“If you know a thing only qualitatively, you know it no more than vaguely. If you know it quantitatively—grasping some numerical measure that distinguishes it from an infinite number of other possibilities—you are beginning to know it deeply. You comprehend some of its beauty and you gain access to its power and the understanding it provides” (p. 25).
Carl Sagan, Astrophysicist
I find the process of collecting and analyzing data about multilingual students fascinating! At this time of year, many educators are preparing to engage in instructional walkthroughs. These can also be referred to as focus walks, learning walks, instructional rounds, classroom visits, and informal observations. Although the titles may be different, the purpose of this practice is to collect data about what is happening in classrooms. It is imperative that district and school leaders have a pulse on what is happening, or not, across their learning communities, including where English language instruction happens. Walkthroughs are one way to collect and analyze data.
What’s a walkthrough?
Walkthroughs are normally conducted by a small group of educators with a shared focus. Typically, there is an agreed upon set of questions, a rubric and/or tool used to collect data based upon what is observed in the classroom during a short amount of time, usually 10-15 min. The focus of a walkthrough can vary, so can the amount of time of the visit. They are designed to provide insight into 1) instruction that students are receiving, 2) how students are engaged with standards-based tasks, and 3) the overall classroom environment. There may be more to observe during a walkthrough depending upon the context. As language educators, have you been part of walkthroughs or plan to be? If so, will they include language education classrooms? What would you expect to see?
What walkthroughs are not.
First and foremost, they are not opportunities to surprise teachers and students. They are not “gotcha” moments between evaluators and instructors. They are not punitive but can feel that way. They are also not formal evaluations. They could be announced visits but may not be. What is important to remember is the purpose of the observation. You are a guest in a learning community. How can you observe what you need to while preserving the environment? How can you collect data while at the same time think critically about what is being observed?
Collect and Reflect
In the July 2023 edition, Part I [1] (ADD LINK HERE) listed simple questions with complex answers. These questions can be asked to help educators prioritize areas in need of attention, including positive attention e.g, number of multilingual learners who graduate with the Seal of Biliteracy, related to their multilingual student populations. Regardless of the tool used to collect data, attention must be focused on the conversations before and after the observation. I refer to this as conversation beyond the rubric (Cooper, 2020). The reflective conversations are most important since the perfect data collection tool may be difficult to agree upon. I prefer to use a 1 or 2 page data collection tool with key areas names explicit. Lengthy walkthrough tools with dense descriptions can make the walkthrough more complicated than it needs to be. How can we keep walkthrough tools simple yet robust? What we can agree upon is the types of dialog we’ll engage in to make sense of what we’ve observed. In preparation for walkthroughs the acronym for making data CUTE—Comprehensible, Useable, Timely and Empowering—can be used as a frame to prepare for more meaningful data collection that centers on linguistically diverse student populations.
Centering on Multilingual Learners
General (Language) Data Questions
Walkthrough Considerations
Comprehensible: Do we understand what data is being presented and why? Is the data too convoluted and congested? More data is not always part of the answer but rather more of certain types of data such as qualitative data and less common data.
What are we collecting data about? Is what we are looking for aligned to the district and/or school goals? Is the purpose teacher, student, environmental focused or something else? What tool(s) are we using to collect data? Who has been part of and in agreement with the pre walkthrough preparation process?
Usable: Is the data something we can use to make different / better choices? Does the data provide more context? Do we have data points for all four domains of language? Do we have data that is aligned to and in support of the Language Instruction Educational Programs (LIPM)? How can we include but move beyond demographic data?
Are we collecting qualitative, quantitative or both? How will the data we are collecting be used? Is the focus on language use by students, instruction by the teacher, or a combination of both? Are we able to collect and reflect upon the data in a meaningful way?
Timely: How can we collect, analyze, disseminate and use data more efficiently? The time we dedicate to collecting data is oftentimes nowhere near equal to the amount of time we spend analyzing it.
Is the walkthrough scheduled during the beginning, middle or end of year? How might the time of year impact the data we are collecting? How has what we are looking for and collecting data about changed, or not, over time? How will we share results of the walkthrough in a timely manner to stakeholders? What types of questions, comments might the finding generate?
Empowering: Are we using asset based lenses when it comes to understanding, using and sharing data? If so, who is being empowered? Is it all gloom and doom or more butterflies and cupcakes? Are students part of and at the center of data based discussions?
How are students included in the data collection process? Do they know and understand the purpose of walkthroughs? If we conducted focus groups of students about their experiences in class, would the findings be aligned or not? Are students empowered by the data we are collecting?
I’m often asked questions about program models for multilingual learners. Which programs are best and how can we implement and sustain them? By participating in walkthroughs, we can begin to learn more about the program models we have in place and if they are working best for the students we serve. The question remains, what is the intended outcome for multilingual learners? Walkthroughs can provide multiple data points about language instruction and learning in an effort to answer the aforementioned question.
Cooper, A. (2023, July). Making (language) data cute: comprehensible, usable, timely and empowering – part i. Language Magazine, 22(11), 35–37.
Sagan, C. (1997). Billions and billions: Thoughts on life and death at the brink of the millennium. Random House.
Cooper, Ayanna. (2020). And justice for ELs: A leader’s guide to creating and sustaining equitable schools. Corwin, A SAGE Company.
Ayanna Cooper, EdD, is the Pass the Mic series editor, and owner of A. Cooper Consulting. She is the author of And Justice for ELs: A Leader’s Guide to Creating and Sustaining Equitable Schools (Corwin) and (co-editor) of Black Immigrants in the United States (Peter Lang).
“The notion of ‘multiliteracies’ describes the suite of essential skills students should possess in this globalized and digital age.”
Significance of Multiliteracies Today’s K–12 classrooms are brimming with the use of technology. Students use computers and websites to access digital materials, work on projects and produce presentation materials, and take assessments, to cite a few examples. Alongside this widespread technological adoption, the growing linguistic and cultural diversity in classrooms has broadened the essential literacy skills required for students. Literacy skills extend beyond reading and writing printed texts and increasingly involve navigating varied communication styles in diverse contexts.
The notion of “multiliteracies” more aptly describes the suite of essential skills students should possess in this globalized and digital age. Multiliteracies emphasize two main facets of language use: The first relates to various meaning-making patterns in different social and cultural contexts. The second has to do with multimodality—with the advancement of technology, where the written mode of meaning interfaces with various modes of meaning including audio, gestural, oral, spatial, tactile, and visual (Cope and Kalantzis, 2015).
In fact, multiliteracies have already been integrated into current academic standards designed to prepare all students for college and careers. Let’s take a sixth-grade reading standard for informational text as an example: “Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010, p. 39). This standard explicitly calls for students to demonstrate understanding and to integrate meanings from multiple formats and channels.
The concept of multiliteracies also resonates in writing standards. For instance, a seventh-grade writing standard states: “Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010, p. 43).
Aside from technological literacy, the anticipation of interacting and collaborating with others in writing underscores the students’ ability to navigate different patterns of communication in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.
Using an Assessment Strategy to Support Multilingual Learners Clearly, the language and literacy skills expected of today’s students are rigorous and sophisticated. These multiliteracies are important for college and career preparedness as well as 21st-century readiness. So, how can we ensure that multilingual learners (also known as English learners) meet these standards that require multiliteracies? Since multilingual learners already possess a repertoire of diverse communication codes, how can we enhance their multilingual assets while aiding their development of multiliteracies? Before delving into these questions, it is worth clarifying the term multilingual learners, which we use in place of English learners. The latter term is defined by federal statute as students whose language at home is not English and whose English proficiency is still developing, hindering meaningful participation in English-speaking classrooms.
While not all multilingual learners require the language support mandated by law, a subset of this student population is specifically referred to as English learners. Our choice of multilingual learners adopts an asset-based perspective that values their rich linguistic diversity and funds of knowledge.
In effective teaching and learning, assessment plays a pivotal role in identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses relative to learning goals. However, existing assessments, especially standardized ones in content areas, frequently face criticism regarding their validity and utility for multilingual learners. Teachers report that some of their multilingual students disengage during assessments due to language barriers. They also express concerns about how assessment results often provide little useful information beyond simply indicating that students have not achieved proficiency.
In our R&D project, our goal was to develop a research-based assessment tool specifically designed to meet multilingual students’ needs. We envisioned that this assessment tool would be used for formative purposes, as a classroom-based assessment and instructional resource to help students improve multiliteracy skills.
Moreover, our aim was to design a tool that would foster greater student engagement in assessments, all while maintaining the rigor of grade-level academic standards and the targeted skills to be measured. Our efforts were also focused on creating an assessment that serves as a valuable learning activity, allowing students to learn as they engage with the assessment process (i.e., assessment as learning).
Socioculturally Responsive Assessment to Facilitate Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy To design our assessment tool in alignment with the aforementioned goals, we adopted the principles of socioculturally responsive assessment and culturally sustaining pedagogy as our guiding frameworks. Paris (2012) introduced the term culturally sustaining pedagogy to emphasize the importance of schooling that nurtures and bolsters multilingualism and multiculturalism in a pluralistic society.
He asserts that “our pedagogies should be more than responsive of, or relevant to, the cultural experiences and practices of young people—it requires that they support young people in sustaining the cultural and linguistic competencies of their communities while simultaneously offering access to dominant cultural competence” (Paris, 2012, p. 95).
This concept offers a useful framework for teachers to discuss and plan instruction for multilingual learners. To effectively practice this pedagogy, a new assessment design is necessary. In reckoning with the criticism of standardized assessments that often neglect the diverse backgrounds of students in assessment design, Bennett (2023) proposed five design principles to make assessments more socioculturally responsive (see Table 1).
Table 1. Bennett’s (2023) Design Principles of Socioculturally Responsive Assessment
Principle 1
Present problem situations that connect to, and value, examinee experience, culture, and identity
Principle 2
Allow for multiple forms of representation and expression in problem stimuli and in responses
Principle 3
Promote instruction for deeper learning through assessment design
Principle 4
Adapt the assessment to student characteristics
Principle 5
Represent assessment results as an interaction among what the examinee brings to the assessment; the types of tasks engaged; and the conditions and context of that engagement
These principles are particularly beneficial for assessing multilingual learners. These students may be better able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills when presented with contexts related to their cultures or when assessment content is tailored to accommodate their English proficiency levels.
Figure 1. Diverse sources included in the assessments of multiliteracies
Main Assessment Features What features might enable multilingual learners to engage fully with the assessment content and thereby to be able to better demonstrate their reading and multiliteracy skills? To answer this question using socioculturally responsive assessment principles, we embarked on a co-design effort, designing new assessment features collaboratively with educators of multilingual learners. We started with an existing online interactive assessment developed by ETS in which students build and share knowledge about informational texts related to hydropower.
The existing assessment contained multimodal information for students to learn from and to communicate about, with a focus on assessing multiliteracies. As displayed in Figure 1, the assessment consisted of a pie chart, a video, and an article on the topic of hydropower as a renewable energy source. A set of questions was included for each source of information.
Figure 2. Example of Form 1 task, guided notes
Our discussions with teachers led to the inclusion of the following additional design features, based on socioculturally responsive assessment principles: (1) leveled texts, (2) linguistic and multilingual supports, and (3) scaffolding for comprehension.
Leveled Texts “Let’s meet multilingual learners where they are”—in other words, adapting the assessment to multilingual learners’ characteristics—was a mantra of the project team. Multilingual learners have varying levels of English proficiency. To access academic texts in English, they require individualized support. Furthermore, classrooms increasingly comprise multilingual learners at different English proficiency levels.
