Five Classroom Applications to Increase ML Students’ Engagement in the Classroom

Teaching Multilingual Learners (ML) requires that educators select materials and curriculum that reflect the lives and lived experiences of all their students. Students need to feel valued and respected in order for them to be successful and to authentically engage in the classroom with fellow students, the assignments, and assessments. Educators must remember to take into account the cultural and linguistic capital ML students bring into the classroom that helps to shape their schema. There are a wide range of scaffolds, support materials, and strategies educators can use to make their instruction equitable and accessible for ML students so they can be successful in the classroom. The information below offers five suggestions educators could use in their classroom with their ML students with both evidenced-based support and practical classroom application scenarios.