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Do Instructional Policies That Only Use English Benefit or Affect English Learners?

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Do Instructional Policies That Only Use English Benefit or Affect English Learners?

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Examining laws and policies in U.S. states that require or support english-only instruction for English language learners, the article evaluates the evidence about the effects of these rules on teaching resources, student outcomes, and educational equity in general.

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The Impact of English-Only Instructional Policies on English Learners

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In this article written for Colorín Colorado, Dr. Patricia Gándara discusses the emergence and outcomes of the English-only movement, as well as ideas for refocusing the debate around bilingual education in the future. In the aftermath of the Bilingual Education Act (1968), and the Lau v.

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What are the most effective methods for teachers to encourage multilingual education in an early childhood setting?

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What are the most effective methods for teachers to encourage multilingual education in an early childhood setting?

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Dual Language Learners, or kids learning two or more languages at the same time, and English Language Learners, or kids whose first language isn't English, are both included under the general phrase 'multilingual learners.' Approximately 33% of children aged 0–8 in the United States are DLLs. DLLs speak Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic as their top five native tongues.

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Multilingual Learning in the Early Childhood Environment

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Successfully create an equitable and welcoming learning environment for Multilingual Learning in the Early Childhood Environment.

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What advantages do multilingual classrooms offer, and how may bilingual education assist in kids' development?

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What advantages do multilingual classrooms offer, and how may bilingual education assist in kids' development?

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According to the study, some educators and governments in previous decades questioned the benefits of children studying multiple languages, often considering it to be confusing or harmful to academic advancement. Recent studies have demonstrated the cognitive, social, and economic advantages of bilingualism and multilingualism. It makes the case for valuing children's native assets as strengths rather than barriers and for embracing them instead than suppressing them.

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Cultivating Bilingualism: The Benefits of Multilingual Classrooms

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This issue of Young Children takes you inside several multilingual classrooms for in-depth, practical examples of how to enhance social, emotional, scientific, language, and literacy development with children who are learning more than one language.

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What are the advantages of learning two languages at a young age and receiving a multilingual education?

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What are the advantages of learning two languages at a young age and receiving a multilingual education?

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According to their multilingual peers, bilingual kids show greater executive functioning, higher attention spans, and increased pattern identification. Multilingual people frequently 'code-mix,' or creatively combine languages, which can improve problem-solving abilities and offer benefits in international communication in the workplace.

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Dual Language Learning: The Benefits of a Multilingual Education from an Early Age

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Language is an important part of early development. It allows people to communicate, understand each other and develop social skills. Kids can’t do this alone, so having dual language learning in schools and at home provides the support they need. To learn more, check out the infographic below, c

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How can teachers help families make the choice to speak in their native language?

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How can teachers help families make the choice to speak in their native language?

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Young children are skillful at learning several languages, and they can cohabit peacefully with English and their native languages. Preserving a child's native language develops their sense of self, culture, and familial ties and may eventually help them succeed academically in the long run.

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As a researcher who examines families' language practices and their impact on children's emerging bilingualism and multilingualism, I work with Latino/a families who often have questions about home language maintenance. Many of these families are recent immigrants. Recognizing the power of English in the United States, they wonder if they should continue to speak their home languages or focus on English. They also voice concerns about their children's abilities to develop two (or more) languages at a young age. They worry children might get confused or delayed in their English language development.

Contrary to these concerns, research has shown that young children are adept at learning multiple languages. Moreover, maintaining children's cultural and linguistic heritages leads to stronger identity development and long-term academic success. This, in turn, contributes to rich early learning communities that value families' funds of knowledge. It is why NAEYC's position statement on advancing equity recommends that early childhood educators communicate the value of multilingualism so that "families of emergent bilinguals understand the academic benefits and the significance of supporting their child's home language as English is introduced through the early childhood program."

Equity-minded educators understand the power of families' home languages. By encouraging families to speak to their children in the languages in which they feel most competent and comfortable, they help children make sense of their multicultural heritage. In this article, I offer strategies teachers can use to create learning communities that welcome and support families' home languages as children develop their English-speaking skills.

Multilingualism as Part of Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Families' language choices depend on multiple factors, including historical and current inequities that have shaped the US educational system. Traditionally, schools advised families to change their language of choice because the focus was on learning English as quickly as possible. For example, I grew up in a town on the border of Texas and Mexico. My home language was Spanish. When I entered school, my parents were told I was "behind" due to my lack of English skills. They were encouraged to speak only English with me. As a result, I lost most of my Spanish-speaking abilities. Essentially, I was denied the opportunity to become bilingual because educators did not understand how my home language skills could help me learn my second language, English. Although many educators see the value in home language maintenance, these scenarios still occur across this country.

Families also must contend with young children who increase their English skills at the expense of their home language. Research has shown that emergent bilingual and multilingual children often move rapidly toward favoring the language spoken at school before they develop a strong foundation in their home language. This can lead to difficulties in communicating with their families, and it may impact future learning. To offset this tendency, emergent bilingual and multilingual children need to be exposed to all of their languages consistently to support both the maintenance of the home language and the development of English.

Equitable teaching and learning compel early childhood educators to embrace children's home languages as they are exposed to English. Recognizing that home languages enhance children's self-expression and learning, they work to support and sustain children's connections to their cultures, languages, and families. This is part of the developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) framework.

The following are strategies that educators can use to recognize and support children's home languages in the classroom. These are gleaned from my research, the broader research literature on multilingualism, and expectations and recommendations for early childhood educators outlined in NAEYC's recent position statements. (See "Further Resources" below.)

Be Curious and Make Time to Learn About Families

Ms. Cantú, a Spanish/English bilingual teacher, invites families into the classroom at the start of each school year. She does this to get to know everyone and, more importantly, to let families know they will become partners with her in their children's learning and development. Some families feel more ready and able to participate than others. Mrs. Linares, a recent immigrant from El Salvador, worries that she has nothing to offer her child's teacher. To allay her fears, Ms. Cantú asks questions that highlight the mother's expertise, such as "What does your child like to do at home?" and "What does your child like to talk about, and in what language?" She also shows Mrs. Linares around the classroom and shares examples of what her child is learning. During this visit, Mrs. Linares mentions using an herb garden for various teas. Ms. Cantú invites her to return during the class's plant unit to share about herbs and their uses with the children.

Before teachers can address instruction and learning environments for emerging bilingual and multilingual children, they must get to know the children and families in their programs. This will help develop positive, reciprocal relationships and provide teachers with the knowledge of families' contexts, strengths, and skills to integrate into their settings.

Inviting individual families to visit at the beginning of the year is helpful. Many immigrant families do not yet know the expectations in the US school context. They may not realize they can and should visit their children's classroom. Ms. Cantú's invitation signals "you are welcome, and I want to learn from you." Educators can also offer alternative locations and times to meet together. During this time, educators can ask questions to learn about families' contexts and develop meaningful connections with them. (See "Questions to Get to Know Multilingual Families" below.)

Connecting a child's program or school experiences to their home and community settings will help build on families' cultural and linguistic assets. Throughout the year, teachers can continue to connect with families through different avenues (in person, by phone or video call, in emails or text messages, or visiting outside the program) to share their stories of children's development. This creates further opportunities for them to learn about the cultural and linguistic resources families and their children draw from daily.

Questions to Get to Know Multilingual Families

Early childhood educators can gain valuable knowledge about families and their language practices by inviting them to share their backgrounds, routines, and experiences. Their answers can invoke powerful tales of a family's resiliency and resourcefulness and establish who their networks are within the community. One caveat: It is not appropriate to ask about a family's immigration status.

Questions could include the following:

Can you tell me about yourself?

What language(s) do you speak in your home?

What are some things you'd like me to know about the language(s) your family speaks?

Who are some of the important people in your child's life?

What are some important things you'd like me to know about your child?

What are some activities your child likes to do on their own and with other people?

What are your favorite things to do as a family?

Are there certain times of the year that are special to your family?

Are there certain places, near or far, that your child likes to visit? What do they like to do there?

How does your family like to communicate with each other and with people outside of the family?

Communicate the Value of Multilingualism

Mariela is a 41-year-old migrant worker who immigrated to the United States from Oaxaca, Mexico, looking for work and a better life for her family. She now works on a strawberry farm in Florida. Her 4-year-old daughter, Alicia, is enrolled in a local Spanish/English Head Start program.

Mariela's first language is Mixtec, an Indigenous Oaxacan language. Spanish is her second language. Mariela struggles with the idea of teaching Mixtec to her daughter, which would give Alicia the opportunity to be multilingual. Mariela says she wants to spare her daughter the discrimination she felt when she arrived in this country. At home, she only speaks Mixtec with her husband and adult family members. After listening to her concerns, Alicia's teacher suggests that Mariela speak with Alicia in Mixtec. She encourages Mariela to sing songs and rhymes, ask open-ended questions, and engage in child-directed conversations.

Studies have shown that one of the key predictors of an emergent bilingual or multilingual learner's future academic success is the quality of their experiences with their home language. By encouraging families to use their home languages, early childhood educators show that they value children's diverse languages and multilingual identities. In an ideal world, teachers would speak with children in their home languages; however, strategies are available to support children's language maintenance regardless of a teacher's language abilities. They can learn some words or phrases from the children's home languages to communicate the value of multilingualism. They can ask family members to share some basic phrases, such as "good morning" and "thank you," which can be incorporated into daily routines.

Teachers can also create playful learning spaces where children can use their entire linguistic repertoire when engaging with others. These might include

creating culturally relevant play spaces. Families can send in pictures and labels from items in their homes to add to these areas. They can also help label classroom areas and materials in their home languages.

encouraging peer interactions where children can practice their oral language skills in risk-free spaces without fear of correction.

Engage with Families in Designing and Implementing Learning Activities

Many Mexican families celebrate Día de las Madres, or Mother's Day, twice a year. In Mexico, it is celebrated on May 10; in the US, it is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Mrs. Vela, a Head Start teacher, asks children's families to integrate their cultural knowledge and practices around Día de las Madres into learning activities. This includes storytelling, performances using songs, poems, and creating homemade cards.

Creating a culturally responsive and emotionally supportive climate for multilingual children and their families is vital for them to feel comfortable, accepted, safe, and connected to the learning setting. Teachers can partner with families to share their funds of knowledge in a variety of ways. For example,

families can share music, songs, or rhymes in their home languages

children can create artwork or crafts using techniques or designs from the cultures represented in the classroom

children can reenact scenes from a favorite story or dicho (saying) that they have learned at home

families can record themselves reading books in their home languages

These asset-focused instructional activities place families' language practices at the forefront of family-educator collaboration. As seen in the vignette, they also engage families in meaningful learning activities that reflect home language practices, cultures, and beliefs.

Conclusion

Early childhood educators are challenged to recognize and respond to the diversity in today's classrooms and communities. Families should not feel that they need to forego teaching their children their home languages. Educators can and should enact equitable practices by leveraging the cultural and linguistic wealth children have developed. Fostering a space where children see themselves reflected leads to the creation of affirming environments, activities, and assessments for all children.

Further Resources

Tap these resources to learn more about encouraging families to speak their home languages with children.

" In Our Voices: Creating Community Responsive Listening Centers," by Emily Brown Hoffman and Kristin Cipollone ( Teaching Young Children, 2022)

Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures, by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2017)

" Supporting Language: Culturally Rich Dramatic Play," by Irasema Salinas-González, María G. Arreguín, and Iliana Alanís ( Teaching Young Children, 2018)

Want to Learn More?

NAEYC offers an array of resources about bilingual and multilingual learners, including The Essentials: Supporting Dual Language Learners in Diverse Environments in Preschool and Kindergarten, by Iliana Alanís, María G. Arreguín, and Irasema Salinas-González. In this book, you will read about key concepts from a developmental and asset-based perspective as well as examples of children's and teachers' experiences in early educational settings. Connections are made to NAEYC Early Learning Program Accreditation Standards, and answers are provided for frequently asked questions. Visit NAEYC.org/essentials-supporting-DLLs for more information.