One way to help ensure students in mixed-level classes engage in learning about the same grade-level topic is to provide leveled texts that match students’ English-language proficiencies. With this premise, we created three separate forms of the assessment—for multilingual learners at advanced (form three), at intermediate to advanced (form two), and at high-emerging to low-intermediate (form one) English proficiency levels—to ensure multilingual learners within a single class could engage in the same topic and be measured on the same English language arts and English-language proficiency standards. Whereas form one featured cognitively rigorous but linguistically modified texts, form two featured “amplified” texts (Walqui and Bunch, 2019); that is, the multimodal texts were enhanced or enriched instead of simplified. (Examples of those enhancements are described in the next sections.) Texts in forms two and three were otherwise the same.
Linguistic and Multilingual Supports Providing appropriate language supports in the moment can allow multilingual learners greater access to academic content in English and may ultimately help them to better demonstrate their reading and multiliteracy skills. In the assessment, these supports include, for example, closed captioning for videos, glossaries, supportive visuals that clearly illustrate key points in the texts, choice of language for directions (e.g., English or Spanish), and choice of audio or written format for directions. We provided multilingual directions in both audio and written formats following an asset-based approach, as a means of enabling multilingual learners to leverage their full range of language skills for learning and assessment. And we offered students choices in language and format to provide flexibility and in consideration of students’ needs and preferences. With the inclusion of these supports, we hoped that students would use their multilingual assets to learn more deeply about the topic of hydropower and thereby be better equipped to show what they had learned.
Embedded Scaffolding A final example of adapting the assessment to multilingual learners’ characteristics is the scaffolding embedded within the assessment activities. To illustrate one example, the video content was chunked into three parts.
We also embedded guided notes for each part (Figure 2) to alleviate the language demand while providing a note-taking strategy to help comprehension. Multilingual learners taking form two filled in guided notes with sentence frames, and those taking form one selected from multiple-choice options to complete sentences. This kind of scaffolding offers multilingual learners written support (i.e., the guided notes) for a multimodal text (i.e., the video) at a linguistic complexity appropriate to their English proficiency level. Our goal in embedding scaffolding within the assessment activities was to provide in-the-moment support to multilingual learners at a range of English-language levels so they would be able to access and engage in learning about the rigorous informational content in the assessment.
What Did Teachers Say about Our Approach? We conducted a small-scale usability study with four English learner teachers and their students. The teachers shared their experiences and perceptions of our assessment approach after trying it out with their multilingual students. We share a few notable findings along with teachers’ feedback and comments.
Teachers used the assessment and design features strategically to engage multilingual learners and facilitate their participation in classroom assessment tasks. As with any educational material, the teachers reported adapting the use of the assessment based on the specific characteristics or needs of their students. For instance, one teacher commented that a majority of her class was reading below grade level and needed additional support to engage with the assessment content. She began her lesson with a warm-up activity to activate students’ background knowledge about the topic and introduced new vocabulary before having students work on the assessment. Then, the teacher assigned different forms of the assessment to students based on their English proficiency levels. Notably, all four teachers utilized two to three different assessment forms to accommodate their students’ varying levels and assess their literacy skills.
How Teachers Saw Multilingual Learners Use the Embedded Supports Overall, the teachers were in favor of the embedded supports, stating that they catered to the types of assistance multilingual learners need, and considered that these supports facilitated student engagement with the assessment content. One teacher highlighted that the translation and visual images helped multilingual learners understand that they could leverage all their meaning-making resources. Furthermore, these supports reinforced the idea that using languages other than English is an acceptable way to develop their literacy skills. The multilingual directions were also instrumental in helping students comprehend the instructions and decipher unknown words. All the teachers conveyed a wish to have the translation feature in several languages, not just Spanish, to accommodate students’ diverse home languages.
Additionally, the read-aloud feature was found to be beneficial in aiding students in pronouncing difficult words, as well as assisting those who struggled to read the articles independently in understanding the content. Another teacher pointed out that the video captions were particularly useful for her emerging-level students, as they facilitated a better grasp of the video content.
Teachers commented that having multiple levels (or forms) of the assessment allowed all their students to work on the same set of skills using the same topic in the assessment. They uniformly praised this feature, noting that it provided an opportunity for all students to engage with the same rigorous content. One teacher remarked, “The three levels did an excellent job of identifying my students’ strengths and areas for improvement. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t be captured by one of those three levels.” Teachers also appreciated the various forms of representation (i.e., graphs, videos, and articles) along with the multiple embedded supports. As one teacher put it, “This approach allowed me to discern which students could perform which skills in which contexts.” These teachers’ perceptions and comments resonate well with the principles of socioculturally responsive assessment, wherein assessment information should be interpreted based on the interaction between students’ characteristics and the context of the assessment.
Concluding Thoughts Through our work, we explored the potential of assessing multilingual students’ reading and multiliteracy skills by leveraging the principles of socioculturally responsive assessment.
We illustrated a concrete example of our assessment design and shared feedback from teachers regarding our approach. To support culturally sustaining pedagogy that recognizes and embraces the diverse characteristics of all students, new thinking and approaches to assessment design are necessary. The principles of socioculturally responsive assessment herald a paradigm shift from rigid standardization in assessments toward flexibility and adaptability, thereby empowering both individual learners and educators. We hope that these efforts will spur further innovative ideas for more effectively assessing multilingual learners and supporting their development of critical literacy skills.
References Bennett, R. E. (2023). “Toward a Theory of Socioculturally Responsive Assessment.” Educational Assessment, 28, 2, 83–104.
Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/ Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.
Cope, W., and Kalantzis, M. (2015). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Learning by Design. Palgrave.
