ways of thinking and learning of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) is central to effective instruction for this population. Because these students are different from other English language learners (ELLs), teachers must develop the ability to suspend judgment by building deep cultural knowledge of SLIFE. This can then inform curriculum and pedagogical practices that best support SLIFE in their transition and adaption to formal education. Following a review of culturally responsive teaching as outlined by Gay (2000; 2010), I continue with an examination of the Intercultural Communication Framework (Author, 2011; Marshall, 1994) intended to develop teachers' understanding of cultural factors influencing students' ways of thinking and learning. The article concludes with an exploration of a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (Author 2011; 2013), designed to better serve SLIFE.
DeCapua, A. & Marshall., H.W. (2015). Implementing a Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm in a Community-Based Adult ESL Literacy Class. In M. Santos & A. Whiteside (Eds.). Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition. Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium (pps. 151-171).
This study examined the engagement of one teacher with the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) in community adult basic education ESL literacy programs and her development as she implemented this model in a community-based adult language and literacy program for Haitians. We adopt a qualitative methodology to study teacher practices consistent with this model, which is designed to transition learners with little, interrupted, or no formal education to Western-style formal education and literacy practices. We examine how, using MALP, the teacher was able to encourage active participation, develop a sense of community, and reduce the cultural dissonance (Ibarra, 2001) that students were experiencing. Our results describe how these practices led to increased engagement in and ownership of learning and greater self-confidence. We conclude the study with an examination of the difficulties of doing research with immigrant adults in community-based organizations and a consideration of the importance of continuing to conduct such research despite the barriers.
DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2015). Reframing the Conversation About Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education: From Achievement Gap to Cultural Dissonance. NASSP Bulletin, 1-15. DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2015). Promoting Achievement for English Learners with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education: A Culturally Responsive Approach. Principal Leadership, 15, 48-51. DOI: 10.1177/0192636515620662 DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2011). Reaching ELLs at risk: Instruction for students with limited/interrupted formal education. Preventing School Failure, 55, 35-41.
U.S. schools face increasing pressure to ensure that all students succeed, yet the dropout rate for English learners is alarmingly high, especially for those with limited or interrupted formal schooling (SLIFE). Serving SLIFE can be challenging because they not only need to master language and content but also need to develop literacy skills and learn to operate in formal classroom settings. We describe a culturally responsive instructional model that prepares SLIFE to access curriculum and instruction, and succeed on standardized testing.

Content-area teachers are often frustrated because they have low-performing English language learners (ELLs) in their classes and they don't know what to do to address their needs. As the number of ELLs continues to grow in U.S. schools, such concerns will increase, especially with the parallel growth in the number of students who have limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). Teachers and administrators find this subpopulation of ELLs particularly challenging. We take the stance, derived from culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000), that to address the needs of this population we must understand, accommodate and incorporate different ways of thinking to make learning accessible. By implementing a culturally responsive instructional model, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) educators create fertile spaces that foster academic engagement and academic achievement. This mutually adaptive approach constitutes a major shift in perspective for educators but, we believe, an essential one if we are to reframe the conversation from deficiencies to cultural dissonance. By gaining a deeper appreciation for who SLIFE are and what they bring along with them to their new educational setting, rather than focusing on what they lack, educators provide them with a pathway to school success.

The United States is receiving unprecedented numbers of immigrants, with a parallel increase in the number of English language learners (ELLs) entering our schools. Many of these ELLs are students with limited or interrupted formal education who face great challenges, especially at the secondary level where they have little time to master academic content, develop literacy skills, and build English proficiency. Fundamental to school success for these students is their need to adjust to culturally different ways of learning. In this article, the authors examine salient academic and cultural issues and describe a new instructional model to help teachers adapt their instruction to facilitate the active engagement of this student population, as well as transition them to the learning environment U.S. educational system.

