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.

Multilingual Learners

Once students are identified as eligible for language support through the WIDA proficiency assessment system, there are three further "types" of language learner required to be distinguished and identified for support within Minnesota state education law as identified by current research. A link to policies regarding English Learner Education in Minnesota is provided for you here.

Three additional distinctions made within multilingual learners receiving supports include the following groups:

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 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. 

Some of a multilingual learner's strengths may include:

• Strong literacy skills in their native language
• Academic skills and content area knowledge developed in their native language
• Strong family support and commitment to children’s future
• Strong interest in education
• High levels of personal responsibility, resilience, resourcefulness, and commitment to success

Some of their challenges may include:

• Little or no formal schooling
• High levels of mobility in moving between schools (especially in the case of students from migrant farmworker families)
• Lack of access to effective, consistent language instruction, as in the case of students who have experienced bilingual education during one year and then English immersion in another
• Limited practice developing and using academic language
• Personal responsibilities that occupy hours during or outside of school, such as caring for siblings, working one or more jobs, and translating for families

For more fast facts regarding English Learners in the United States such as where there are ESL teacher shortages, access this infographic article "English Language Learners: How Your State is Doing (NPR, 2017).

Student WIDA Proficiency Scores

It is necessary to know the language proficiency scores and background information for all of your multilingual learners who are receiving support services in language learning based on their individual comprehensive WIDA scores.

Example Multilingual Learner Profile:

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.

One you have gathered the data about a students WIDA score, perhaps by asking your cooperating teacher, you can use the Can Do Descriptors to decide what your student "can do" without support and where additional language supports may be needed. The WIDA "Can Do" grade level descriptors for all 6 proficiency levels are linked in 6.5b Academic Language Objective: WIDA Resources - Teaching Multilingual Learners within your SOE Lesson Plan Handbook. For more information about the philosophy guiding the creation of the Can Do Descriptors for supporting language learners, you can view this 2 minute video produced by WIDA or view this PDF:

Example: Using the Can Do Descriptors to Inform your Instructional Planning

Fictional multilingual student "Tua" in the profile available above, he is rated at the following WIDA proficiency levels: 

Overall Proficiency: 4.7 "Expanding" (out of 6.0)

Listening Level: 2.4 "Beginning"

Speaking Level: 2.6 "Developing"

Reading Level: 6.0 "Bridging"

Writing Level: 4.5 "Expanding"

In this example, we can see that the same student may have greater proficiency in some modality areas more than others. The outcome of this is that the type of language support offered must reflect the academic language required as well as the SWRL (Speaking, Writing, Reading or Listening) primarily used to demonstrate or understand the lesson's learning objective. 

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