7 Teacher Moves that Will Improve Learning for MLs

I believe that as educators of multilingual learners, we all want to do what is best for our students and their families. I can admit, looking back on my years of teaching, there are many things I would change if I could.

Teaching is not an easy profession. But it is definitely important.

I'm sharing 7 teacher moves that will improve learning for multilingual learners. There are many more that we can do.
1. Invite students' first languages into the classroom. This is something I didn't realize I needed to do when I was a young teacher. I was so focused on the big curriculum binder that the district gave me. It took me years to realize that the kids needed to be front and center. And that also meant their languages.

2. Hold high expectations for everyone. Yes, everyone. Even the students you, at first, secretly think may not be able to do it. Push that thought aside. What we believe impacts students' success and achievement. They can do it! And you can too.
3. Provide scaffolds when students need support. Multilingual learners are capable of doing grade-level work but may need scaffolds to understand and achieve the goals. Scaffolds,  such as visuals, multimedia, engineered texts, language assistance, etc. are temporary and are meant to be removed as students no longer need the assistance.
4. Leverage prior knowledge. Students are not blank slates. Even multilingual learners who speak languages other than English have background experiences. Use those to their advantage, positioning learners from their assets. Prior knowledge helps new learning stick!
5. Increase the amount of student talk. Talk is especially valuable to students who are learning a new language. It provides the opportunity to practice listening and speaking. Routine peer-to-peer discourse or group discussions are effective ways to incorporate more talk time in the content areas.
6. Ensure that each lesson includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Every lesson, every classroom, every day! Language is not acquired or developed in isolation. It grows throughout all interactions. The more we intentionally amplify and use it in math, science, social studies, CTE, etc., the better it will thrive! 
7. Communicate to all stakeholders the beauty and importance of multilingualism. Just saying that languages are important is not enough. We have to quantify this message through actions, lesson plans, and resources. Actions can be our own practices. We can learn another language ourselves, or learn a few words in our students’ languages, and put words in languages other than English on our walls, such as “Hello” and “Welcome.” We can include languages and cultures in lesson plans and instruction. And books, posters, and bulletin boards can be inclusive. 


This list of 7 teacher moves is not all-inclusive. There’s much more we can do to improve learning for multilingual learners.
​What would you add?