The Implementation of Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model in Saudi Schools: A Study of EFL Teachers’ Perspectives

The Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol SIOP is a model designed to assist teachers in organizing and planning the lessons delivery through different stages. This model is also useful in enhancing the students’ achievement and minimizing any chance of educational failure. However, EFL teachers need to be trained in order to guarantee successful implementation of this model. This study examined the implementation of the SIOP model from teachers’ perspectives after they attended an introductory workshop in a private school in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. The study adopted the qualitative approach for collecting and analyzing the data. The sample of the study consisted of seven English language teachers (4 females & 3 males). Two data collection instruments were used, namely, observational sessions and a semi-structured interview. Most of the researcher interaction with the sample was done online due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. The workshop and the interviews were done through Zoom video communication. The central findings of this study reveal that the majority of the teachers have covered all SIOP components during their lessons. Moreover, it was found that there is a relationship between the implementation of the SIOP model and the students' learning motivation. Furthermore, the results showed that the SIOP implementation might help in enhancing the teachers’ proficiency. Besides, it was revealed that most of the teachers had a positive attitude towards the implementation of the SIOP model. However, they claimed that time and place might hinder any future implementation of the SIOP model. This study recommends a larger sample size, longtime study application and a life sample workshop to guarantee better results. It also provides significant implications which might be useful for EFL teachers, policy makers and interested researchers.