Running

head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature Review of Specially Designed Academic
Instruction in English (SDAIE) for Language Minority Students
TED 690
Dario Workman
National University

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Abstract

In this paper, you will read a brief summary discussing the key elements of

the article titled, Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) for
Language Minority Students. Michael Genzuk, the Director of the Center for
Multilingual, Multicultural Research, describes the shortcomings of an educational
system built on outdated cultural models, the advantages of SDAIE, and several
teaching strategies that are elemental to SDAIE.

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The author of the article, Michael Gensuk, Ph.D., relates that instructional

programs were traditionally designed to educate three distinct populations of

students, being 1) students capable of advanced graduate studies, 2) students
capable of completing collegiate studies in order to obtain white-collar
employment, and 3) students who will seek employment through trade or blue
collar work and who may or may not have graduated from high school (Gensuk,
2011, pg. 2). According to Genzuk, these outdated models, which are based on
notions that students all share the same cultural, linguistic and academic
backgrounds, are not meeting the needs of todays students (Genzuk, 2011, pg. 2).
The author further argues that schools today reflect the values and habits of the
white middle class, which correlates with the notion that students with matching
backgrounds were the most successful. In contrast, students who do not come from
white middle class backgrounds are not as successful. This is due largely to the idea
that schools are systemically tailored toward a white middle class. Genzuk proposes
that when English Learners participate in well-crafted instructional plans designed
to accommodate diverse language, cultural, and nationality backgrounds, they can
more readily acquire levels of competence in academic areas, including the
acquisition of language fluency. This would ensure that all students would have an
equal educational opportunity.

Genzuk discusses the importance that second language instruction strategies

have in providing the necessary cognitive foundations for academic success. One
particular strategy that Genzuk elaborates upon is the concept that all students
acquire language by understanding messages. The idea that we acquire language

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by understanding messages, or comprehensible input, clarifies what the role of the

second language classroom should be. Genzuk continues by stating we acquire
language not when we memorize vocabulary lists or do grammar exercises, but
when we understand what people say to us or what we read (pg. 6). Moreover,
Genzuk states that an emphasis on grammar, spelling, and accurate pronunciation
is secondary to the primary purpose of language instruction, to teach students to
understand, communicate and to function successfully in society.

For effective SDAIE lesson implementation, subject matter and the deliver of

the lessons should use as many extra-linguistic clues and modifications as possible.
Genzuk relates that the primary objective for SDAIE classrooms is to make sure
that what people say to the student or what they read is understood (pg. 7). Using
the students primary language is an effective means to provide the student with
background knowledge, but when using English as the medium of instruction,
teachers should change their speech register by slowing down, limiting their
vocabulary and sentence length, by repeating, emphasizing, and explaining key
concepts, and by using examples, props, visual clues and body language to convey
and reinforce meaning.

Genzuk concludes the article by stating that students with language needs

and academic gaps should only be placed into rigorous courses with high-level
content when there is comprehensible instruction that is designed and adapted to
their needs. Teaching subject matter to English Learners requires direct, explicit
instruction on strategies needed to build vocabulary and comprehend grade-level
texts and participate in discussion about the content (pg. 21). SDAIE classrooms

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yield the most effective results when students have obtained the necessary linguistic
skills, specifically English fluency, so that they can successfully negotiate
thoughtful, relevant content that is not weakened or watered down because it is
presented in way that is sensitive to the needs of the student.

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References

Genzuk, M. (2011). Specially designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE) for

language minority students. Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research

Digital Papers Series. Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research,

University of Southern California. Retrieved from

http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/DigitalPapers/SDAIE_Genzuk.p

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