Photographs: © Getty Images
Copyright © 2023 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

This article supports the following NAEYC Early Learning Programs standards and topics
Standard 2: Curriculum
2A: Essential Characteristics
2D: Language Development
Standard 7: Families
7B: Sharing Information Between Staff and Families

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To Speak or Not To Speak My Language: Supporting Families' Home Language Practices

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This article offers strategies teachers can use to create learning communities that welcome and support families' home languages as children develop their English-speaking skills.

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How should the future of English Learners' Education Begin Right Away?

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How should the future of English Learners' Education Begin Right Away?

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The critical need to properly serve the expanding number of English language learners in American schools is highlighted in the article "Education's Future for English Learners Must Start Now." As the population grows quickly, obstacles to success are brought about by issues such a lack of teachers, inadequate training, strict curricula, and improper evaluations. Research has shown that early-exit English-only approaches are unproductive, and many programs continue to undervalue students' native languages and cultures.

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Education’s Future for English Learners Must Start Now

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As the needs of migrant students underscore gaps in bilingual and English as a new language education, TC experts offer research-based recommendations on what can be done to adequately support students.

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What implications and effects might bilingual education have on young children?

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What implications and effects might bilingual education have on young children?

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The review looks at research on bilingual education in early childhood, evaluating its effects on academic performance, language and literacy, and the wider effects of bilingual education. According to the authors, well-designed bilingual programs typically help kids grow in both languages without impairing their ability to speak either one, and they may even provide cognitive and academic benefits. The review highlights that program quality, language balance, teaching strategies, and context all have a significant impact on results.

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International journal of bilingual education and bilingualism

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Bilingual education for young children: review of the effects and consequences

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Bilingual education has been an educational option in many countries for over 50 years but it remains controversial, especially in terms of its appropriateness for all children. The present review examines research evaluating the outcomes of…

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The difficulties faced by English language learners, especially those with learning disabilities, are covered in the paper "English Language Learners: The Impact of Language and Socio-Cultural Factors on Learning" by Lori Navarrete and Silvana M. R. Watson. In order to enhance ELLs' comprehension and learning, it highlights the necessity of culturally relevant teaching tactics, including the use of graphic organizers, gestures, visual aides, and memory techniques.

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Council for Learning Disabilities | The Council for Learning Disabilities (CLD) is an international organization that promotes evidence-based teaching, collaboration, research, leadership, and advocacy.

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English Language Learners – The Impact of Language and Socio-Cultural Factors on Learning | Council for Learning Disabilities

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English Language Learners: The Impact of Language and Socio-Cultural Factors on Learning Lori Navarrete, Nevada State College Silvana M. R. Watson, Old Dominion University (Revised August 2013) Our daily educational experiences can be enriched by learning in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms because we learn from others whose experiences and beliefs are different than ours.

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For multilingual learners, what does equity actually mean?

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For multilingual learners, what does equity actually mean?

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True equality for multilingual learners is making sure students can access challenging information while improving their English language proficiency, according to the essay "What Does equality Really Mean for Multilingual Learners?" by Jon Nordmeyer and colleagues. According to the authors, schools shouldn't wait for students to master English before introducing them to difficult material. Rather than decreasing standards, educators should use scaffolding techniques to make academic work approachable. The article advocates for an asset-based strategy that honors students' native languages and cultures and supports collaborative and translating techniques. In the end, equality entails establishing classrooms where language and subject instruction interact, enabling multilingual students to thrive.

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Vol. 78

No. 6

Abstract

"The English Will Come"

Scaffolding Up Learning

Multilingualism as a Strength

Doing Better: Changing Teacher and Student Roles

Scaffolding up the curriculum, rather than watering it down, is key for English learners.

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Abstract

"The English Will Come"

Scaffolding Up Learning

Multilingualism as a Strength

Doing Better: Changing Teacher and Student Roles

The landscape of schools today is increasingly multilingual. To achieve equity in culturally and linguistically diverse schools, we need not just new strategies but new roles-for both teachers and students. We need to recognize what meaningful engagement with rigorous content learning actually involves, and we need to understand that effective language interactions are at the heart of that engagement. Creating the

conditions necessary for such interactions goes well beyond what we have traditionally considered "good teaching." English proficiency cannot be seen as a prerequisite to meaningful participation in the curriculum because this limits engagement. Instead, language must be viewed as something that is developed in the process of learning when students are supported and have access to the richest curriculum our schools have to offer (NASEM, 2017).

