In my last post about attending Fred Gensee's presentation at the TESOL conference in New York, I mentioned that he suggested using Response to Intervention (RTI) to address the needs of struggling English Language Learners (ELLs).  I realize that "RTI" is a term that is surfacing more and more in K-12 contexts, especially where ELLs are being served.  I also realize that many of us don't really know what it is, so let's define it.

So what is Response to Intervention (RTI)?
"Response to Intervention is designed as an early intervention to prevent long-term academic failure. Instruction and interventions are matched to meet students’ needs. It is generally depicted as a three-tiered model. Progress monitoring is frequent enough to fine-tune the instruction to students’ needs. Based on student response, interventions can match the specific skill deficit.  (source)"

I should note that the traditional RTI model is designed more for lower grades, specifically grades K-2, as the goal is early intervention; however, it is also used with adaptations in other grades--even at the high school grade level.  To see how RTI works, check out this short documentary video on my company's website:  Happy Tiers - A Three Tier Model.  I highly recommend taking a look if you're interested in becoming better informed about what RTI is and seeing an example of how it works.