Paris, D. (2012). “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice.” Educational Researcher, 41, 3, 93–97.
Walqui, A., and Bunch, G. C. (Eds.). (2019). Amplifying the Curriculum: Designing Quality Learning Opportunities for English Learners. Teachers College Press.
Lorraine Sova is an assessment specialist at ETS focused on developing English language assessments for young learners as well as teaching and learning content for English language educators and students. Dr. Sova has particular interests in second language learning and literacy in diverse young learner classrooms.
Mikyung Kim Wolf is a principal research scientist at ETS. She has over 20 years of experience in developing and researching language assessments for multilingual learners. She has edited two books on language assessments: Assessing English Language Proficiency In U.S. K-12 Schools (2020, Routledge) and English Language Proficiency Assessment for Young Learners (2017, Routledge).
Alexis A. López is a Senior Research Scientist at ETS. He earned a Ph.D. in Education and an M.A. in TESL from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on assessing the language proficiency and content knowledge of K-12 multilingual learners.
The authors would like to acknowledge their project team, including Ellen Gluck, Reginald Gooch, Gerriet Janssen, Jeremy Lee, and Emilie Pooler, for their valuable contributions to the project. They also extend gratitude to the teachers and students for their active participation in and collaboration on the project.
Despite one of the most brutal winter storms on record in Portland, Oregon, which stranded many on roads and airports, US secretary of education Miguel Cardona made his way across the country to speak at the 2023 National Association of Bilingual Education Annual Conference. He joined thousands of educators who had also traveled to the conference despite the harsh and dangerous weather. Meeting him and then hearing his opening remarks made me reflect on how vital leadership is in creating the right conditions for students and teachers to thrive, even when faced with metaphorical winter storms. What struck me most from this shared lived experience was the distinct resiliency that compelled so many of us to brush aside the inhospitable conditions and fully immerse ourselves in community with other multilingual and language educators.
At the conference, Cardona, who is the first secretary of education with formal preparation in bilingual education, presented concrete actions for increasing program funding; expanding bilingual teacher preparation, recruitment, and retention; and elevating the importance of the Seal of Biliteracy.
He prefaced these remarks with a call for districts and schools to go beyond an English-centric mindset: “Let’s put to bed, once and for all, the notion that multilingualism is just a bonus—or worse, a deficit. Let’s build a new era of multilingualism in America—an era where our young people can lead thriving lives and careers with their knowledge of languages from Mandarin to French, Spanish to Japanese. And let’s foster a new multilingual generation of Americans— strengthened in their identities, supported in their education, prepared to lead in our country and around the world.” –Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, NABE Conference, 2023
Without a doubt, school and district leaders play a critical role in making this mindset shift happen, and to do so they must be equipped with a strong knowledge base about what makes dual language programs work and how they can best guide their continued improvement. The success of bilingual education and dual language models over time also requires a comprehensive and well-calibrated effort that includes extensive preplanning, comprehensive needs assessments, consistency in implementation, systems of support, adequate funding, and ongoing program evaluation (Soltero, 2016). While this is not an easy task—especially given shifting demands and expectations, as well as external pressures on school and district leaders—creating sustainable, high-quality dual language programs is very much an attainable goal.
A Road Map for Dual Language Education Leaders In my recent chapter, “A Framework for Success: Dual language education building blocks” (Soltero, 2023), I discuss nine major areas, or building blocks, to consider in the planning, implementation, and sustainability of effective programs. One of those areas is what I call will—educators and leaders must be willing to think outside the box, take risks, adapt existing structures, advocate, and engage in other efforts that do not neatly fit in the status quo. Of particular importance is the will to think outside and beyond the English-centric box so that we can shift to a new standard of multilingual, biliterate/multiliterate, and culturally responsive education. More than ever, the advocacy of dual language and bilingual education leaders is essential as we face growing English-centric, narrow views of education, literacy, and assessments. This in turn results in increasing rates of bilingual education teacher burnout (Amanti, 2019).
Souto-Manning et al. (2016) propose that school and district leaders take on a “courageous leadership” stance by actively challenging incorrect assumptions and ill-advised mandates that contradict research on language learners’ academic, linguistic, and socio-emotional development. The most effective way to counter the status quo is by creating sustainable, high-quality dual language programs and showcasing long-term positive student academic outcomes. Menken (2017) adds that “for school leaders to successfully implement and sustain dual language bilingual education programs, they must be able to negotiate and resist top-down policies and external pressures promoting English-only instruction” (p. 3).
Leading with courage in the face of these challenges calls for district and school leaders to modify existing policies and expectations in ways that align to the foundational principles of dual language education and what we know are sound pedagogical practices for language learners. In looking for the metaphorical compass of dual language education, the following three premises together can serve as a “true north star” to help us stay on our path to success for all students: 1. A shared common vision that provides long-term direction; 2. Organizational systems that foster quality, sustainability, and engagement; 3. Instructional grounding that guides linguistically and culturally responsive practices in teaching and learning, curriculum, and assessment. It is important to note that the elements discussed under each of the three areas are by no means exhaustive, as other aspects specific to each school and district should be considered.
Vision-Driven: A Shared Common Vision That Provides Long-Term Direction Vision statements are founded on shared beliefs that reflect the goals and aspirations of a school and district. They are fundamental in guiding decision-making and providing mutually agreed direction for the entire school and district community (Scanlan and López, 2015; Soltero, 2016; Soltero, 2023). Dual language education vision statements must be based on principles of linguistically and culturally responsive education and be grounded on equity, access, and inclusion for all students.
A core tenet of a dual language education vision is that it must not be a standalone statement but rather it must live, or better yet be embedded, within the larger vision of the school and district. A shared vision underscores the importance of developing students’ academic excellence, biliteracy, cross-cultural competencies, and social–emotional well-being and is most effective when based on certain shared beliefs about learning, teaching, curriculum, and assessment. For example, teachers and principals who believe that learning is more effective when students are actively engaged in authentic and meaningful activities are likely to use instructional approaches and curricular programs that are learner-centered, integrated, interactive, and collaborative (Soltero, 2011). Likewise, visions that view students’ languages and cultures as valuable assets will leverage them as resources to further develop their bi/multiliterate, sociocultural, and academic competencies.
School and district leaders who are knowledgeable and well-informed have a vantage point in helping to “develop and communicate a school-wide shared vision for the program and for the promotion of bilingualism and biliteracy and ensure that there is a plan to bring that vision to fruition” (Tedick and Lyster, 2020, p. 43). Creating district and school vision statements that integrate dual language education goals is best accomplished through a cross-section of district and school stakeholders who include teachers, support staff, administrators, students, parents/ families, and members of the community.
Systems-Driven: Organizational Systems that Foster Quality, Sustainability, and Engagement The longevity of high-quality dual language education programs is often characterized by the types of program systems and structures that are designed strategically for long-term implementation. These systems and structures provide the criteria and guidelines to ensure: 1) cohesion among language and content curriculum, instructional approaches, and assessment practices; 2) consistency across grade levels and content areas in subjects such as teaching practices, classroom routines, types of student engagement, assessment tools, and instructional materials; 3) coordination strategies that include vertical articulation, curricular mapping, alignment of standards across languages, and calibration of assessments, all of which help in ensuring cohesion, consistency, and continuity within and across grade levels and content areas (Soltero, 2011).
Creating strong systems and structures requires knowledgeable teachers and school leaders who are well prepared but also well supported. District administration and school principals therefore must make long-term commitments through actions such as formally adopting a district dual language education policy endorsed by their boards; including bilingual and dual language education in district strategic plans; allotting a permanent budget line item for dual language programs; and establishing required consultation with the district multilingual learner department on any curricular, assessment, and policy decisions. These are but a few ways that districts demonstrate long-term commitment to multilingual learners, their teachers, and their families.
Establishing strong partnerships with families and the community helps affirm students’ heritage languages and cultures and advance their academic success. Research clearly points to the positive effects of family engagement, regardless of income level or ethnicity, in the education of children, leading to increased academic achievement, school engagement, motivation, better school attendance, and lower dropout rates (Barger et al., 2019). For multilingual families in bilingual and dual language programs, it is especially important to identify and help lessen the structural, societal, and linguistic barriers to their participation. Increasing family engagement and creating optimal spaces for effective partnerships requires systemic implementation of more permanent and well-funded infrastructures than the typical school has. Ishimaru (2019) proposes what she calls a “conceptual framework of equitable collaboration” that utilizes more “reciprocal, collective, and relational strategies: • parent capacity-building, • relationship-building, and • systemic capacity-building efforts” (p. 352).
Under a systems-driven paradigm, schools and districts are responsible for formalizing organizational structures that increase family engagement in meaningful ways.
Figure 1: North Star of Dual Language Education Leadership
Instruction-Driven: Instructional Grounding Guides Linguistically and Culturally Responsive Practices Instructional approaches, materials, assessments, and professional development that are linguistic and culturally responsive are key to the effectiveness of dual language programs and students’ long-term academic achievement, biliteracy development, and cross-cultural competencies. This requires that school and district leaders pay careful and sustained attention to all instructional aspects of the program, and when higher-level mandates contradict principles of dual language education, they advocate and educate to ensure proper alignment.
It is widely known that learning works best when students engage in problem-solving, critical thinking, connecting to their prior knowledge, and making sense of ideas and concepts in collaboration with others. For dual language education classrooms, learner-centered instruction is especially important, given the variations in students’ second-language proficiency levels, home and school experiences, and socio-emotional well-being. Because dual language students are developing literacy in two or more languages while also learning academic content and developing cross-cultural competencies, they must have ample opportunities with engaging, complex, and authentic curriculum and materials supported by the appropriate levels of scaffolding. Adoption of English-centric, one-size-fits-all, and teacher-centered, transmission-oriented instruction that focuses on isolated discrete skills, memorization, and rote learning prevents bilingual learners from being fully engaged with new content in their second language (Hopewell et al., 2023).
On a par with the importance of instructional consideration is the selection and use of instructional materials. Dual language programs should be resourced with linguistic and culturally appropriate instructional materials and curriculum that promotes content, language, and literacy development in and across both languages. Instead of highly scripted and skills-focused materials that rely on decodable readers and controlled text, teachers should use an abundance of authentic children’s and young adult fiction and nonfiction literature and other texts. High-quality texts not only promote a love of reading but also expose students to rich language and vocabulary, high-interest content, and culturally relevant topics. Blum-Martinez and Wong Fillmore (2023) suggest that authentic texts “provide students with models of language appropriate to the rhythms, expressions, structures and traditions of a culture… and also introduce themes and worldviews of the speakers of that language” (p. 454).
Culturally and linguistically appropriate assessments are another crucial aspect of dual language education. Assessment instruments that are designed for and norm-references on English speakers are neither valid nor reliable and only result in flawed data that drives flawed decision-making about bilingual learners. Instead, districts and schools should use assessments that are specifically designed for second-language development (L2), whether English or a language other than English (LOTE) as the second language, and consider the intersectionality between academics, languages, biliteracy, and culture in the dual language context. In addition, assessments for the LOTE must be authentic to that language and not translations of English tools and should include both formative and summative measures as well as performance-based practices. School leaders play a crucial role in setting goals and expectations around professional learning for dual language educators. A good indicator of school leaders’ commitment is their own participation in professional development alongside their teachers. This also ensures that everyone receives the same information, creating common understanding and shared knowledge and in turn facilitating the consistency, cohesion, and coordination mentioned earlier. A cautionary note regarding dual language educators attending general education classroom or districtwide professional development that presents English-centric information or mandates that conflict with foundational premises of dual language education: The school leader and the district multilingual learner department director have a responsibility to clarify expectations and correct any contradictory information and directives.
In Summary A starting point for new dual language programs—which can also serve as guidance for revitalizing established ones—is for dual language leaders and teachers to galvanize around the three premises described above. A vision-driven, systems-driven, and instruction-driven approach provides the necessary foundational direction to design and implement effective and sustainable dual language programs. Weathering the metaphorical winter storms and the winds of administrative change in bilingual and dual language education requires courageous leadership, intentionality, and forward thinking. In Secretary of Education Cardona’s own words: “We’re talking about realizing the full promise of America… It’s the promise of America to deliver a brighter future for those whose differences were once treated as deficits—to celebrate those differences as superpowers—where the son of Puerto Ricans who were treated as second-class citizens in all English classrooms can now give guidance to the president of the United States on how to promote multilingualism. If we get multilingual education right, we deliver on that national promise for a whole new generation of Americans.”
References Amanti, C. (2019). “The (Invisible) Work of Dual Language Bilingual Education Teachers.” Bilingual Research Journal, 42, 4, 455–470.
Barger, M. M., Kim, E. M., Kuncel, N. R., and Pomerantz, E. M. (2019). “The Relation between Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Schooling and Children’s Adjustment: A meta-analysis.” Psychological Bulletin, 145, 9, 855–890.
Blum Martinez, R., and Wong Fillmore, L. (2023). “On Curriculum and Pedagogy in Dual Language Bilingual Education.” In J. A. Freire, C. Alfaro, and E. J. de Jong (Eds.), The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education (pp. 444–460). Taylor & Francis.
Hopewell, S., Slavick, J., and Escamilla, K. (2023). “Toward a Biliterate Pedagogy.” In J. A. Freire, C. Alfaro, and E. J. de Jong (Eds.), The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education (pp. 473–493). Taylor & Francis.
Ishimaru, A. M. (2019). “From Family Engagement to Equitable Collaboration.” Educational Policy, 33, 2, 350–385.
Menken, K. (2017). Leadership in Dual Language Bilingual Education. Center for Applied Linguistics.
Scanlan, M., and López, F. A. (2015). Leadership for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Schools. Routledge.
Soltero, S. W. (2023). “A Framework for Success: Dual language education building blocks.” In J. A. Freire, C. Alfaro, and E. J. de Jong (Eds.), The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education. Taylor & Francis
Soltero, S. W. (2016). Dual Language Education: Program Design and Implementation. Heinemann. Soltero, S. W. (2011). Schoolwide Approaches to Educating ELLs: Creating Linguistically and Culturally Responsive K–12 Schools. Heinemann.
Souto-Manning, M., Madrigal, R., Malik, K., and Martell, J. (2016). “Bridging Languages, Cultures, and Worlds through Culturally Relevant Leadership.” In S. Long, M. Souto-Manning, and V. Vasquez (Eds.), Courageous Leadership in Early Childhood Education: Taking a Stand for Social Justice (pp. 57–68). Teachers College Press.
Dr. Sonia Soltero is professor and chair of the Department of Leadership, Language, and Curriculum at DePaul University and former director of the Bilingual–Bicultural Education Graduate Program. Soltero’s publications related to dual language and Latino education include three books, the latest entitled Dual Language Education: Program Design and Implementation. She has been involved in dual language education for more than 30 years as a university professor, researcher, professional developer, and former dual language public school teacher.
Diversity has become a more common topic, especially at work. It is looked at not only in terms of race and gender but also in terms of background. Everyone has different experiences throughout their career, which is why diverse backgrounds are so valuable. For edtech companies, working with former teachers, who can share their classroom experiences, is a must.
Think about it. Companies cannot successfully build a product for their audience without that audience’s insight or input. They need to know how their audience works and how the product would benefit them.
Without this knowledge, the product could fall flat or face problems with adoption. This is no different in the edtech space. And there is no one better to help develop a product for an educator than a former teacher.
The Value of a Teacher’s Insight So why do we want teachers to be a part of the edtech development process? Teachers spend years training in theory and in the physical classroom as well. Because of this, teachers are extremely aware of how curriculum, teaching methods, and social–emotional factors affect students. They know what works for each student. They know how they learn, how they express their knowledge, and what tools work best for their learning styles and needs.
They have seen up close what the classroom is like, both virtual and in-person. They know how edtech can benefit them, other teachers, administrators, and staff. They know how technology can improve the classroom experience for students. And they know how to expand a teacher’s skills in the classroom.
With this experience and knowledge, teachers can influence the edtech development process to create successful tools and technologies.
How EdTech Companies Can Utilize Teacher Knowledge At Texthelp, my team and I rely heavily on the knowledge and experience of teachers. In fact, 16% of my U.S. colleagues are former teachers and school administrators. They have on average 16 years of experience, and their roles span across departments, from sales to training and product management.
Having this diverse talent allows us to figuratively walk in a teacher’s shoes. It’s been very helpful to our organization, as we’ve been able to paint a full picture on how technologies can:
• Address the specific needs of today’s students, teachers, and administrators
• Help students, teachers, and administrators
• Impact classroom workflow
• Improve the parent/guardian-to-teacher relationship
Our teacher and administrator workforce has also created an atmosphere of continuous improvement. We are constantly thinking, “What would a teacher do?” or “How would a teacher respond to this?” And the good news is that we don’t need to go far to find the answer. With over 150 combined years of experience in the classroom, our team is able to give real-world feedback. This often replaces the need for focus groups or outside research. It also stops bugs and problems from occurring before a product or update goes live.
From Idea to Implementation When it comes to product development, former teachers are involved from the first idea to launch. They’ve been invaluable when it comes to improving current products and creating new ideas.
For example, our VP of sales is a former teacher who recently came up with an idea called Tool Matcher. Because of his classroom experience, he understands that every student is different and needs different accommodations. With Tool Matcher, students can now identify the tools that match with their special accommodation needs. It also allows teachers and assistive technology specialists to match our products’ features to a student’s IEP or 504 plan.
Our writing product, WriQ®, is another example of how teachers have been instrumental in product development. With this tool, we wanted to be able to create better writers and reduce teacher workload. This meant that we needed to create a standard for writing assessment across grade levels. But in order to do so, we needed large-scale data points from teachers and educators.
One of our advisors, a long-time professor, created most of the research we used to track student writing fluency within the product. In fact, almost all of the developed features within this product came from teacher input. Teachers helped us to create rubrics and track writing bursts (the amount of time a student writes before pausing). And now as a result, WriQ’s dashboard can track writing data and assessments. It also gives teachers standardized student feedback and grading.
Why Companies Need Diverse Perspectives The other day, one of our product managers was talking about his experience in the classroom and as an administrator. He believes that he wouldn’t have been nearly as successful in his role without this time in the classroom. His understanding has helped in product development, demonstrations, and being able to connect with teachers on a personal level. But it isn’t just our product management team where classroom experience has been useful. It’s across our sales and training departments too. Education is, after all, a very specific, niche field. The trials, complexities, and celebrations that come with working in education are often not obvious to those who haven’t worked in the sector. Being able to “speak” educator to educator is key in building trust and relationships.
A member of our training team said that their time teaching helped them understand the needs of teachers.
It also showed them how best to create materials that can help students. For example, understanding the needs of English language learners (ELLs) and special education students allows them to be more aware in their approach.
Each day, we work to provide equality in education to the best of our abilities. That means including teachers in edtech development. After all, they are the ones who best understand what is needed. We believe that our diverse workforce has been a major benefit, and we will always involve teachers in our edtech development.
Jason Carroll is the chief product officer at Texthelp, a technology company focused on helping all people learn, understand, and communicate through the use of digital education and accessibility tools. His focus is on helping to make smart, easy-to-use products that help diverse learners of all ages succeed, and he speaks internationally on these topics each year.
On October 20, the Faculty of Philology at the University of Salamanca in Spain is hosting Dia de las Lenguas Africanas, or the Day of African Languages. This year, the university celebrates the languages of Senegal.
The event will open with plenary presentations by Professor Enrique Bernárdez of Complutense University of Madrid and Professor Aziz Dieng of the University of Portsmouth. The afternoon session will allow attendees to participate in competitions, language workshops, and a festive event with members of the Senegalese community in Salamanca. The event will close with a screening of the Senegalese film Xalé.
Dia de las Lenguas Africanas, first celebrated in 2022, is an initiative of Erasmus+ and Baqonde. Its purpose is to highlight the linguistic and cultural wealth of the African contintent.
Last year, the university celebrated the indigenous languages of South Africa. The South African Ambassador to Spain was in attendance.
Stephen Krashen argues that those who read more know more
Wexler (2023) has pointed out that a reader’s background knowledge is a significant predictor of reading proficiency. She concluded that “greater background knowledge of the topic was correlated with better comprehension” and suggested that we “begin to more deliberately teach background knowledge.”
While it seems obvious that “deliberate teaching” will build background knowledge, there is another source of knowledge: self-selected pleasure reading. Stanovich and Cunningham (1993) is the breakthrough study in this area. They reported that university students who had more “print exposure”—were more familiar with popular authors (e.g., Maya Angelou, Isaac Asimov) and magazines (e.g., Forbes, Ladies Home Journal) did significantly better on a general knowledge test that included questions on science, social science, politics, current events, technology, and economics, among other subjects.
It is also well established that self-selected reading contributes significantly to language and literacy competence (e.g., vocabulary, spelling, writing; Krashen, 2004), and a recent study confirmed that reading also results in more knowledge of phonics (Krashen and McQuillan, 2023). Of great interest: Stanovich and Cunningham also reported that higher grades (grade point average) in secondary school were a very weak predictor of how well the students did on the test of general knowledge.
Apparently, the hard study that results in better grades does not result in significant real-world knowledge, but reading popular literature and magazines does.
References Krashen, S. (2004). The Power of Reading. Libraries Unlimited. Krashen, S., and McQuillan, J. (2022). “The Case for Acquired Phonics.” Language Magazine, 22, 2, 19–22. Stanovich, K., and Cunningham, A. (1993). “Where Does Knowledge Come From? Specific associations between print exposure and information acquisition.” Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 2, 211–229. Wexler, N. (2023). “Dramatic New Evidence That Building Knowledge Can Boost Comprehension and Close Gaps.” Forbes. www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2023/04/09/dramatic-new-evidence-thatbuilding-knowledge-can-boost-comprehension-and-closegaps/?sh=2395e3617725
Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus, University of Southern California. He is active in language acquisition, bilingual education, literacy, and heritage language development and has published over 500 professional papers and books, many of which are available for free download at www.sdkrashen.com. Most important, he was the 1978 incline bench press champion of Venice Beach, CA, and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
In a constitutional change, Mali, the eighth-largest country in Africa, has dropped French—its official language since 1960.
The new constitution is reported as having an overwhelming majority vote at 96.91% , in the June 18 referendum, demoting French and removing its official status. French will still remain in use as a working language, but it will be replaced by 13 indigenous languages (Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Hassaniya, Kassonke, Maninke, Minyanka, Senufo, Songhay, Soninke, and Tamasheq), all of which will receive official language status.
Mali has approximately 80 languages spoken across the country, of which a few including: Bambara, Bobo, Dogon, and Minianka, were granted national language status under a 1982 language bill.