Engaging multilingual learners means leveraging their energy and curiosity, their diverse experiences, and their creativity as communicators. Multilingual learners can no longer be the few students in the back of the room, whose ideas we'll tap into later when they're able to share them with us in English. Their participation in class discussions and critical thinking processes is an increasingly important element of our shared future. We will need students with the cultural, linguistic, and intellectual flexibility to be able to cross borders, bridge communities, and help solve the global crises we face- whether climate change, ethnic conflicts, or perhaps the next pandemic.

How, then, can we create opportunities for students to use all the tools in their toolbox, including home languages, to engage meaningfully with content and each other? First, we have to remove the barriers we impose, even unintentionally, on learning.

"The English Will Come"

Too often, students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are asked to put their learning on hold to focus on English language development. Yet families should not have to choose between learning and language. Consider the following anecdote, based on a real exchange between a parent and principal:

A father walks into the principal's office to enroll his daughter in school. The family has recently arrived from Santiago, Chile. "Don't worry," the principal says, "we'll have your daughter speaking English in no time. I have good teachers, classroom aides, and even some parent volunteers who will work with her on learning English."

"So, what do the other students learn at this school?" asks the father.

"Oh, well, our math program is great. Our music teacher is the best around. And we have a new push to introduce STEM labs earlier and more effectively than before.

"The father pauses for a moment.

"Those are the programs I'd like for my daughter," he says. "The English will come soon enough if you help her with all of that."

This father's convictions couldn't be more on the mark: He believed that the most important thing for his daughter was the opportunity to learn through access to a rich curriculum. This was the school he wanted his daughter to attend; not one that lowers the bar for her to focus primarily on English acquisition. Indeed, research confirms that English learners develop English most effectively while also mastering the knowledge, skills, and literacies needed for college and career readiness.

We can no longer accept that fragmentation, tracking, and segregation of multilingual learners in separate pull-out programs is in their best interests. While we ostensibly "give them time to learn the English," multilingual students are losing out on opportunities for learning and enrichment. Recent national trend data illustrate that multilingual learners are not gaining access to experiences like gifted and talented programs or AP classes in nearly the same percentages as their peers (U.S. Department of Education, 2014).

We know that integration of language and content learning, along with effective collaboration and in-class support, provides opportunities for all students to engage with challenging, grade-level curricula. There is growing evidence that English language development specialists in schools cannot work in isolation; to provide the most comprehensive support for multilingual learners, all teachers need to collaborate to serve all learners (Boals, Hakuta, & Blair, 2015).

Fortunately, new approaches to curriculum and instruction build on the assets of both teachers and students. Today's classrooms leverage instructional technology to provide students with greater access to multimodal and multilingual resources. Professional collaboration with English language development specialists builds capacity for teachers to attend to language in all subject areas. And equity-focused curricula promote the use of language in deliberate ways to serve multilingual students. New standards and new teaching tools mean more students have authentic opportunities to learn.

Scaffolding Up Learning

Equality is not the same as equity, however, and access to curriculum without appropriate support is not enough. Consider another true story shared with one of the authors:

A high school counselor placed a newcomer student from Russia in Biology 1, thinking it would be easy since this student had advanced biology in his native language. The counselor went to see the teacher at semester's end when he saw an "F" as the final grade.

"How could this student fail your class? He knows biology."

"He doesn't know enough English to pass my test," the science teacher replied.

Because this teacher was either unwilling or unaware of the need to change the way instruction or assessment was delivered, the student failed the English, not the science. Not surprisingly, 70 percent of teachers nationally report they have not received adequate preparation to meet the needs of multilingual students (NASEM, 2017).

