All teachers play a role in language instruction. Language acquisition occurs in distinct stages, typically ranging from four to six, depending on the model used. While various models offer valuable insights, we focus on Krashen’s five-stage model for consistency in the following activities. By demonstrating knowledge of these five stages, educators can better assess their students’ language acquisition levels and recognize how these impact learning. This understanding enables educators to implement lessons that effectively support multilingual learners (MLLs) at various stages of language acquisition. Additionally, reflecting on the diverse learners within a classroom helps educators refine their instructional practices to align with effective strategies that facilitate language development. Through this process, educators can ensure that all students have meaningful access to content and opportunities for academic success.

Classroom assessments provide useful data for teaching and learning. When assessing multilingual learners (MLLs), classroom assessments should address students’ language proficiency as well as understanding of concepts. All teachers need to design and adjust assessments to ensure they are appropriate for multilingual learners. In this unit, you will identify the characteristics of equitable assessments and revise assessments to ensure they are appropriate for multilingual learners. These assessments, in turn, can be utilized to monitor student progress, provide constructive feedback to students, and drive instruction. In this unit, educators will analyze existing formative and summative assessments to identify how content knowledge and language development are interrelated, and develop and implement assessments that demonstrate using culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies for multilingual learners.

Teachers must create a set of conditions in which multilingual learners (MLLs) have a voice in the decision-making process about their own learning and issues that affect their daily experiences in school. Students are empowered when their values, opinions, beliefs, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds are respected and when instructional approaches and techniques reflect their choices, interests, passions, and ambitions. The barriers to developing student voice are particularly challenging for MLLs who may find themselves without a voice in the school community. In this unit, educators will analyze existing strategies for supporting student voice among multilingual learners, engage in meaningful conversation with students to strengthen student-teacher connections, and develop student agency in learning through goal-setting.

Family engagement creates a stronger school climate, supports teachers, and can predict a child’s success in school. Despite progress, many schools still lack inclusive, collaborative relationships with families (Epstein, 2010). Specifically, while English Learners are the fastest-growing population in U.S. public schools (NEA, 2020), their families have been excluded from traditional school-family partnerships (Vera et al., 2012). To build effective and inclusive relationships with multilingual families, educators can seek to understand their unique funds of knowledge, create diverse opportunities for involvement, and use best practices for collaboration. In addition, cultivating a positive school culture is essential for students’ success and engagement in their learning. In this unit, educators will analyze and reflect on ways school culture impacts multilingual learners and their families and develop and implement a plan for supporting positive school culture and family engagement.

Schools are the places in which immigrant students encounter and learn the values of the majority culture. Creating a positive learning environment that is respectful and responsive to the learning needs of all students is necessary for students to succeed. Teachers who are effective with multilingual learners require an understanding of current educational research and opportunities for their own professional learning and growth. Participants will demonstrate a deep understanding of current pedagogical and social justice issues and know how they impact multilingual learners and their families (for example, the impact of residence status on college admission and financial aid). In this unit, educators will analyze teaching practices to show a clear understanding of the pedagogical and social justice issues relating to English Learners, identify teaching skills for improvement, develop and implement a plan to improve teaching skills with specific and measurable goals that are clearly aligned with targeted components, and provide evidence and written reflection to show achievement of goals.