Lesson Delivery: A Key Component to Ensure Maximum Benefit to the Learner

Abstract

Professors at the Institución Universitaria Colombo Americana (ÚNICA) have aimed to deliver lessons for second language learners that integrate content and language, resulting in an integrated lesson design. The Center for Applied Linguistics (Washington, DC) recommends the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) as a way of helping teachers plan and deliver integrated lessons. The effectiveness of this protocol has been corroborated on the K-12 level, and during 2008, through action research, a group of researchers studied its applicability on the higher education level at ÚNICA. The purpose of this study was to describe professors’ experiences as they were trained on SIOP. The analyzed data showed that professors truly understand the importance of stating clear content and language objectives. Data also revealed that the time stated for each lesson was appropriate; however, it was noticed that professors should allocate time for every task and include more strategies to have better and higher student participation. Additionally, it was observed the need of using different questions to make content more comprehensible for learners. This study provided professors and researchers with a productive outcome in their professional development and reinforced their belief in the importance of joining hands to accomplish goals that make education a joy.