Learner Difference: Multilingual Learners (English Language Learners)
Appropriate Literacy Strategies to Address This Dimension

One important dimension of learner difference in today’s English classroom is the presence of multilingual learners—students who are developing English proficiency while simultaneously engaging with academic content. These learners bring rich linguistic and cultural resources, but they also face challenges when academic texts rely heavily on vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and complex sentence structures. To support multilingual learners effectively, literacy strategies must be intentionally designed to scaffold comprehension, develop academic language, and leverage students’ existing knowledge.

A foundational strategy is explicit vocabulary instruction, centered on high-utility academic words and discipline-specific terms. Rather than pre-teaching long lists of definitions, teachers can introduce key terms through images, gestures, real-world examples, and repeated contextualized use. Word walls, semantic maps, and morphology instruction (roots, prefixes, suffixes) empower multilingual learners to decode unfamiliar words across content areas.

Multimodal input is another highly appropriate literacy strategy. Multilingual learners benefit from accessing information through combined text, visuals, audio, and movement. For instance, pairing a written article with an infographic or short video supports comprehension by giving students multiple pathways to meaning. Graphic organizers—such as Venn diagrams, flowcharts, or storyboards—help students visually structure ideas before tackling extended writing.

A further strategy is scaffolded reading, which gradually releases responsibility to the learner. Techniques include chunking texts into manageable segments, previewing headings, using guiding questions, and annotating together as a class. Reciprocal teaching—where students predict, question, clarify, and summarize—encourages active engagement while providing linguistic support through collaborative talk.

Sentence frames and structured oral practice help students develop academic voice. Before writing, multilingual learners can rehearse ideas aloud with a partner using prompts such as: “One example that shows this is…” or “The author suggests that…”. These frames model the discourse patterns valued in academic English and reduce cognitive load during writing tasks.

Finally, culturally responsive literacy practices validate students’ identities. Encouraging learners to draw connections between texts and their lived experiences, or inviting them to use their home languages during brainstorming, fosters confidence and deeper comprehension.

In sum, supporting multilingual learners requires an integrated approach that blends vocabulary development, multimodal scaffolding, structured oral language, and culturally responsive teaching. These strategies not only address linguistic differences but also position multilingual learners as capable, resourceful participants in the English classroom.