Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast

America is a melting pot where people from all over the world come to seek a better life, which includes many students for whom English is a second language. How do schools support so many newcomer students?

During the edLeader Panel “Supporting Newcomers in Your District: 10 Principles to Unpack,” Lori Lynch, Vice President of Professional Learning at Britannica Education, spoke with Viviana Hall, Global Bilingual-ESL-Dual Language Consultant at Viviana Hall Consulting, and Criselda Dixon, former educator and current Customer Experience Manager at Britannica Education, about language trends in the U.S. and the ten principles that schools can follow to best teach students learning English as a second language and make them feel welcome.

After English, the most spoken language in the U.S. is Spanish, with the U.S. Hispanic population growing tremendously over the past decade. After Spanish, the third most spoken language varies from state to state.

When teaching students for whom English is a second language, there are two truths to remember:

1. To teach unknown languages, use known concepts. This means that high school students who do not speak English as their first language are often placed in ninth grade—no matter where they started—so that they can be exposed to concepts they’re already familiar with, but now in English. This helps them match English with what they already know.
2. To teach unknown concepts, use known languages. Students must understand the actual meaning of class materials, otherwise, they’re only reading without understanding. By reading in languages they know, they connect to the material. Students need to develop cognitive interlanguage proficiency, meaning that they don’t just read and listen, but they produce indicators that show they actually understand materials. They go from receptive activities, like reading, listening, and observing, to productive activities, like speaking, writing, and reproducing, so teachers can see their understanding.

There are ten proven “I” principles to help newcomer students succeed in school.

1. Introduce – Give new students opportunities to share things about themselves and their culture, such as native foods, to make them feel welcomed and have pride in who they are.
2. Integrate – Develop a sense of comfort in students by letting them use parts of their background, such as foreign currencies, to learn in class.
3. Identify – Find things in students’ backgrounds that help students feel like what makes them unique has value, such as cultural hair styling.
4. Include – Find ways to motivate students to take part in extracurricular activities and ensure they’re included, such as having event leaders speak in their languages.
5. Intent – Schools need plans and strategies to address both short- and long-term goals, such as combatting bullying, which means schools should be mindful about making sure that the norms and regulations they want to see are consistently applied.
6. Innovate – Find new ways to make connections with students, such as through technology. Old methodologies require change to reach new students.
7. Increase – Helping students learn English is a schoolwide effort, where the entire staff is knowledgeable about language acquisition, enabling students to become more comfortable with English faster.
8. Individualize – Train teachers in differentiated instruction so they can easily individualize lessons without extra work.
9. Inform – Contact families via multiple methods. Not everyone is reachable the same way, and different people have different schedules.
10. Instruct – This depends on all of the other principles and means being strategic about teaching to distinguish between language issues versus other needs students may have. Also known as comprehensible input, it’s monitoring language to determine if it’s a language acquisition issue or a learning issue.

Students must feel welcome in schools in order to succeed, and with such a huge amount of newcomers, it’s important that schools find ways to reach those kids. By following the 10 “I” principles, schools can make sure students develop their English skills and thrive in the classroom.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Supporting Newcomers in Your District: 10 Principles to Unpack, sponsored by Britannica Education.

Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast

Join the Community

Helping ELL, ESL, and Bilingual Students Succeed is a free professional learning community that focuses on helping students to improve their learning and language ability.

Britannica Education, a global leader in digital educational technology and content, is part of the Britannica Group’s tradition of excellence in information, knowledge, and learning, stretching back more than 250 years. We partner with educators, school districts, libraries, ministries, and media companies worldwide to inspire student curiosity and provide trusted, comprehensive resources to meet evolving teaching and learning needs.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel