The primary goal of sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) instruction is to:

The primary goal of sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) instruction is to develop students' academic language proficiency in English. SEI is designed specifically for English language learners (ELLs) who need to acquire the language skills necessary to succeed in an academic setting.

In SEI classrooms, teachers employ various strategies that make the curriculum accessible while also focusing on the academic vocabulary and language structures that students need to perform well in mainstream education. This approach emphasizes not only the basics of conversational English but also the language skills critical for reading, writing, and engaging with complex texts and concepts across different subjects.

While conversational fluency, cultural awareness, and social interaction skills are important components of language learning, they are not the primary focus of SEI. SEI aims to provide a rigorous academic foundation that enables students to thrive in a school environment, making academic language proficiency the key objective of this instructional method.