DeCapua, A., & Marshall, H. W. (2010). Limited formally schooled English language learners in U.S. classrooms. Urban Review, 42, 159-173.
Considerable attention has focused on the challenges of English language learners without age-appropriate formal education and first language literacy. They are viewed here as students with high-context learning experiences and expectations (Hall in Beyond Culture, Anchor, New York,(1976), and a collectivistic orientation, with a pragmatic, rather than academic way of looking at the world, who are marginalized and disoriented in US classrooms. Building on Ibarra's Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing the Context of Higher Education, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison (2001) "cultural dissonance" construct, the two learning paradigms are contrasted, and a third, the mutually adaptive learning paradigm, is posited as a pathway to academic success for this population.

DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. (2010). Serving ELLs with limited or interrupted education: Intervention that works. TESOL Journal, 1, 49-70. http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=1997&DID=13152
This article reports on the results of a 5-month intervention in one high school class of English language learners (ELLs) with limited or interrupted formal education using an instructional model developed by the authors. These students are a challenging group for educators, especially at the high school level because they must master content knowledge and develop English language and literacy in a relatively short amount of time. Furthermore, they must also learn how to participate effectively in U. S. schools, institutions with their own culture and culturally based assumptions. The two research questions of this study were: How could the implementation of the instructional model assist this subpopulation of ELLs in the development of literacy and academic thinking? Would the implementation of the model improve the engagement and participation of these students? Findings indicate that through the implementation of this instructional model, the teacher in this study was able to facilitate students' transition to the U.S.educational system. Classroom observations and analysis of student work revealed that students were participating more actively in their learning and had developed increased facility with both print and academic-style thinking.

DeCapua, A., Smathers, W. & Tang, F. (2007). Addressing the challenges and needs of students with interrupted formal education (SIFE). Educational Policy & Leadership, 65, 40-46.
Schools across the United States are seeing an increase in students with limited English proficiency. A growing number of these limited English proficiency students are students with interrupted formal education (SIFE). The SIFE population presents a range of special challenges to U.S. education systems, especially at the high school level where the overall dropout rate of immigrant teens is very high (Morse, 2005; Osterling, 2001). Because their formal education has been interrupted, limited, or may even be non- existent prior to entering a U.S. school, these high school SIFE lack basic skills and concepts, content knowledge, and critical academic thinking abilities. They must develop basic literacy skills and academic knowledge while simultaneously learning English in the comparatively few years available to them. This article reviews the challenges of identifying the SIFE population, and presents some of the promising program models and practices observed in New York City public schools with SIFE. The program models and promising practices are based on the results of our ongoing involvement with the New York City School SIFE program since its inception, visiting, observing and meeting with students, teachers, and administrators of schools receiving grant monies to develop and implement SIFE programs.

Marshall, H.W. & DeCapua A. (2010). The newcomer booklet: A Project for limited formally schooled students. ELT Journal, 64, 396-404.
The Newcomer Booklet has become a popular classroom activity among ESL teachers at many different levels and with many types of learners. In this article, we explore why this is the case and why this type of project works so well for a particular population of English language learners, those with limited or interrupted formal schooling. We situate our discussion within a framework that we have developed after working extensively with this population. This framework, the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) helps ESL teachers of such learners to understand why a project like the Newcomer Booklet is so successful. MALP identifies ways to combine elements of the students' familiar learning paradigm and those associated with westernized formal education. By extension, ESL teachers can use MALP to help them maximize the effectiveness of other activities or projects.

Marshall, H.W., DeCapua, A., & Antolini, C. (2010). Building literacy for SIFE through social studies. Educator's Voice, 3, 56-65. http://bit.ly/1sxR9bB
Carol Antolini, who teaches Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), participated in a research project on a new instructional model for this population. Here, the researchers who developed the model and mentored Carol describe the model, the implementation process and the results, while Carol reflects on her experience. The focus is on secondary social studies, specifically U.S. history.