The significant shift in the language policy of Mali was implemented as part of a larger referendum in the country, with the intention of creating the landlocked country’s Fourth Republic.
Two military coups in 2020 and 2021 led to the dissolution of the government and military rule. Following the forced resignation of President Keïta in August 2022 , political tensions between France and Mali rose, resulting in the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie suspending Mali’s membership.
In 2022, the Malian military junta accused France of espionage and supplying arms to terrorists after their military withdrawal from the country.
The strained relationship between the two countries has ultimately led to a rejection of French language and culture, amid wider anti-French sentiment across West and Central Africa, which has experienced eight coups 2020, dramatically deteriorating ties with France and other western powers.
The military junta had initially promised to hold elections in February 2022 but later announced they were being delayed until 2024.
Last month in Pretoria, South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa made sign language the 12th official language during an official ceremony at the Union Buildings.
The move came after the National Assembly approved a request to amend Section 6 of the Constitution to include South African Sign Language (SASL), in May. The official amendment aims to promote the rights of people who are deaf and hard of hearing and states it will:
Advance the cultural acceptance of SASL.
Ensure the realization of the rights of people who are deaf and hard of hearing to equal protection and benefit of the law and human dignity.
Promote inclusive and substantive equality and prevent or eliminate unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability, as guaranteed by Section 9 of the Constitution
This makes South Africa the fourth African country to recognize sign language as an official language, after Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.
Dr Claudine Storbeck of the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of Witwatersrand said the constitutional recognition of sign language had been campaigned for in South Africa for the last 25 years.
Although this is a significant move, the deaf and hard of hearing community in South Africa is still campaigning for changes in education law, including increases in the extent of study for SASL teachers.
A statement by the government noted SASL’s status as an indigenous language:”South African Sign Language is an indigenous language that constitutes an important element of South African linguistic and cultural heritage”
The statement adds “It has its own distinct grammatical structures and lexicon, and it is independent of any other language.”
To announce the news, President Ramaphosa was joined by prominent members of the deaf community, as well as students from local schools for the deaf and hard of hearing.
He described the event as an historic moment in the history of South African democracy and apologized for the time it had taken to make this change happen.
“This is just the beginning. Much more work still needs to be done to support the language.
“We’re going to ensure proper implementation. It should not only end up with interpretation, but it should filter into other aspects that affect the lives [of those who are deaf].”
A new study by Swedish language researchers has suggested a marked negative impact on students in higher education when taught in English, if they are non-native speakers of the language.
The research carried out by KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Chalmers University of Technology, highlighted more severe drop-out rates and lower grades within non-native English speakers in a test group of over 2000 Swedish students.
The students were randomly separated into two groups for English-language and Swedish-language versions of an introductory course in programming. The students who were taught in English obtained dramatically lower results, and more dropped out of the course prematurely.
“Our study is unusual in this field since the groups were assigned on a completely random basis. This means that the only influencing factor was the language of instruction, and we were surprised by the results,” said Hans Malmström, professor at the Department of Communication and Learning in Science at Chalmers University of Technology, and one of the study’s researchers.
The 2,263 students were observed through the fully digital and self-paced course, with their performance measured on the number of correctly answered exam questions, and on how many students left the course before completion.
When examining the results, the researchers compared the number of questions answered correctly in the two versions of the course. They found that those who studied in Swedish gave an average of 73% more correct answers than those who studied in English.
It was also noted that 25% more students dropped out of the English-language version of the course.
Viggo Kann, professor of Computer Science at KTH Royal Institute of Technology said “Someone who drops out is not likely to have learnt as much as someone who completes the course. So, in this respect too we see that English as the language of instruction can lead to poorer learning outcomes.”
English Medium Instruction (EMI) is more frequently being used within education globally, and Scandinavia has long-relied on English as an educational tool within university and high school institutions. As reported by the Language Council of Sweden in 2022, a crucial starting point for EMI is that the language of instruction must not hinder students’ learning quality. The widely regarded aim is that a student taking a course in English should learn just as effectively as a student studying in their native language.
The study is now being viewed as a critical piece of research highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of higher education instruction in English.
“It is important to remember that a single study should not be used as the basis for a radical overhaul of the language or teaching policy in higher education, neither at local nor national level. However, we believe the results from this research can contribute to a more informed discussion about the consequences of using English as the language of instruction,” says researcher Hans Malmström.
Last month in Taipei, more than 20,000 applicants took Taiwan’s Hokkien Language Proficiency Exam, the highest number of candidates since Taiwan’s Ministry of Education began offering the test.
The Ministry reported that it began expanding the Hokkien language testing system at the start of 2023, and the most recent test was the second of the year. The first exam in March saw 16,000 entrants, while 20,044 people took the test on August 5.
Hokkien, a variety of Southern Min Chinese, is one of the national languages of Taiwan. Commonly known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Taiyu, it is spoken by approximately 70% of the population.
According to Ministry figures, the test’s age range has always been wide but the majority is made up by school and university students. This year however, the youngest applicant was 4 and the oldest was 82.
The Hokkien Language Proficiency Test is currently the only standardized Chinese language test other than Mandarin outside mainland China. It presents as a speaking test in four parts, including reading, sentence making, writing a passage and speaking on a selected topic. All dialects of Hokkien are welcome.
In addition to Taiwanese nationals, the ministry said entrants from Japan, the UK, Malaysia, and Singapore have sat the exam.
In 2022, the Taiwanese government launched a language development plan with hopes to address the falling number of Taiwanese Hokkien speakers, in addition to a decline in Taiwanese Hakka – a group of languages in the Sino-Tibetan group. Indigenous languages, and other Chinese dialects used in Taiwan are also included in the plan, with several measures to enhance education, increase public awareness around language loss and revitalization, and to boost participation in language certification programs.
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