Recently, I asked my newsletter readers what they wished general education teachers understood about working with Multilingual Learners. I compiled their responses and am pleased to present their advice for successfully teaching Multilingual Learners below. Their ideas have not been edited or changed in any way. Thank you to all the teachers who answered my question — I really appreciate it!
Under each teacher’s insight, I’ve added my own thoughts about why it’s important and/or how it helps Multilingual Learners be successful. I hope these ideas are helpful as the new school year begins (in the Northern Hemisphere).
Understanding the Language Demands that Multilingual Learners Face
Just because Multilingual Learners can communicate with their classmates and may sound like native English speakers when they’re talking, that doesn’t mean they can comprehend academic concepts or can produce quality academic writing. There’s a big difference between the social language students use among themselves and the academic language used by teachers and textbooks in their content classes.
When teachers understand that functioning successfully in 2 languages uses a lot of mental bandwidth and, consequently, is very tiring, it’s much easier for them to empathize with the stress their Multilingual Learners experience on a day-to-day basis in their classes.
* It can take a lot of mental energy to keep up with two or more languages. ~ Marilyn
You are so right about the mental energy required to use 2 languages.
I remember when I first went to my host family in Sweden, we were at a dinner with some other people and they were all speaking Swedish. Although I’d just finished an intensive 2-week language camp with the other exchange students in my program, that dinner was the first time I with a group of people who made no concession to me not knowing Swedish well. After a while, I got really tired from trying to understand what they were saying. But when I looked at my watch, barely half an hour had gone by!
So I could always relate to my students when they got tired in class and lost their concentration.
* The one thing I wish more general education teachers understood about multilingual learners is that just because they can hold conversations with their friends or even teachers doesn’t mean they are proficient in academic language. ~ April
Yes, gen ed teachers need to understand that there’s a big difference between social language and academic language. I think that gen ed teachers who don’t know much about second language acquisition or who don’t have much experience with Multilingual Learners can easily fall into the trap of thinking that just because they sound fluent when talking, that means they comprehend their textbooks and other class materials. And then they don’t understand why their students aren’t doing well.
I encountered that so often and it takes a lot of time — and professional development — to change that attitude. The good thing is that over the past 5-10 years, so much more research has been done about how successfully teaching Multilingual Learners.
* One thing I learned about teaching multi-lingual learners is that they understand the concepts but they struggle with expressing their thoughts and ideas accurately through nuanced language use.
I allow my students to draw pictures, flow charts, mind maps, whatever it takes to give them the opportunity to express their thoughts.
I pre-teach the essential vocabulary, give sentence starters and graphic organisers.
I set the same expectations as the fjrst language learners in terms of critical thinking, analyses and evaluation of arguments. I customise the scaffolding to each student so they feel supported in a safe space. ~ Elizabeth
It’s crucial that Multilingual Learners feel comfortable in class because that lowers their stress level. Having the same expectations holds them accountable but how they demonstrate their learning doesn’t have to be the same as monolingual English-speaking students.
Letting Multilingual Learners demonstrate what they’ve learned in alternate ways such as those listed above, is perfectly acceptable for students who are not yet proficient in English.
How to Support Multilingual Learners in the Classroom
Patience and empathy are key to successfully teaching Multilingual Learners. Getting to know your Multilingual Learners and their families may not be as easy as getting to know other students and families but once you’ve established positive relationships with them, the rewards are great.
* I wish more general education teachers understood that building relationships with MLs is crucial to their success and it is important to provide opportunities for them to demonstrate their leaning in a variety of ways and use their native language when possible. ~ Leah
It’s so important for teachers to establish good relationships not just with their students but also their parents since that helps create a foundation of trust and comfort that motivates the students to try their best in school. And giving them the chance to demonstrate what they’ve learned in several ways is also something teachers need to let their students do.
I quickly learned that when I took the time to get to know my students’ families, they were very supportive of me and did their best to help me help their children learn.
* Learning a new language is always challenging, teachers should be more understandable, be patient and encourage students although mistakes happen! ~ Millie
Teachers need to encourage students instead of losing patience with them when they don’t understand — it’s important to show empathy to Multilingual Learners, especially but not only newcomers — because when students feel comfortable, they will be more motivated and more willing to take risks when using English.
Successfully teaching Multilingual Learners means more than teaching academic content — it also means creating the positive environment that enables them to learn successfully.
* One thing I wish more general education teachers like me knew about Multilingual Learners is that you don’t always have to do extra stuff to teach them. Plus, rely on your MLL teacher; mine is great! ~ Lori
It’s so important for teachers to remember that just because a student doesn’t know English very well, that doesn’t mean they are unable to do academic work. Having an ESL/ELL/ ML teacher who’s been trained to work with students who speak other languages as a colleague who can support you and show you what successfully teaching Multilingual Learners looks like is very beneficial for gen ed teachers.
Changing How We View Multilingual Learners
Multilingualism should be celebrated rather than being considered detrimental to learning. Students who know more than one language bring a wide variety of experience to the classroom and when they’re given the opportunity to share their knowledge, everyone benefits.
* Being multilingual is an asset, not a deficit. ~ Tracy
I think that for a lot of teachers, especially those who’ve been teaching a long time and/or who don’t have much experience working with Multilingual Learners, making that mind shift can be challenging because for so long, being an English Learner was seen as a negative or as something to be overcome. Fortunately, that attitude is finally beginning to change and there are many more supports available now for successfully teaching Multilingual Learners in general education classrooms.
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For more beginning of the year suggestions for successfully teaching Multilingual Learners, check out my blog post titled “5 Quick and Easy Beginning of the Year Tips to Help Your ELLs.”
And check out my free video, “Assumptions About English Language Learners,” which tests your knowledge about successfully teaching Multilingual Learners. It’s not flashy but it’s got good info and you are welcome to share it with colleagues who’d benefit from viewing it.
