Engaging Multilingual Learners

Carver Center - February 25, 2025

 Erin Sullivan and Laurel Williams

Objectives

Language Objective

Participants will use ML-specific vocabulary to discuss Multilingual learner instructional needs.

​

Content Objective

Participants will utilize WIDA Can-Do Name Charts to incorporate engagement strategies into their lessons.

Multilingual Learners at-a-glance

Tinyurl.com/AACPSELDDATA

Multilingual Learners are not a Monolithic Group...

Consider the Whole Child

Proficiency Level

Time in Country

AACPS by the Numbers

• 58% American-born
• 83% Spanish speaking
• 57% Long-Term English Learners (in secondary schools)

​

Engagement Strategies

These strategies can boost active participation and cognitive engagement for all of your students and especially for Multilingual learners.

1. Use scaffolds to increase productive language

By using scaffolding strategies for ELLs, you’ll make the English language less intimidating and help them to gradually build on what they already know.

Scaffolds reduce frustration and help ELs become more confident, motivated, and independent— and help to increase their class participation. Some examples of scaffolds include:

• Sentence Starters or Sentence Frames�By providing your ELLs with sentence frames, you can help them reduce their cognitive load and focus more on engaging with the academic content.
• Graphic Organizers�Graphic organizers are powerful tools for helping students visually organize information, make connections between topics, and activate background knowledge.
• Use Visual Aids�Visuals are incredibly important for helping ELL students contextualize and retain information— they can be a helpful reference point for students as they participate in class activities.
• Word Banks�English learners need opportunities to practice using new vocabulary words in the context of writing and speaking— word banks can provide your ELs with helpful resources.
• Picture Dictionaries�Picture dictionaries allow English learners to communicate in writing or orally regardless of their proficiency level— increasing participation for all students.

​

2. Increase wait time

• Did you know that the average teacher pauses for less than one second to call on a student after asking a question?
• Increasing your wait time is beneficial for all students, but it is especially crucial for students who are processing information in two languages.
• It can feel uncomfortable at first, but pausing for even five seconds after asking a question can help your students develop more complex answers.

​

3. Incorporate Total participation strategies

• Think-Pair-Share- collaborative activity where students pause to reflect on a prompt before sharing their answers with a partner. This activity removes the pressure on ELLs to come up with an immediate response. To encourage active listening, you can have students summarize their partner’s responses— depending on their proficiency level, it may be easier for an EL to repeat their partner’s answer than come up with one independently.
• Quick-Draws - provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of a vocabulary term or concept by creating a drawing.�Students can then share and explain their drawings with a partner or in a small group. This activity can be used at any grade level or language proficiency.
• Hold-Ups - teaching strategy that boosts student engagement and allows you to quickly check for understanding for all of your students. They can take many forms: whiteboards, true/false cards, multiple-choice notecards, or even colored popsicle sticks. English learners benefit from discussing their responses in pairs or small groups before answering.
• QSSSA (Question, Signal, Stems, Share, Assess) - QSSSA is a method for structuring conversations that can be used in any grade level or content area. Any teacher can use QSSSA to engage students in academic conversations.

Planning Time!

• Group with other teachers who are teaching the same course or a similar course as yours.
• Review your WIDA Can-Do Name Chart.
• Identify interaction strategies that you can add to your lesson to enhance student interaction.
• Share out lesson topic, objective, and the strategies you added with an explanation for including those strategies based on your student data.

Questions/�Additional Resources

Check out our English Learner Support Site!

Contact Information:

Laurel Williams, Secondary ELD Academic Specialist, lrwilliams1@aacps.org