Our Favorite Resources for Supporting Multilingual Learners

We compiled a list of some of our favorite free and practical resources for supporting multilingual learners—check them out below. 

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Resource hubs

ALTELLA provides research-based resources about English language proficiency assessment and learning for multilingual students with cognitive disabilities.

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This bilingual website provides research as well as practical resources for families and educators supporting multilingual learners.

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This organization created a library of evidence-based resources and tools that support ELA and math educators in creating and adapting instructional materials to be more inclusive of multilingual learners.

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This toolkit includes answers to key questions along with strategies gleaned from the latest research on multilingual learners.

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Leadership resources

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The Council of the Great City Schools outlines a framework for acquiring English and attaining content mastery, and it provides criteria by which educators can determine whether instructional materials are appropriate for multilingual learners.

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This podcast from Ellevation features conversations with educators and students, researchers and policy makers, and parents and community members about how we can help multilingual students reach their highest aspirations.

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This research story from the Harvard Graduate School of Education shares six essential understandings of second language learning as well as pedagogical expertise that classroom teachers need in order to support multilingual learners.

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This collection of model demonstration research on multitiered systems of supports (MTSS) includes a series on meeting the needs of multilingual learners with and without disabilities. 

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Reading resources

This framework from the Council of the Great City Schools outlines six guiding principles for the foundational skills development of multilingual learners.

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The National Committee for Effective Literacy uplifts research, policies, and practices to ensure that multilingual learners leave school as proficient readers and writers.

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This collection of resources covers grade-level strategies as well as suggestions for teaching more advanced reading and writing skills.

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This 30-minute webinar from the Consortium on Reaching Excellence in Education focuses on how the science of reading can be applied to teaching multilingual learners to read and write in English.

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In this article, Suzanne Irujo discusses the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth in the context of her own experience as an ELL teacher.

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STEM resources

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This report from the Council of the Great City Schools provides a framework for understanding the interdependence of language and math, and it presents criteria by which educators can determine whether instructional materials are appropriate for multilingual learners.

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This guidance from the English Learners Success Forum can help ensure language is not a barrier to multilingual students’ learning of mathematical concepts.

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This website provides quick access to educator resources that support students’ simultaneous meaning-making in science and mathematics and meaning-making in English.

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This report from the National Academy of Sciences provides guidance on how to improve learning outcomes in STEM for multilingual learners.

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This presentation from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics describes strategies for teaching math to multilingual learners, including strategies for facilitating class discussion and helping learners tackle word problems. 

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Looking for more resources?

We compiled a list of some of our favorite content-specific resources from leading education organizations.

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