SOLOM Teacher Observation

Student Oral Language Observation Matrix

Student's Name: Jaiden

Language Observed: English Administered By: Caroline Johnson

1 2 3 4 5

A. Comprehension Cannot be said to Has great difficulty
understand even simple following what is said.
conversation. Can comprehend only
social conversation spoken
slowly and with frequent
repetitions.
Understands most of Understands nearly Understands
what is said at everything at normal everyday
slower-than-normal speech. Although conversation
speed with repetitions. occasional repetition may and normal
be necessary. classroom
discussions.

B. Fluency Speech so halting Usually hesitant: often Speech in everyday Speech in everyday Speech in everyday
and fragmentary as forced into silence by conversation and conversation and conversation and
to make language limitations. classroom discussion classroom discussions classroom discussions
conversation frequently disrupted by generally fluent, with fluent and effortless;
virtually impossible. the student's search for occasional lapses while approximating that of a
the correct manner of the student searches for native speaker.
expression the correct manner of
expression.

C. Vocabulary Vocabulary limitations Misuse of words and very Student frequently uses Student occasionally Use of vocabulary and
so extreme as to make limited: comprehension wrong words: uses inappropriate terms idioms approximate that
conversation virtually quite difficult. conversation somewhat and/or must rephrase of a native speaker.
impossible. limited because of ideas because of lexical
inadequate vocabulary. inadequacies.

D. Pronunciation Pronunciation problems Very hard to
so severe as to make understand because of
speech virtually pronunciation
unintelligible. problems. Must
frequently repeat in
order to make
him/herself understood.
Pronunciation problems
necessitate concentration
on the part of the listener
and occasionally lead to
misunderstanding.
Always intelligible, Pronunciation and
although the listener is intonation approximate
conscious of a definite that of a native speaker.
accent and occasional
inappropriate intonation
patterns.

E. Grammar Errors in grammar and Grammar and word order
word order so severe as to errors make
make speech virtually comprehension difficult.
unintelligible. Must often rephrase
and/or restrict him/herself
to basic patterns.
Makes frequent errors of
grammar and word order
that occasionally obscure
meaning.
Occasionally makes Grammar and word
grammatical and/or order approximate
word order errors that that of a native
do not obscure speaker.
meaning.
qw
Grade level of student: 2nd Student SOLOM Score Rationale
Approximate age of student:7
Country of origin: United States
L
Comprehension 5 The student understands everyday conversation and normal classroom
i discussions with his peers and during instruction. He participates in a small
s
group every morning for other students reading on grade level. He is able to
t
orally articulate his answers to comprehension questions on the text. He
e
participates in think-pair-share and turn and talk discussions with his table
n
group. He expresses himself easily and will also laugh at jokes the other students
i
make with him. The teacher does not need to focus on slowing down speech or
n
g
repeat frequently, as this student is mostly able to remain on task and work with
given instructions. He is very talkative and outgoing with his classmates, and no
comprehension barriers are apparent.

S
Fluency 5 The student’s speech in everyday conversation and classroom discussion is
p fluent and effortless and approximate that of a native speaker. His speech
e flows normally and he is easy to understand. He loves to talk during
a collaborative learning time and easily communicates with his peers. He has
k not been observed struggling to think of the correct terms to express himself
i and generally replies quickly with confidence. This can be observed during
n math rotations when he is pulled for small group instruction. He can explain
g to his group what he is working on and how he arrived at that answer when
asked. He does this without hesitation and his speech is clear and accurate.
 Vocabulary 5 This student shows appropriate use of vocabulary and idioms approximate that
of a native speaker. He uses diverse word choices appropriate to that of a second
grader when both speaking and writing during ELA block. Word choices are
correctly used in context and the student does not seem to have conversational
limitations with vocabulary. His table neighbors can understand him when he is
sharing his text predictions during guided reading and he can properly
incorporate the weekly vocabulary words into conversation. In class during
“showdown” a vocabulary/phonics game, the student can properly identify and
spell the words using the hints from the Benchmark curriculum. He can even
formulate his own during the game while playing with other students.

Pronunciation 5 The students overall speech, pronunciation, and intonation is approximately that
of a native speaker. His speaking is always intelligible, and there is no apparent
accent. Intonation patterns are appropriate and the student communicates
easily with his classmates. During phonic instruction time, the student can easily
say the weekly spelling words and repeat them back to the teacher. The student
also does not have trouble blending and sounding them out correctly. His speech
is easily understood by others and there are observed barriers in communication
from his pronunciation. He can be understood without additional effort on the
listener’s part and he doesn’t have to repeat himself for further clarification.
 Grammar 5 This student has been observed to use grammar and word order at a level that is
comparable that of a native speaker his age (7, second grade). There are no
order errors and comprehension is easy for the listeners. The student does not
need to rephrase and/or restrict him/herself to basic patterns. He can be
understood by his peers at table-talk time. He can use varying sentence
structures to express himself effectively. During grammar lessons, the student
feels comfortable participating and can contribute/participate. For example, the
student was able to identify the parts of a compound sentence and explain how
they contributed to the story. The student was also able to create their own
compound sentences as examples and share them with his group. The student
also was engaged and participating in a lesson about subject and predicates, and
also one about adjectives. The student shared examples with peers about
different ways they can be used and participated in constructive discussion
about it .

Circle Level
English Language Development Level
0-5 Level 1: Starting/Entering
Total Score 6-10 Level 2: Emerging
11-15 Level 3: Developing
16-20 Level 4: Expanding
21-25 Level 5: Bridging