Early Development of MALP

Marshall, H. W. (1994). Hmong/English Bilingual Adult Literacy Project. Final report of research conducted under the National Institute for Literacy, grant #X257A20457. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Eric Document: #ED376750. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED376750.pdf
The Hmong/English Bilingual Adult Literacy Project, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, was designed to explore more effective ways of reaching and teaching a previously "unteachable group," nonliterate adult Hmong refugees. Throughout the project, the staff struggled with the apparent mismatch between an orientation towards literacy as empowerment and the determination of the students to cling to a traditional, teacher centered, textbook-driven, classroom results oriented instructional delivery model. From this cultural dissonance, there emerged a mutually adaptive approach to the literacy instruction of Hmong learners. The Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) examined the conditions, processes, and activities characteristic of each setting and outlined how teachers could use their knowledge of these two conflicting paradigms to design a mutually adaptive paradigm that could help Hmong learners succeed in the program. This new framework was then be implemented using three strategies: (1) Hmong students' conditions for learning, namely, a relationship and immediate relevance, are accepted and maintained; (2) traditional Hmong learning processes, including cooperation and oral transmission, are gradually combined with formal educational processes, individual achievement and the use of the written word; and (3) activities for learning are initially confined to practice, slowly yielding to analysis of familiar material and finally, analysis of unfamiliar material. Results showed improved confidence levels in using English and improved levels of literacy. Ultimately, through a process of ongoing cross-cultural negotiating, several learner-generated uses for literacy emerged, resulting in real-world applications.

Marshall, H. W. (1998). A mutually adaptive learning paradigm (MALP) for Hmong students. Cultural Circles, 3, 134-141. ERIC Document: #ED505352. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505352.pdf
Numerous studies (Goldstein, 1985; Rumbaut and Ima, 1988; Walker, 1989; Trueba, Jacobs, and Kirton, 1990 and Walker-Moffat, 1995) have found that the Hmong have extreme difficulties adjusting to the American educational system as compared with other language minority groups. Underlying this difficulty is a fundamental conflict between learning in traditional Hmong cultural settings and learning in American classroom settings. Despite this conflict, many Hmong students have successfully negotiated our school systems. Most of them did this, however, by compensation strategies, such as memorizing, repeating, spending extended periods of time attempting to master large amounts of material, and receiving extensive help from friends and siblings, rather than by mastering the requirements of successful learning in a formal educational setting. Shuter (1985) refers to this phenomenon as residual orality. This paper demonstrates that success in our educational system constitutes a paradigm shift for the Hmong learner, a shift from the Hmong learner's paradigm to the formal educational learning paradigm. The position taken is that active participation in formal education is itself an important part of the acculturation process, requiring the building of a cluster of formal schemata having to do with learning in a specific setting. The paper first examines the conditions, processes, and activities characteristic of each setting and then outlines how teachers can use their knowledge of these two conflicting paradigms to design a Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) that can help Hmong learners succeed academically. Classroom applications are included to demonstrate how the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm can be effective with Hmong learners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Books, Articles and Educational Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
DeCapua, A. Marshall, H and Tang, L (2020). Meeting the Needs of SLIFE, Second Ed.: A Guide for Educators Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Available at Amazon Today's public schools are brimming with students who are not only new to English but who also have limited or interrupted schooling.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ESL Instructor
Adjunct Faculty, English Language Institute, Long Island University

Adjunct Associate, American Language Program, Columbia University

M.A. Applied Linguistics and Language Acquisition, University of Barcelona

B.A. Communications, Mills College
Description
Yasmeen Coaxum, Adjunct Faculty at the English Language Institute of Long Island University- Brooklyn Campus and the American Language Program (ALP) at Columbia University, holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and Language Acquisition from the University of Barcelona. She has taught ELLs in national and international contexts for more than 12 years, specializing in English for Academic Purposes and Business English at language schools, universities, and corporations in, Japan, Turkey, Germany, Spain, and the U.S. Ms. Coaxum is a frequent presenter at conferences, including Columbia's ALP Winter Conference, the NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Winter Conference and the JALT CALL Conference, and she currently serves on the Executive Board of NYS TESOL, as VP Conference. Her research interests include CALL, MALL, vocabulary acquisition, and pedagogical grammar. Most recently, she has focused her research on leveraging instructional technology to increase student motivation and accelerate English language proficiency.

