More than 150 languages are spoken in Alabama schools, according to the Alabama State Department of Education. Students whose first language is not English are referred to as Multilingual Learners (MLs). MLs are among the fastest growing population in U.S. schools. If you haven’t had MLs in your class, you will. These students need to simultaneously learn grade-level content and content language. To ensure they don’t fall behind academically, they must be learning both in every class.
Amanda Rodriguez, the Secondary English as a Second Language (ESL) Coach for Alabaster City Schools, believes English language development is the responsibility of all teachers, not just ESL teachers.
Multilingual Learners come from a variety of countries, cultures, languages, backgrounds, education experiences, and socioeconomic statuses. Rodriguez emphasizes that being multilingual is a strength, not a weakness. MLs have the same intelligence and talent as other students; they just aren’t able to communicate what they know in English—yet.
For teachers working with this growing population, Rodriguez shares seven strategies to enhance learning and foster an inclusive classroom for ML students.
- Establish A Welcoming Environment
Establish a safe, welcoming environment: Body language and tone of voice go a long way.
- Build Relationships
Build Relationships: The more you know about your multilingual learners (ML), the more you can connect with them and incorporate their backgrounds and interests.
- Use Visual and Experimental Aids
Utilize demonstrations, experiences, experiments, video clips and images: Visual and experimental aids help students understand. Flip the “traditional” order of a lesson to implement these aids at the beginning of a lesson.
- Engage All Language Senses
Engage all language domains: Incorporate listening, speaking, reading and writing in your lessons as much as possible to develop their academic language and content knowledge.
- Teach Vocabulary
Intentionally pre-teach vocabulary: Focus on general academic vocabulary that they may encounter across subjects as well as words specific to your content area.
- Provide Specifics
Provide explicit instruction: Teach academic vocabulary, sentence structures and text forms commonly found in academic texts. This is especially helpful for students considered Long Term English Learners (LTELs) who have been in U.S. schools for seven or more years.
- Ask for Help
Collaborate with your ESL teachers: They are the experts in your building or district, and most would be delighted to answer specific questions and share strategies and resources that will help your multilingual learners succeed.
If you're looking for additional support in the classroom, Rodriguez's top three language resources for teachers are:
¡Colorín Colorado!
Colorín Colorado is an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital. It is the premier national bilingual site serving educators and families of English language learners in Grades PreK-12.
Reading A-Z
Reading A-Z supplies educators with supplemental resources to support the science of reading instruction.
WIDA
A teaching resource from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with proven tools to help support educators and multilingual learners succeed.
Amanda Rodriguez is the Secondary ESL Coach for Alabaster City Schools in Alabaster, Alabama. She has over 19 years of teaching experience in the field of ESL, both at the elementary and secondary levels. Mrs. Rodriguez earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Latin American Studies from Samford University, a Master's degree in ESL at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and her Educational Specialist Degree in Teacher Leadership from the University of Montevallo. She also has National Board Certification in English as a New Language. Amanda has presented her work on language acquisition pedagogy, culturally relevant teaching, and asset-based ESL instruction at various state, regional, and national education conferences, including the WIDA Annual Conference, the AMTESOL Conference, and the ALA-EL Conference, among others.
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