The dilemma is clear to see: Multilingual learners cannot benefit from an unsupported curriculum, and yet if "language support" means a remedial curriculum or simplified, inauthentic language, we have set up students for long-term failure even as they fall behind grade-level expectations. To protect multilingual learners from struggling with academic work, we might reduce task complexity or segregate students, inadvertently preventing some of them from engaging with complex language or content. As linguists Lily Wong Fillmore and Charles J. Fillmore pointed out:

One of the biggest roadblocks to learning is that [English learners (ELs)] never get a chance to work with complex texts. Why would that be a problem? Simply put, the easy texts schools give to ELs-given [...] as a safeguard against failure-actually prevent them from discovering how language works in academic discourse. Simplified texts offer no clue as to what academic language sounds like or how it works. (Fillmore & Fillmore, n.d.)

On the other hand, just putting a dense text or complex task in front of students without appropriate support is not effective either. Ambitious content standards deserve ambitious teaching. Equitably serving multilingual students who are learning both language and content requires intentional scaffolding. "Both macro- and micro-scaffolding practices are integral to scaffolding up-rather than differentiating down -in order to engage multilingual learners within challenging curriculum" (Daniels & Westerlund, 2018).

Macro-scaffolding practices require deliberate instructional planning before a lesson or unit, such as sequencing activities to bridge from familiar concepts to new ideas, and by doing so, decreasing the gap between known and new learning. For example, when asking 4th graders to write a theme-interpretation essay, it is important to sequence activities to move students toward the complexity of thematic interpretation. This may entail identifying themes from familiar picture books and comparing them to books on similar themes.

By contrast, micro-scaffolding, also called interactional scaffolding, happens during a lesson in the interactions between a teacher and students. In that same unit, a teacher might model the language of talking about how authors develop a theme. In the process, she might recast students' responses to help them articulate ideas more accurately. Similarly, when the teacher guides the students in deconstructing a mentor text, the conversations around text can be a powerful scaffolding for students' future writing.

Multilingualism as a Strength

Providing equitable opportunities to learn requires us to develop not only new skills such as scaffolding up, but also new, asset-based beliefs about multilingualism. This includes the value of translanguaging, where students use multiple languages to integrate and express their learning. By over-emphasizing not only English proficiency but "correctness" in English, we might inadvertently signal to multilingual students that their work isn't as good as their peers. Such mixed messages can confuse or frustrate highly capable multilingual students who may be struggling. In consequence, while their classroom peers begin seeing themselves as capable of taking on academically successful or career-oriented identities, multilingual learners wrongly surmise that they can't cut it, when the truth is they simply need supported, engaged opportunities to learn.

Building on the cultural and linguistic assets that multilingual learners bring to the classroom, even as they gain supported access to content, is key. Well implemented dual-language programs have the advantage of being able to fully connect to students' native languages as they begin acquiring English. Not all schools have that luxury, but all schools can practice assets-based approaches that are culturally and linguistically relevant and sustaining. Students can leverage translanguaging practices to co-construct their conceptual understanding, teachers can select texts that reflect the cultural diversity of the school community, and schools can ensure that multilingualism is valued in its communication with parents. English as the medium of instruction does not require English as the only language of learning.

We should aim for effective participation that builds on this asset of a rich linguistic repertoire, rather than focusing on speaking in complete sentences in English. Inviting students to write notes in any language and offering the chance to discuss with a home-language partner prior to a whole-class discussion in English can improve both confidence and comprehension. Likewise, encouraging students to sketch out ideas in multilingual and multimodal representations before writing helps all learners make deeper connections and organize key ideas. Mastery will come eventually with repeated scaffolding and meaningful opportunities for participation with feedback contingent on both content and language growth (Boals, Hakuta, & Blair, 2015; Pimentel 2018).

Doing Better: Changing Teacher and Student Roles

To accommodate contemporary academic standards, which emphasize students' ability to make and support evidence-based claims and to articulate their logic, teacher-fronted instruction is giving way to more participatory structures. Small group work, appropriately supported, provides important opportunities for the negotiation of meaning that aids language development. When students are invited up onto the stage, they are more engaged and in control of their own learning.

To leverage these new roles and participatory structures better, educators can consider questions such as:

Have I provided students multiple ways to express, clarify, support, build on, and challenge ideas?

