What is the purpose of the strategy training phase in SSBI?

The strategy training phase in SSBI, or Strategic and Scaffolded Bilingual Instruction, is primarily designed to provide explicit instruction on learning strategies. This phase focuses on equipping students with specific techniques that they can apply to enhance their language learning and comprehension. By teaching these strategies explicitly, educators help students to become more aware of their learning processes, recognize effective approaches they can use across different contexts, and foster self-regulation in their learning.

This explicit instruction may include how to decode words, make inferences, summarize content, or use context clues. By mastering these strategies, students are better prepared to tackle new materials and subjects independently, ultimately leading to improved language proficiency and comprehension skills.

The other choices relate to important aspects of education but do not capture the core focus of the strategy training phase. For example, practicing vocabulary in varied contexts is beneficial for language acquisition but isn't the primary goal of this phase. Similarly, assessing student understanding and evaluating the learning environment are critical to the overall educational process, yet they serve different purposes than the explicit teaching of strategies.