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Supporting Multilingual Learners

There are many reasons why learners may be recommended for language acquisition support. It is important to note that multilingual learners may not qualify for language support if there proficiency assessment rates them near a grade-level native-speaker proficiency. As stated earlier, learners also move through the language acquisition process at different rates and may "test out" or no longer qualify for language support at different times. The care providers of multilingual students who qualify for language support may also refuse formal language support at their discretion. Always check with your cooperating teacher or school site ESL coordinator for information related to supporting the learners in your specific classroom context.

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1) Recently Arrived: Newcomers that are new to the country within the last 1-2 years.

2) SLIFE: Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education are students who do not have continuous educational experience equivalent to their age/grade level, usually due to refugee or other immigration-related life experiences. Minnesota was the first state to create policies to identify and support SLIFE specifically.

3) L-TEL: "Long-Term ELs: Students English Learners" are students who have received English language support services for eight or more years within the U.S. school system.

Language Learners' needs, strengths, and challenges can vary dramatically, even within the same classroom or among students from the same background. 

Having an effective way to evaluate students’ needs is crucial to helping students succeed. 

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Differentiating with WIDA's CAN DO Descriptors

One challenge is for classroom teachers to know how they can best strategically support the identified Multilingual Learners in their class. Statistically speaking, ALL teachers will teach one or more  multilingual students throughout their careers. You can make a difference in the life and language of your multilingual learner- and there are many tools that have been developed to support you!

All schools are required to gather and report data measuring the language proficiency of individual multilingual learners using the WIDA assessment. While you do not need to be familiar with the WIDA assessment, you are expected to use this data to inform the academic language you select and present to students to help them succeed in meeting the lesson or unit objectives and goals.

Since you may have a variety of WIDA proficiency scores represented in your class, you may need to examine the academic language and supports needed at more than one level (1-6). You may also decide that no further supports are needed for your multilingual learners to achieve their instructional goals, in which case-- you may want to consider extending your lesson's instructional objective(s), language modality (SWRL), or the complexity of the academic language used to challenge and support your learners for whom the lesson content may be too easy. 

Finally, a reminder that collaboration with experienced your colleagues, such as your cooperating teacher and your school's Multilingual Specialist or ESL Teacher, is key to developing the best plan for meeting the needs of your individual learners, including your multilingual learners.

Common Resources and Adaptations for Academic Language Supports