Prior to her career in TESOL, Yasmeen worked at various media outlets in radio, television, and magazine publishing as a researcher, as a production assistant, and as a sales coordinator. Her background in these industries is what led her to fuse her interest in business with her love of teaching. Thus, she specializes in both Business and Academic English. The driving force behind her teaching is the idea that with the power of global language skills, those having only limited opportunities for advancement are suddenly open to a universe of possibilities to help shape the economy on a worldwide scale. This is the core of Business English. In addition to teaching English for Professional Purposes: Business at Columbia University's ALP, she has also taught Advanced Presentations and Public Speaking as well as Business Writing at Fordham University's Gabelli Business School. In Berlin, Germany, she worked as a Freelance Business English Instructor in a variety of industries, including financial, real estate, pharmaceutical, and e-commerce. She taught at corporations such as Max Plank, Beiersdorf, Landesbank, Bayer, Cushman & Wakefield, and Deutsche Bundesbank, using a variety of resources, including a blended learning module. This is where her foray into online teaching began with WebEx and then Zoom back in 2018, working with a start-up Japanese Business English online company called Excedo, whose lessons centered around navigating different forms of verbal & written communication in the workplace.

Always enthusiastic about utilizing technology in the classroom to assist in facilitating her lessons, she conducted a number of workshops for her colleagues, demonstrating the latest user-friendly tools to enhance language teaching. Her desire to leverage the power of tech to connect students to each other and to a larger context is what inspired her current interest in student podcasting projects.
Presentations
Fliptech Conference 2021: Maximizing the Podcast: Mutually Adaptive Learning & SOFLA
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r1kVoyUPGoocDpgXQ1n5VTd27Bn9wWaE/view?usp=sharing
Columbia ALP Conference Presentation 2021: Autonomous Professional Development: Using YouTube to Strengthen Your Remote Teaching Toolbox
https://columbiasps.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=2d2a3c49-9ad8-40fb-8d05-acea01570c8e
Black English Professionals and Friends (BELPAF) ATC Symposium Presentation 2021: Mutually Adaptive Learning Through Podcasting
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xpu-iDPjkJT2L6uCZn3srSwj6HSZNLmfU26O2pwiMX4/edit?usp=sharing
Womentorship Summer Symposium 2021: Empowering Your Professional Development Through Podcasting
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pdN39FQmW8hfh24VCyBrKBX-fdGx8vwqaN2fkNIXGfo/edit?usp=sharing
Columbia ALP Conference Presentation 2020: Grammar & Technology: An Innovative Way to Enhance Speaking Accuracy & Confidence (Action Research Using Digital Recordings)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBIGRhM_63w
LaGuardia Listening Skills Presentation 2020: Using YouTube: Listening Comprehension Lessons for the Business Professional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU5dmiAQnuU
Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) CALL Presentation 2020: Comparative Analysis of Learning Gains and Affective States in Face-to-Face vs. Online Acquisition of L2 English Phrasal Verbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf_UyPm3jdg
Center for Education of Global Communication (CEGLOC) 4th Annual Conference 2020: Enhancing Grammar Accuracy & Confidence through Podcasting
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WmL0pn0RTWLCE5vC0OmHPd0uUqrTkvk6/view?usp=sharing Professional Affiliations
Vice President-Conference Chair, NYS TESOL, 2021-2022; Member, 2010 - present

Member, TESOL International Association, 2019 - present

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ESL Instructor Adjunct Faculty, English Language Institute, Long Island University Adjunct Associate, American Language Program, Columbia University M.A. Applied Linguistics and Language Acquisiti...