PLC 914 ELD/SDAIE
Guidelines for Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM)
Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State University
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to provide an experience to student teachers in administering a rating scale for second language proficiency. The administration of the SOLOM to a student who is learning English as a second language will allow teacher candidates to observe the interaction between oral language proficiency termed Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and the cognitive academic skills (CALP) required for proficiency in reading and writing. Analyses of this type inform teachers about how bilingual students' strengths and weaknesses in oral English interact in the four skills of language arts: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The SOLOM is designed to assess authentic oral language used for real, day-to-day classroom purposes and activities.
In addition, language assessment allows a teacher to closely observe students' development of different features of language proficiency in a holistic fashion. This information is useful in planning appropriate instruction for bilingual readers and writers. The skills you will acquire in completing this assignment address RICA content area 13: Structure of the English language. For a complete discussion of the purpose and structure of the SOLOM and how it is scored, see your textbook, Peregoy & Boyle (1997), p. 122-128. The SOLOM rating scale is on p. 124-5.
Administrating the SOLOM
Choose a student from your classroom who is classified as an English language learner. Observe the student in several different authentic classroom activities in which he/she is interacting with the teacher and/or classmates, such as cooperative group task. Observe for a minimum of five minutes on each occasion. On each occasion, mark the rankings on the matrix according to your impressions of the child's use of English.
You may wish to audio record one or more of your sessions to go back and confirm your impressions or to look for certain patterns of errors or usage. You will rate the child's language use on a scale from 1 to 5 on each of these traits: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Cross-check your ratings from the different contexts in which you observed the child for consistencies or variations that may indicate different levels of proficiency according to language function or purpose.
Scoring the SOLOM
The SOLOM yields ratings for four phases of English language proficiency.
Phase 1 = 5-11
Reporting the SOLOM Results
You will submit a brief report of the results of the SOLOM to include the following information:
The child's
total score and phase of English language acquisition.
A discussion
of the child's strengths and weaknesses in the five traits.
A brief
description of the classroom context and activity or activities in which you observed the
child.
Overall
impressions of the child's ability to function in English in an academic context as well
as a social interaction context.
A discussion
of what insights you gained from the experience of administering the rating scale. These
could include addressing issues such as:
Did the child's level of overall fluency allow him/her to participate fully in academic activities or was his/her participation impaired?
Additional Resources
You may also consult your PLC 194 reader for some helpful information about language proficiency ratings. On p. G 15-18 there is a more detailed rating scale used by the Foreign Service Institute for holistic ratings and also for rating each component of language.
Turning in the Assignment
This assignment is due on December 8, 1999. You may e-mail your SOLOM report to <jmora@mail.sdsu.edu> or turn it in to the PDS mailbox in the workroom at Rosa Parks School.
To navigate Dr. Mora's CLAD Website: