Despite an immediate drop in registrations after the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel, demand for online Arabic learning programs in the country has more than doubled in the last six months.
“After the initial shock of a few days, we saw double and triple the number of new students,” Gilad Sevitt, founder of Madrasa, a free online platform for Israelis to learn Arabic, told the Times of Israel.
“Before October 7, we had 50 Israelis every day registering to learn on the website, which is a lot. But there was a huge leap after, it was amazing to see,” he said.
Last summer, the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an article titled “The Most Political Act for Jews in Israel Is to Learn Arabic,” which sparked heated debate, so the uptick in online Arabic learning is not without controversy.
This growing interest in speaking and understanding Arabic shows that “the diverse motivations in learning Arabic became intensified” because of the war, Sevitt said.
These motivations are varied, he said, noting that he has access to real-time data on users’ reasons for deciding to learn Arabic because they fill out a questionnaire when signing up to the website.
“Fear became very central,” he admitted, but added that many want to learn “because we have to start communicating better with the Arabic world, with Arab Israelis and Palestinians, or the 24 Arabic-speaking countries around us.”
A “return to their roots” for Jewish Israelis whose family origins lie in Arabic-speaking countries is also a central motivation for many, he said. “The Arabic language and culture, for the Jews, was set aside. We had to differentiate ourselves to create the ‘new Israeli.’”
Many people who had thought about learning Arabic before October 7 suddenly said, “now’s the time,” he added.
According to the founders of another popular online platform for learning the language, Fanan Ledaber Aravit (Fun to Speak Arabic), a military background can actually increase awareness of the place Arabic can play in Israeli society.
Fanan, which is slang for “enjoyment” or “chilling,” was started in 2020 by a group who had served together in intelligence and, as a result of their experiences, collectively felt it was important for more Israelis to be able to understand Arabic.
Looking at the Arabic language “from a military or scholarly perspective only,” as the Israeli education system has traditionally done, “is a mistake,” said one of the founders.
“Learning a language also changes how you think and how you see the people who speak it. It’s not only a tool for knowing your enemy,” Sevitt concluded.
Have you ever heard that children get confused when learning two languages? Sadly, many Latinos have heard this misconception, even though research shows the opposite.
Dual language learners are children who are learning two (or more) languages at the same time or are learning a second language while continuing to develop their home language. One in three children under five years old in the US is a dual language learner, building the foundation for bilingualism and all its lifelong benefits from birth. Yet widespread misinformation about multilingual development continues putting these children’s futures at risk.
Extensive scientific evidence, reviewed by the National Academies of Sciences, confirms babies are linguistic geniuses, equipped with the neurological capacity to acquire multiple languages effortlessly before they can even walk or talk. Newborns can differentiate the distinct sound systems of the languages their mothers spoke during pregnancy from other languages. Bilingualism does not cause language delays; in fact, bilingual children often achieve the same or greater language proficiency as their monolingual peers. This holds true even for children with developmental delays, who can benefit socially from bilingualism. Suppressing a child’s home language is unnecessary to achieve proficiency in English and can harm their emotional well-being. Instead, supporting bilingualism can enhance proficiency in both languages, leading to better academic outcomes. The lifelong cognitive, social, and cultural benefits of bilingualism are well documented, making it a valuable asset for any child.
However, an insidious myth persists that young children become “confused” when exposed to two languages, setting millions on a path of subtractive instead of additive bilingualism. In a recent UnidosUS survey, a stunning 38% of Latino parents whose children under nine years old received speech therapy reported being urged by providers to stop or reduce speaking Spanish to their children. This data confirmed the experiences that Latino parents shared with UnidosUS in focus groups. This type of language suppression not only is contradicted by all updated scientific evidence but also can undermine healthy identity formation and family relationships.
At UnidosUS, we are empowering Latino families with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their children’s linguistic potential. Our new Parent Self-Advocacy: Supporting Intentional Responses to Misinformation about Early Bilingualism resource not only outlines the overwhelming proof of babies’ vast multilingual capacity but also provides tools to confidently confront pernicious myths like the idea that learning two languages causes confusion.1 We stand with the 90% of Latino families that have expressed their desire to raise bilingual children in the National Latino Family Survey, 2 validating their aspirations and arming them with the means to advocate for their children’s futures.
When language diversity is embraced instead of suppressed, the societal benefits are invaluable. That’s why UnidosUS supports investing $1 billion to increase bilingual learning slots in Early Head Start and Head Start and $50 million to support providers in transitioning toward research-backed dual language models. Our comprehensive charts investments to grow a skilled bilingual educator workforce, valid assessments in multiple languages, and holistic family engagement. At our Education Summit in June, UnidosUS will dive deep into the latest strategies, research, and policies needed to support dual language development.
3 Emerging bilinguals represent a critical opportunity to cultivate a multilingual workforce prepared to lead in our diverse society and global economy.
By aligning policies and systems with the science of how children actually learn languages, we can unleash the infinite capabilities embedded in our culturally and linguistically diverse population from the early years. The future success of our nation depends on boldly embracing our multilingual potential, starting at birth. Our time to ensure equity is now.
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute of Leadership, Equity, and Justice has released its latest report, “Reframing College: Mexican American Students, Higher Education, and Family Restorative Justice,” examining the impact of an early college program in San Luis, Arizona, that prepares Mexican American first-generation college-going students for success in postsecondary education by reshaping their perspectives through family engagement and validation of Latinx scholarly identity. This report is part of a three-report research series focused on equity.
The report emphasizes the significance of early college access and advanced learning opportunities for students of color, particularly those who are Latinx. Family engagement facilitated by equity-minded staff members served as a key component in preparing the study participants for college.
According to the author, Cynthia Trejo of the University of Arizona, “Writing this report showcases how dedicated equity-minded educators can prepare and empower students when they see them and their families as assets and college-bound.”
Cynthia added, “This research underscores the potential impact when every student is recognized for their potential and provided with the resources and encouragement needed to succeed in advanced learning pathways.”
“This report highlights how critical it is for Latinx students to have access to resources and experiences that support their pursuit of higher education,” said Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University. “Having teachers, counselors, and family members actively involved in students’ futures will pave the way for future generations.”
According to the report, family restorative justice is used as motivation for students through their educational journey. Through an understanding of the sacrifices their family members made for them, a culture of respect is fostered and students are motivated to work harder to attain a college education.
Further, the study reveals that students worked to reframe their perspective on higher education by remembering the significance of the degree regardless of life’s challenges. The San Luis scholars’ remedy was surrounding themselves with peers and social groups who validated their ethnic identity. Additionally, college held significant weight for the scholars due to its role in cultural perpetuity. Having earned a degree as a first-generation student was a milestone to be shared with future generations.
The report also provides recommendations for schools and educators and for Latinx college students. Recommendations for schools include implementing programs and experiences that expand network and mentoring opportunities, examine biases, and engage family members. Recommendations for students include seeking social support and understanding that college can support meaningful work and a form of professional activism to contribute to their community.
In April, America’s Languages Caucus was relaunched with the addition of new House co-chair Representative Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia 2). First-term congresswoman Kiggans, who joined Jimmy Panetta (D-California 20) in this important leadership role, brings her Japanese experience to the position. Prior to being winged as a naval aviator in 1995, Kiggans taught English for a year as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. During this time, she developed a strong admiration for the Japanese people, their language, and their culture. Later on, Kiggans lived at Naval Air Facility Atsugi as a military spouse for three years while her husband was deployed in Japan, but her fascination with the country, its language, and its culture goes back to high school, when she studied in Japan on the Youth for Understanding student exchange program.
Kiggans’s district includes the Virginia Beach Public School System, which is home to an innovative world language program and the recipient of two multiyear World Language Advancement and Readiness Program (WLARP) grants.
“As someone who taught English in Japan as a part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program and later lived there as a Navy spouse, I have a deep understanding and great appreciation for the critical role language education plays in the lives of countless Americans and [for] our friends across the globe,” Kiggans told the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL). “I am excited to work alongside my colleague Congressman Panetta to advocate for legislation that will help American students learn additional languages and allow them to thrive in our increasingly connected world.”
The America’s Languages Caucus was established in 2019 by Representative Price (D-North Carolina 4) and Representative Young (R-Alaska) as a bipartisan effort to support and enhance foreign language competence and international education among students and professionals across the US. In 2021, the caucus became bicameral with the addition of Senate co-chairs Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia). The bipartisan, bicameral caucus is currently made up of 24 members of Congress.
Congress Cuts Language Flagship Funding Due to a “congressional change in funding,” the US Department of Defense is withdrawing financing for more than a third of the 31 language flagship programs it had supported at 23 universities nationwide.
“The decision by the National Security Education Program under the US Department of Defense to terminate funding for the [University of Oregon’s] Chinese Flagship in 2024 was shocking, given the national strategic security interest in promoting professional-level language proficiency in languages like Chinese and Korean,” Zhuo Jing-Schmidt, director of the Chinese Flagship Program at the University of Oregon, told InsideHigherEd. com. Grants for 13 flagship programs were not renewed for the 2024–28 cycle, comprising five of the 13 Chinese programs, four Russian, three Arabic, and one Portuguese. One new program was approved— Portuguese at the University of Arizona— so only 19 out of 31 will be open next academic year.
Amanda Seewald, executive director of the Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS), made the point that “Congress needs to see this as a priority and the funding for the programs should be set in a solidified way that can best serve our nation.
It is a statement of our national values of diplomacy and national security and the impact of language education on our ability to address global issues.”
Educator collaboration is an essential component of dual language education across all program models. By design, many dual language programs are based on a partnership between and among two or more educators who come to the practice with language, [multi]literacy, content expertise, and cultural knowledge and skills in their respective languages and combine their fortes through regular collaboration and co-planning. At other times, dual language teachers forge additional partnerships and collaborate with English Language Development (ELD) teachers who may provide additional language instruction, or special educators (such as Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy providers, speech-language pathologists, and other support personnel), who may offer in-class support to ensure that students’ complex academic, linguistic, sociocultural, and social-emotional needs are met. Given the diversity and momentum of growth within dual language programs, we’re urgently called to make collaborative partnerships a top priority of practice.
Why Collaborate in Dual Language Programs?
Dual language educators are in a critical position to support Pre-K-12 dual language learners’ multilingual development while simultaneously offering instruction that builds racial and ethnic identities, empowers home languages and cultural heritages, and debunks patterns of marginalization and minoritization. Given the many complexities of dual language schools’ programmatic formats and the communities where they are situated, dual language educators (teachers, paraprofessionals, instructional assistants, coaches, and leaders) now more than ever are well-positioned to collaborate in strategic ways within the context of the classroom, the school, the district, and the larger neighborhood community. This article offers some insights on how to tear down silos and dismantle segregated learning experiences for multilingual learners. We believe in and strongly advocate for educators forging partnerships and all members of the school community collaborating for the sake of their multilingual learners. Simply stated, everyone benefits from collaboration.
How do We Know it Works?
It is well-established in the professional literature and well-documented in evidence-based practitioner accounts that the intentional implementation of the collaborative instructional cycle consisting of collaborative planning, instruction, assessment and reflection yields impactful teaching and learning experiences (Lachance & Honigsfeld, 2023). While coteaching is not always feasible, educators may be engaged in co-planning, co-assessing and co-reflecting. In configurations that do include co-delivery of instruction either via coteaching or partnership teaching, co-planning, co-assessing and co-reflecting are essential pre- and co-requisites (see Figure 1)
Figure 1. The Collaborative Instructional Cycle
Adapted from Honigsfeld & Dove, 2019
Applying The Collaborative Instructional Cycle to the Dual Language Classroom
For teaching pairs, trios, or quads who are either co-teaching or partnership teaching, and collaborative teams who devise and implement instruction for dual language learners, we recommend that all members develop a clear plan of action based on the collaborative instructional cycle—co-planning, co-teaching or partnership teaching, co-assessment, and co-reflection.
Co-Planning
Co-planning is an essential activity; it provides teachers the opportunity to set general learning goals for students based on educational standards, to maintain continuity of instruction, to integrate curricula that include partner language and content objectives, to dialogue and discuss effective ways to leverage students’ home language and cultural assets within instruction and assessment processes, and to co-create authentic multilingual, multidimensional materials that give all students access to content while developing both their basic and disciplinary multiliteracies. Without co-planning, there is no co-teaching or partnership teaching, the second element in the integrated instructional cycle. On the flip side, teachers do not have to co-deliver instruction and still can and should engage in co-planning.
Collaborative planning for strategic use of translanguaging in lessons is a beneficial example of collaboration that ensures the creation of a classroom that is a safe and supportive space where students’ multilingual talents are used authentically, regularly, and with purpose. With these practices like these we can also ensure equitable use of both program languages rather than any greater emphasis given to the majority language with English-dominant learners. Some educators might perceive translanguaging pedagogy as the sole responsibility of the bilingual educator, especially in classrooms that are serving emergent bilingual students with different abilities. Our stance is more focused on collaboration between all educators of MLs.
Built on the four pillars of dual language education, we invite you to use a four-dimensional collaborative planning framework (see Figure 2). When all four dimensions noted are considered together, collaborative planning maximizes teacher effectiveness and meaningful impacts on students’ language acquisition and biliteracy learning in both languages. In addition, students’ grade-appropriate core content knowledge and skills develop along with sociocultural understanding and critical consciousness. Collaboration is vitally important whether the team includes dual language partnering teachers or additional service providers such as special educators with or without the opportunity to co-deliver instruction. As such, collaborative planning upholds multilingual practices brought to life in the dual language classroom.
Figure 2
Integrated Focus on Planning for Dual Language Teaching
Focus
Key Questions
Planning Notes
Language Expectations and Opportunities for Bilingualism and Biliteracy
What language learning standards do we target?
What academic language—general and subject-specific—are embedded in the target content in both languages?
What opportunities do our students have to practice the four key language uses (narrate, inform, argue, explain) across both their languages?
Academic Content Development
What content standards do we target and assess?
What scaffolds are needed to support comprehension of content and language through interpretive modes of communication (listening, reading, viewing)?
What scaffolds are needed to support application of content and language through expressive modes of communication (speaking, writing, visually representing)?
Cultural Competence
What materials can help students develop cross-cultural competence?
What learning tasks and activities can students engage in to demonstrate cross-cultural competence?
Critical Consciousness
How have we ensured that both program languages are given equitable attention?
What aspect(s) of critical consciousness have we woven into the lesson content and/or materials?
What opportunities have we planned for our minoritized dual language learners to serve in linguistic leadership roles?
Adapted from Lachance and Honigsfeld, 2023
Co-Delivering Instruction
Co-delivering instruction takes on various forms and involves a range of educators in the dual language context. Co-delivery requires coordinated purpose, equal teaching partnerships, and shared responsibilities for a class community of learners who are not separated for instruction by their labels. Rather, co-delivery involves the thoughtful grouping of students for learning, clear and shared agreements regarding one’s roles and responsibilities during the co-taught lesson, and the coordination of teaching efforts. Co-delivery also invites challenges teachers to remain flexible, to be open to new ideas, and to trust one another to problem-solve together.