Have I taken the time to expand students' language resources to add to what they already know? Can they adjust their language to be able to communicate in a variety of contexts and not only use technical language because it's in the book?

When will everyday language suffice, and when do students need discipline-specific language?

How can we provide opportunities for students to learn how to adjust language as the context calls for it?

By encouraging students to use their full repertoire of language, including everyday language, we provide opportunities for authentic engagement with content while simultaneously offering deeply contextualized and relevant opportunities for language development.

At the same time, we create openings to probe and strengthen students' reasoning. Through guided inquiry, we can help students learn patterns of disciplinary reasoning. For example: What qualifies as a valid argument in science? And how is that different in mathematics or social studies? Fortunately, learning activities that elicit, surface, and deepen critical thinking and collaborative reasoning also support English language development.

Indeed, in a report commissioned by the National Academy, experts in STEM education and English language development recommended that language development be understood as a product of meaningful engagement in instruction, not a prerequisite. They found that multilingual learners "develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and language proficiency when they are engaged in meaningful interaction in the classroom and participate in the kinds of activities in which STEM experts and professionals regularly engage" (NASEM, 2018, p. 55). These experts agreed that language development and conceptual understanding are "inextricable" and "occur simultaneously."

Simple, everyday language can be sufficient for rigorous, inquiry-based learning and can provide a solid foundation for language development when students are given the opportunity to interact with academic content in authentic ways. For example, a student might share "it gets hotter when you mix them" which is useful in a scientific inquiry as lab partners co-construct meaning; we can recast the terminology by agreeing that "the reaction increases the temperature" to introduce specific language without invalidating the student's observation. By providing multiple opportunities for students to negotiate meaning in disciplinary conversation together, we can engage multilingual learners in the interactions that, over time and with appropriate modeling, enable them to become increasingly effective in expressing and exploring ideas.

In this way, equity equates to scaffolding up content rather than watering it down. The goal is to create a rich instructional environment that challenges all students to inquire, negotiate meaning, and articulate complex disciplinary concepts. This means creating the conditions for multilingual students to become protagonists of their own learning.

It is time to stop seeing English proficiency as a prerequisite to success and fully embrace multilingual learners for the journey of learning the "real" content in school in ways that engage and support all learners. Only then will we be able provide a full range of equitable and meaningful opportunities to all.

References

Boals, T., Hakuta, K, & Blair, A. (2015). Literacy development in academic contexts for adolescent English language learners: Policy considerations and future research. In D. Molle, E. Sato, T. Boals, & C. Hedgspeth (Eds.) Multilingual learners and academic literacies: Sociocultural contexts of literacy development in adolescents. New York: Routledge.

Daniels, J., & Westerlund, R. (2018, June). WIDA focus on: Scaffolding learning for multilingual students in math. Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

Fillmore, L. W., & Fillmore, C. J. (n.d.). "What does text complexity mean for English learners and language minority students?" Stanford University, Understanding Language.

NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). (2017). Promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English: Promising futures. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). (2018). English learners in STEM subjects: Transforming classrooms, schools, and lives. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.

Pimentel, S. (2018). Policy brief: English learners and content-rich curricula. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins School of Education, Institute for Education Policy.

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). (2014, March). Data snapshot: College and career readiness (Issue Brief No. 3). Washington, D.C.: Author.

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What Does Equity Really Mean for Multilingual Learners?

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Scaffolding up the curriculum, rather than watering it down, is key for English learners.

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What effects does immigration have on ESL and multilingual education?

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What effects does immigration have on ESL and multilingual education?

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Considering that over five million students in public schools are English language learners and speak more than 400 different native languages, The article explores how increased immigration has changed bilingual and ESL instruction in the United States. It also highlights how the demographics of ELLs have changed, with the majority being American citizens who speak English "less than very well." Better student outcomes have been demonstrated in dual language classes, when ELLs and native English speakers study together in English and another language, usually Spanish.

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The University of Texas Permian Basin | UTPB

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The Impact of Immigration on Bilingual/ESL Education | UT Permian Basin Online

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Immigrants and the clear advantages of bilingual education continue to have a profound impact on education, as have teachers and administrators with an MA in bilingual/ESL education.