Learning from alumni: Creating middle school classrooms that support English language learners

Abstract Teacher educators surveyed and interviewed program alumni working in middle schools to address the question, what literacy practices have you found to be most supportive of English language learners in your classrooms? This article describes the three most common practices identified by the middle school teachers, practices that are affiliated with five attributes that have been identified as central to effective and supportive middle school classrooms. The practices include 1. activating prior knowledge; 2. employing non-linguistic, multimodal communication, and 3. integrating language play into the curricula. The authors affiliated research in the field with these practices to provide additional rationales for their implementation. Specific digital technologies recommended by the teachers to support these practices are also identified.