Depending on the program model implemented in schools, we differentiate between two major approaches to collaborative instructional delivery in the dual language context: partnership teaching and co-teaching. There are many unique similarities and difference between these two main approaches to co-instruction, but let’s start with some straightforward, simple definitions:
Partnership teaching happens when two teachers systematically align their instruction, work with the same group of students, but do not (or rarely) co-deliver instruction in the same physical setting.
Co-teaching takes place when two teachers physically share the classroom space, responsibility for all students through integrated instructional practices.
Partnership teaching and co-teaching partnerships may also include ELD (English Language Development) teachers, special educators, literacy or math intervention providers, and other educators, such as paraprofessionals or instructional aides (also referred to as paraprofessionals, or teaching assistants). Two-way programs are frequently designed to rely on two teachers collaborating and coordinating instruction for two groups of students. Do you recognize any of these basic configurations for partnership teaching? How do they compare to your context?
Scenario 1:
Group 1/Class 1 begins the day with Teacher 1 in Language 1
Group 2/Class 2 begins the day with Teacher 2 in Language 2
Halfway through the day, the two groups are swapped:
Group 1/Class 1 finishes the day with Teacher 2 in Language 2
Group 2/Class 2 finishes the day with Teacher 1 in Language 1
Scenario 2:
Group 1/Class 1 spends an entire day with Teacher 1 in Language 1
Group 2/Class 2 spends an entire day with Teacher 2 in Language 2
The groups and teachers switch every day
Scenario 3:
Group 1/Class 1 spends an entire week with Teacher 1 in Language 1
Group 2/Class 2 spends an entire week with Teacher 2 in Language 2
The groups and teachers switch every week
[End textbox here]
Co-Assessment
Co-assessment provides teaching partners with opportunities to consider their students’ individual strengths and needs by reviewing available student assessment data to establish shared instructional goals and objectives. Collaborative assessment practices allow teachers to decide the need to further build students’ background knowledge or the requisite for re-teaching and review in either or both partner languages. Although the analysis of standardized assessment scores provides some information, for teaching teams to establish pertinent learning objectives, we urge the examination of additional data such as local school assessments in both partner languages, unit tests in both partner languages, bilingual project-based outcomes, bilingual writing samples, learning summaries, bilingual journal writing, student observations, and other formal and informal evaluations. Comprehensive data collection and analysis reveal a more holistic picture of students’ progressions to then determine individual student needs which may be used more effectively for dual language linguistic, instructional, and programmatic bridging, planning follow-up, and continued instruction for biliteracy.
Co-reflecting
Co-reflecting on educational practices has many aspects, and it frequently sets the parameters for the next collaborative instructional cycle. Reflection provides insight into whether strategies and resources used during lessons are affecting student learning and can be particularly useful when teaching teams want to hone their collaborative skills. Successful teaching partners often reflect on both their challenges and successes to refine instruction. As we transform our collaborative practices in dual language education to be truly multidimensional, we must also shift our actions to increase our collaborative reflections. Biliteracy development is based on the intertwining of both languages, a process we all agree to describe as deeply complex. Stephen Brookfield (2017) suggests that we view what we do and how we form assumptions about the teaching-learning process that takes place in our classrooms through four different lenses. We’ve adapted them for the dual language context:
The students’ eyes: What are the students seeing and experiencing as they assess their own and each other’s multilingual/multiliteracies development?
Our colleagues’ perceptions: What are our colleagues seeing and experiencing within the collaborative assessment processes that are reflective of sociocultural competencies?
Our own personal experiences: What have we experienced in the past that is similar or different than our MLs’? What connections can I make my own sense of critical consciousness?
Relevant theory and research: What do related educational theory and research have to say about these experiences as they align with all four pillars of dual language education?
We recognize that collaborative educators dedicate significant time and resources to the three aspects of the collaborative cycle: co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing. We take the stance that co-reflection is a must-have, a critical aspect of the cycle whereby experiences provide empowering motivators to consistently renew the full instructional cycle.
What’s Next?
We remain steadfast to continue our efforts for breaking down the monolingual wall and, we advocate for dual language educators to collaborate with national- and state-level policymakers, community and school leaders, immigrant students and families, and others seeking multilingual schooling for integrated collaborative instruction. Dual language programs and instructional practices must be based on based on the equity principle that multilingual learners avoid isolation from their English-speaking peers for biliteracy development. For students to have a welcomed sense of belonging and thrive academically, they need to be taught by subject-specific experts, that is the dual language content and grade-level teachers who are committed to promoting biliteracy development along with developing MLs’ English-language skills. Therefore, strategic multilingual collaboration practices between dual language teachers and ELD specialists ensure instruction is provided by language-development professionals for students to learn the core curriculum in both program languages. A conclusive representation of what we embrace and honor for success may be demonstrated through the words of Margarita Calderón and her colleagues as they claim, “the success of dual language programs depends on collaboration between teachers, administrators, and students. In a dual language school, teachers are well-prepared to co-teach and students to co-learn” (p. 163). Thus, collaboration is perceived to be the norm, simply stated, a solid necessity for breaking down the monolingual wall.
References
Brookfield, S. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Calderón, M., Espino, G., & Slakk, S. (2019). Integrating language, reading, writing, and content in English and Spanish. Velázquez Press.
Honigsfeld, A., & Dove, M. G. (2019). Collaborating for English learners: A foundational guide to integrated practices. Corwin.
Lachance, J., & Honigsfeld, A. (2023). Collaboration and co-teaching for dual language learners: Transforming programs for multilingualism and equity. Corwin.
Andrea Honigsfeld is a TESOL professor at Molloy University, NY, author/consultant, and sought-after international speaker, whose work primarily focuses on teacher collaboration in support of multilingual learners. She is the co-author/co-editor of over 30 books, eleven of them bestsellers.
Contrary to some expectations, the global reaction to U.S. student protests against the war in Gaza has been largely positive with student groups in the Mexico, UK, and France even creating “solidarity encampments” to support the movement.
At Mexico City’s UNAM, the country’s largest college, students erected several tents in front of the university’s administration buildings in solidarity against Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Mexican geography student Alexa Carranza told National Public Radio (NPR) that she was “heartened by the U.S. college protests, particularly since she had long considered U.S. students to be apathetic about global injustice. Mexican students were demanding their government should entirely sever its diplomatic relations with Israel.
Ana Jiménez, an 18-year-old UNAM student who grew up in Guerrero, a region plagued by drug cartel conflict can relate to the Gaza conflict. “We need global solidarity, an empathetic world,” she told NPR. “When you’re young, there is no other choice but to be a revolutionary.”
UK students have been campaigning to end British arms exports to Israel with protests at government and arms manufacturers’ offices. At Warwick University in central England, students and staff built an encampment on a central campus square and demanded that the university sever relations with companies supplying arms to Israel.
Warwick has academic and research partnerships with companies involved in the production of weapons systems or components used in weapons, including Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Moog.
Elite French school Sciences Po, alma mater of many French politicians, has been the scene of major protests. Despite students’ specific demands, Sciences Po’s leadership says it will not cut ties nor investigate its connections with four Israeli universities. Police were called in to help disperse protestors at Sciences Po’s campus and at the famous Sorbonne.
The number of international students in the UK should be capped and the graduate visa should be abolished immediately, according to a new report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), an influential right-wing thinktank.
The report, Taking Back Control, billed as a comprehensive survey of the UK’s immigration system, also says that universities where “there is evidence of sustained abuse” should also be prevented from being able to sponsor student visas at all, says, which adds that the London-based satellite campuses of “provincial” universities should be subjected to particular scrutiny as they are said to offer master’s courses “of dubious quality”.
The report was co-authored by Conservative MP Neil O’Brien, who has become one of the biggest critics of the UK’s post-study work options. Scrapping the visa outright is therefore a central recommendation of the report.
Universities should also be held “accountable for their international students”, the report recommends, and “where there is evidence of sustained abuse”, which could include very high dropout rates, low attendance, and a drop in academic standards, “they should be struck off the list of licensed study visa sponsors.”
“We should focus initially on reviewing the 18 satellite campuses of non-London universities in London, which are geared towards international students on master’s courses of dubious quality”, it says.
These universities should “reorient towards educating and training the local or regional population, rather than trying to educate the rest of the world”, the report adds.
The survey recommends that the “arbitrary” target of attracting 600,000 international students a year be “substantially revised” to “focus on quality over quantity.”
“Student immigration is popular because the public believes in attracting the best and brightest students from across the globe, allowing them to study at Britain’s world-class universities, and then return home,” said Karl Williams, the thinktank’s research director and report co-author.
“Unfortunately, the reality is the routes are being abused – often the courses foreign students enroll on are low quality, dropout rates are high, and many students end up staying for the long term after their studies, often in low paid work.
“The reforms we outline will put parliament in control of the overall number of study visas issued, rather than effectively leaving it up to the universities. They will also reduce the potential for abuse – ensuring those who come to Britain on study visas are genuinely here to study, and not as a backdoor to full-time work.”
Career and technical education (CTE) courses and programs offer opportunities for multilingual learners (MLs) to meet their educational and career goals. State education agencies and school districts are required to provide MLs equal opportunities to participate in all available programs and activities, including CTE programs (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, & U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 2015). Equitable access to these programs is not only a right, but a promising pathway for preparing MLs for postsecondary education and careers.
CTE courses and programs prepare students for the workforce in a wide variety of industries and occupations such as architecture and construction, education and training, finance, hospitality and tourism, and information technology (ACTE, 2022). Secondary students that successfully complete CTE coursework can earn industry certifications and licenses which support them with transitioning into postsecondary education and careers. In this article I will define what ML representation looks like in secondary CTE programs, explain why CTE is an important option for MLs, explore barriers and potential solutions for ML participation and success in CTE programs, and offer ideas for next steps in this work.
What does ML representation look like in CTE?
MLs are all students whose parents or guardians report speaking one or more language(s) other than or in addition to English at home. MLs may or may not qualify for English Language Development (ELD) services based on their most current English language proficiency (ELP) scores (Snyder et al., 2023), but for the purposes of this article, I am specifically focusing on MLs that do qualify for ELD services. At the secondary level, as of 2020, MLs that qualify for ELD services account for 6.78% of the public-school high school population. They represent 7.7% of 9th graders, 7.4% of 10th, 6.4% of 11th, and 5.6% of 12th graders (National Education Statistics, 2023). These numbers are significant as we explore MLs’ equitable access to CTE programs.
During the 2019-20 school year, MLs students across the country participated in high school CTE programs at roughly the same percentage rate as their share of the high school population in their state (Sugarman, 2023). For example, in North Carolina, MLs students make up 5.1% of total enrollment in high school and 5.3% of CTE participants in high school. While these findings are certainly encouraging, the data does not disaggregate based on different ML groups, such as by ELP level. It is important for schools and districts to analyze their own data on ML participation in CTE programs and to use that information as a springboard for further investigation to identify possible issues around access for MLs. For instance, upon investigation, a district may find that MLs that have recently arrived in the U.S. and are at the beginning stages of English language proficiency are underrepresented in their CTE programs due to limited outreach conducted in ML families’ home languages about the CTE programs available, or CTE program entrance requirements that make it challenging for these students to take part. This finding could then prompt the district to develop targeted outreach to this group of MLs through collaboration between ELD teachers and family liaisons.
Why is CTE an important option for MLs?
In April 2022, the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) released an infographic on preparing MLs for postsecondary education and careers through CTE. The infographic highlights many of the benefits of CTE for MLs, including higher rates of high school graduation, college attendance, and employment for CTE concentrators versus non-CTE concentrators. It also notes that CTE programs open doors to careers in high-demand occupations that have elevated growth and earning potential in fields such as technology, engineering, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
Additionally, CTE programs include a hands-on approach to learning that tends to be concrete and provides immediate relevance for MLs. Many CTE classrooms provide regular opportunities for productive talk in which students are working together to solve a problem or create something, making these classrooms an ideal place to learn and practice language. These features of CTE classrooms can have a positive impact on language acquisition and should be intentionally supported and planned for.
It is critical that districts and schools work to ensure equitable ML representation in CTE programs and to promote high-quality educational experiences for the MLs enrolled in these programs. Our current workforce demands diverse, multilingual candidates and MLs are uniquely equipped with these skills. CTE programs are one way for MLs to leverage these skills to be competitive in today’s workforce. When MLs are intentionally included in secondary CTE programs, they can have the opportunity to succeed in whichever path they choose. However, when educators are not intentional about including MLs in CTE programs or don’t support their equitable access to CTE content through research-based instructional strategies, they may inadvertently do MLs a disservice.
PULLQUOTE:
When MLs are intentionally included in secondary CTE programs, they can have the opportunity to succeed in whichever path they choose.
END
What barriers exist for ML access to and engagement in CTE programs?
While CTE programs offer many benefits for MLs, it is important to acknowledge that barriers do exist. The first layer of barriers that some MLs face is access to CTE programs. Students and families may not be aware of the opportunities to engage in CTE programs within their school or district due to limited multilingual outreach. Schools or districts may also have specific rules for enrollment into a CTE program, such as a minimum grade point average or a prerequisite academic class, which could lead to MLs being disproportionately kept out of CTE programs (Sugarman, 2023). Issues with scheduling CTE coursework into MLs’ course of study may prevent students from being able to fully access CTE opportunities in their school. Schools often find this especially difficult for newcomer MLs who may have a number of core academic courses that have to complete in order to accumulate all the credits needed to graduate (Sugarman, 2023). Additionally, transportation and program fees can become an issue for students. For instance, some CTE programs or classes may be held at a different location than a students’ home school or there may be participants or industry certification fees associated with the program. Beyond access to programs, challenges around educator preparedness and appropriate instruction may exist. CTE teachers may not have specialized pedagogical training in working with MLs. Without training in best practices, instruction will not likely be scaffolded to meet the strengths and needs of MLs.
How can schools and districts support ML participation and success in CTE programs?
While barriers exist for MLs’ access to and engagement in CTE programs, there are several strategies schools and districts can take to support MLs students’ participation and success in these programs.
ML recruitment and retention efforts are necessary for MLs to successfully engage in CTE programs. Schools and districts can utilize trusted staff, like ELD teachers, counselors, and family liaisons to encourage participation and support the application process for ML students and families. They can also share information about the benefits and address any concerns or misconceptions families may have about the programs (Advance CTE & ACTE, 2024; Najarro, 2023; Gregoire-Smith, 2022). Multilingual outreach should be intentional and align to the needs of students and families, including written materials, phone calls, and social media posts. Schools and districts can also elevate the voices of current ML CTE students with site visits to encourage MLs entering high school to participate. For example, MLs could shadow current ML CTE students during their classes, or ML CTE students could present their experience in CTE and talk about the benefits of the program. To retain MLs in CTE programs, schools can find creative ways to include flexible learning opportunities such as offering early morning or evening classes, creating summer school options, and providing work-based learning credit for jobs students already have (Najarro, 2023; Sugarman, 2023).
Educator preparedness can greatly impact MLs experience and success within a CTE program.To ensure educators are prepared to meet the strengths and needs of the MLs in their courses, professional learning should focus on implementing research-based best practice in instruction and curriculum for MLs (Advance CTE, 2022). Such strategies include the use of peer learning opportunities, explicit vocabulary development, individualized writing support, academic language mini-lessons, and exam preparation using multiple modalities (Gregoire-Smith, 2023a, 2023b). ELD teachers can support this learning through coaching, co-teaching, curriculum writing, and delivering professional development (Advance CTE & ACTE, 2024; Office of the English Language Acquisition & U.S. Department of Education, 2022). The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) identifies MLs as a “special population” under the law and allows funds to be used to hire, recruit, and train teachers. It specifically calls for professional learning “to give educators of students who are English learners [MLs] in career and technical education programs or programs of study the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those students, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments” (p. 12 – 13).
Collaboration across departmentsand offices has the potential to greatly impact MLs access to and success in CTE programs. ELD departments cannot be solely responsible for the serving MLs, it must be a collaborative effort. When departments collaborate, there are opportunities to join forces in providing equitable access to CTE for MLs. For example, the CTE and ELD departments can come together to evaluate their current policies and practices related to MLs and CTE, identify areas of strength and need, and develop plans to address issues they unsurfaced. Additionally, collaboration efforts can be used to plan for and fund both teachers and professional learning. In fact, Title III of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) explicitly allows funding to provide CTE to MLs (Sugarman, 2023). In their 2022 brief around supporting MLs in CTE, Advance CTE and ACTE call for “federal policy braiding” in which leaders leverage federal funding from Perkins V and ESSA Title III to improve CTE for MLs.
What are our next steps in moving this work forward?
School and district leaders are in a powerful position to ensure CTE is leveraged in their context to support MLs in achieving their educational and career goals. Begin by collaboratively reviewing your context using the following guiding questions.
ML Representation: Is the percentage of MLs in your CTE program smaller than, about the same as, or greater than the percentage of MLs at the school? Do discrepancies exist based on ELP levels? If you don’t know, how might you find out?
Opportunities and Barriers: Do any barriers exist for MLs entering CTE programs in your school or district (e.g., scheduling, proficiency level requirements, or prerequisites)? If so, what are those barriers and how might they be removed?
Recruiting and Retaining MLs in CTE Programs: What strategies does your school or district use to recruit (e.g., multilingual outreach, trusted staff, site visits) and retain (e.g., flexible learning opportunities, work-based learning credit) MLs in CTE programs?
Educator Preparedness: What experience and training related to working with MLs do CTE educators in your context have? Are there opportunities for professional learning related to supporting MLs?
Collaboration Across Departments: To what extent does collaboration across departments in support of MLs exist in your context? How might you work to increase collaboration in support of MLs access to and participation in CTE programs?
Secondary CTE programs offer exciting opportunities for MLs to achieve their personal education and career goals. And it is imperative that schools and districts take the time to leverage CTE as an opportunity for MLs. Wherever you are in the process, I encourage you to celebrate your current successes and consider the idea presented here to prioritize your next steps.
Gregoire-Smith, M. (2023a, April). Supporting English learners’ participation in high-quality CTE. Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).
National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). English Learners in Public Schools. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgf.
Meghan Gregoire-Smith, M.A., is a multilingual leaner (ML coach) with SupportEd (https://supported.com), a woman-owned small business dedicated to advocacy and educational equity for multilingual learners and their families. In this role, she provides professional development, coaching, and technical assistance to organizations, districts, and educators in support of multilingual learners and their families. She is the co-author of Unlocking Multilingual Learners’ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible, 2nd Edition.
Language development is a responsibility of all teachers, regardless of their assignment or content area. To meet content standards like the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, students must not only understand content but also develop critical language knowledge and skills, as outlined in English language proficiency standards like those used in Oregon.
The integrated English language development (ELD) service model guides educators to combine content and language instruction. The model provides inclusive, equitable access to core content while improving linguistic and academic outcomes for emergent multilingual students.
What is integrated instruction?
In the integrated ELD model, educators teach language and content simultaneously by designing lessons focused on content standards with scaffolding that supports emergent multilingual students at their respective language proficiency levels. With integrated ELD, students experience explicit language development opportunities throughout the school day—not just in language classes.
Guided by both language and content standards, students receive high-quality, embedded English language instruction while engaging in rigorous language arts practice: reading, writing, speaking, and listening about meaningful current topics, themes, and events. In addition, all students can take elective courses. Newcomer and beginning English learner students, who tend to need more intensive support, may receive additional instruction in a separate ELD class.
Content area and ELD teachers use English language proficiency standards to design integrated language and learning outcomes. The standards define what students should know and do by highlighting how language is used to access grade-appropriate texts and tasks. The standards also delineate how students interact with one another to construct meaning, use language to connect their ideas, and express their understanding of concepts.
The inclusive integrated ELD model differs from traditional practices such as pull-out programs, the typical model for English learner students. Pull-out programs often socially stigmatize students and create barriers to opportunity.i,ii Further, pull-out programs offer few opportunities to extend language learning and are relatively ineffective in terms of student outcomes.iii By contrast, integrated ELD benefits all students—regardless of whether they are designated as English learners.
Why integrated instruction?
Research shows that students acquire English faster, make greater academic gains, form stronger relationships with their classmates, and better engage in classroom tasks if they remain in core classes with their peers instead of being pulled into a separate ELD class.iv By emphasizing grade- level access to core content with high support, the integrated ELD model ensures that students designated as English learners participate in the same engaging disciplinary practices as their peers.v The model helps educators weave concepts, analytical practices, and the associated language demands into a seamless, coherent experience.vi
“Given the growing numbers of English learners attending schools throughout the United States, the increasing language and literacy demands across the subject areas, and the fact that disciplinary instruction can serve as an ideal context for language development, it can no longer be the case that the development of English for academic purposes remains the sole responsibility of English as a Second Language teachers. This responsibility has to be understood as belonging to every teacher, in every discipline.”
– Walqui & Bunch 2019, p. ix
Federal law mandates that all schools give students access to grade-level content and provide ELD that allows English learners “to attain both English proficiency and parity of participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable amount of time … until [they] are proficient in English and can participate meaningfully” without designated English learner support.vii Similar to the highly effective dual language model, the integrated ELD model provides language instruction in the context of academic content, making content area learning more accessible.viii
Districts that have shifted to integrated ELD programs say the model supports meaningful content- rich activities and language growth. When teachers carefully scaffold language and content learning— and students work and talk together—language development occurs.ix
References
i Callahan, R., Wilkinson, L., Muller, C., & Frisco, M. (2009). ESL placement and schools: Effects on immigrant achievement. Educational Policy, 23(2), 355–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904807310034
ii Valdés, G. (1998). The world outside and inside schools: Language and immigrant children.
Educational Researcher, 27(6), 4–18.
iii Collier, V. P., & Thomas, W. P. (2009). Educating English learners for a transformed world. Dual Language Education of New Mexico – Fuente Press.
viii National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Promoting the educational success of children and youth learning English: Promising futures. National Academies Press.
ix Ruiz, V. (2016, March 11). Don’t blame the ELD teachers if the predominant ELD paradigm is inadequate & failing our ELL students: Two comparison studies: Focusing on the paradigms that drive & influence our attempts to design effective & successful ELD programs [Presentation slides]. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2772248
At Education Northwest, Kelli Scardina helps schools and districts use evidence-based strategies that promote equitable, effective instruction for emergent bilingual students and provide all students better access to core content and language learning. She shares her experience and expertise from 30 years as a bilingual and bicultural pre-K–12 educator, leader, professional learning facilitator, curriculum designer, program developer, collaborator, and thought partner.
Jennifer Johnson is principal consultant, Equity & Systems Improvement for Multilingual Learners at Education Northwest. Jennifer’s professional passion is in creating educational access and promoting authentic student identity and agency in education. Her career includes 23 years of experience serving in public education as a dual language teacher, bilingual instructional coach, building principal, and district-level multilingual director. Her focus over the years has been on serving diverse, multilingual populations in underserved school settings.
The Missing Scripts program aims to preserve the rich diversity of the world’s languages and protect Indigenous scripts, ensuring their existence in the digital sphere.
Developed in partnership with the Script Encoding Initiative (University of California, Berkeley) and the University of Applied Sciences Mainz (Germany), the Missing Scripts was initiated in response to the alarming realization that only half of the world’s writing forms are present on digital platforms. Missing are not only ancient scripts, some of which remain undeciphered, but also a large number of minority and/or Indigenous writings still in use today. Neglected by the digital industry, these writings, along with the languages they represent, face the threat of extinction, so the program aims to fix this situation. The initial step involves encoding these scripts, a process that entails standardizing them by assigning a numerical identifier to each symbol.
This task has been carried out by the Universal Unicode Standard since the early 1990s. However, mere encoding is insufficient. Equally imperative is the development of input methods such as keyboards to ensure compatibility across various operating systems, as well as the creation of appropriate fonts. Designing these digital fonts requires specialized expertise, involving collaboration with experts, including native speakers, developers, and linguists. This aspect of the program, led by researchers on the Atelier national de recherche typographique (ANRT), a postgraduate research course of the École nationale supérieure d’art et de design (ENSAD), a public art school in Nancy, France, allows these writings to be accessible on computers and smartphones. This approach thus makes a strong case for an interdisciplinary artistic education that combines technology, art, culture, and typography.
This is an essential issue of digital empowerment. Without proper encoding, not only is the publication or exchange of texts impossible but also the construction of vital data sets essential to current technologies, such as automatic translation, voice recognition, machine learning, and AI, becomes unattainable. The Missing Scripts project fits with the proposed outputs of the UN’s Global Action Plan, contributing to the goal of enhancing the practical use of Indigenous languages.
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