Helping English Learners (ELs) Thrive: Strategies for Success in the Classroom

Students who are learning English bring knowledge, experiences, ideas, and one or more languages to the classroom. Learning English does not make a student less capable of reasoning about literature, mathematics, science, history, or any other subject.

English learner (EL) is the primary term used here. Many educators also use multilingual learner to emphasize students’ existing language resources rather than defining them only by the English they are still developing.

The practical goal is to make classroom language understandable while keeping important thinking within reach.

Make Directions Understandable

A student can understand the concept and still be unsure what an assignment is asking. Directions often contain idioms, several steps, unfamiliar verbs, or information that is implied rather than stated.

To make directions easier to use:

gain students’ attention before speaking;
use clear, direct sentences without unnecessary words;
give one manageable set of steps at a time;
display the steps as well as saying them;
model the first step or show a completed example;
point out important task words such as compare, justify, or summarize;
pause before students begin; and
leave the directions visible while students work.

Clear language is not childish language. Students need precise directions, not watered-down ideas.

Model What the Work Looks and Sounds Like

Modeling reduces the amount of language students must interpret at once. Think aloud while completing a sample:

show how to begin a response;
mark evidence in a text;
demonstrate how partners take turns;
solve one related example;
compare a strong and weak product; or
act out a classroom routine.

Then ask students to explain or demonstrate the next step with a partner. A model should reveal the process, not become something students copy without understanding.

Use Visuals, Examples, and Concrete References

Pictures, diagrams, maps, gestures, objects, timelines, demonstrations, and worked examples can connect new English to ideas students already understand.

Choose visuals that carry instructional meaning. A labeled diagram of the water cycle supports understanding; a decorative picture of a cloud may not. Introduce the visual, explain how to read it, and return to it during the lesson.

When possible, give an example and a non-example. If students are learning to identify a strong claim, show a supported claim and a statement that is merely an opinion.

Check Understanding Without Asking “Do You Understand?”

A yes-or-no question may tell you very little. Students may say yes to avoid attention, or they may understand the concept but not have enough English to explain it immediately.

Try checks that let every student show a small piece of understanding:

point to or select the next step;
match a word to a diagram or example;
sort examples and non-examples;
draw and label a quick representation;
rehearse an explanation with a partner;
complete one representative problem;
write a short response using an optional sentence frame; or
demonstrate the process.

Give adequate wait time. Formulating an idea and expressing it in a developing language are two separate tasks. The site’s questioning techniques for teachers include additional ways to provide thinking time and broaden participation.

Teach Vocabulary in Context

Long vocabulary lists rarely provide enough support by themselves. Select the words students need to understand the concept, follow the task, or participate in discussion.

Useful vocabulary instruction can include:

a student-friendly explanation;
a visual, gesture, object, or example;
the word used in a meaningful sentence;
related word forms or common phrases;
opportunities to hear, say, read, and write the word; and
planned reuse across several lessons.

Distinguish content words from classroom task words. A science student may know evaporation but still be unsure what analyze the results requires.

Encourage students to connect English words with words and ideas they know in other languages. Cognates can help, although students also need to learn when similar-looking words have different meanings.

Build the Background Knowledge the Lesson Requires

Difficulty with a text may come from unfamiliar context rather than weak reading or reasoning. Before a lesson, ask what cultural, historical, scientific, or situational knowledge the material assumes.

Build only the background students need to enter the task:

a short image sequence;
a map or timeline;
a brief demonstration;
a preview of the setting or situation;
a connection to a familiar concept; or
a short text, video, or discussion in advance.

Do not assume that unfamiliarity means inability. A student may have extensive knowledge of a topic that has not yet been connected to English classroom language.

Use Sentence Frames as Temporary Support

Sentence frames can help students enter academic discussion and writing:

The evidence suggests ___ because ___.
I agree with ___ about ___, and I would add ___.
One difference between ___ and ___ is ___.
My solution changed when ___.
I understand ___, but I still have a question about ___.

Offer more than one frame and allow students to adapt them. A frame should support expression, not limit every response to the same sentence. Reduce the support as students become able to produce the language independently.

Create Meaningful Peer Interaction

Students need structured opportunities to use English with classmates. Simply saying “work with a partner” may leave one student doing all the talking.

Helpful structures include:

think, write, pair, and share;
information-gap tasks in which partners hold different information;
partner retelling or summarizing;
discussion roles such as questioner, evidence finder, or connector;
rehearsing an answer before whole-class sharing; and
comparing two solutions, examples, or interpretations.

Choose peers thoughtfully, but do not make one bilingual student permanently responsible for interpreting or tutoring. The article on flexible and mixed-readiness grouping explains how to group for a purpose without turning placement into a label.

Provide Opportunities to Listen, Speak, Read, and Write

Language develops through use. A strong content lesson can include all four language modes without adding a separate assignment:

Students listen to a short explanation or partner idea.
They discuss an observation or question.
They read a manageable text, source, example, or set of directions.
They write or record a brief explanation using evidence.

Plan the language students will need. If the lesson requires comparing, students should hear and practice comparison language before the final written response.

Respect and Use Students’ First Languages

A student’s first language is a resource for thinking, learning, and making connections. When appropriate, students can:

preview a concept in a familiar language;
take initial notes or brainstorm bilingually;
use bilingual glossaries or dictionaries;
discuss a difficult idea with a peer who shares the language;
compare vocabulary or language structures; and
use knowledge from one language to support learning in another.

Using a first language does not prevent English development. Students still need frequent, purposeful opportunities to use English, but they should not have to stop thinking while waiting for every English word.

Keep the Cognitive Expectation High

Language difficulty and conceptual difficulty are not the same. A student may understand a complex idea but need support to read the prompt or express the explanation in English.

Instead of replacing an analytical task with a recall worksheet, adjust access:

preteach essential words;
chunk the text;
add a diagram or model;
provide guiding questions;
allow partner rehearsal;
offer a sentence frame;
accept an oral explanation before formal writing; or
provide additional time.

These are forms of differentiation and scaffolding. The learning goal can remain demanding while the language support changes.

For one teacher’s account of what happens when language-support systems are too thin, see this candid guide to teaching in a Title I school.

For family outreach, interpretation, conferences, and the distinction between access barriers and lack of caring, see the guide to creating a positive home-school connection.

Distinguish Language Difficulty From Conceptual Difficulty

When a student struggles, gather more evidence before deciding what the problem is.

Ask:

Can the student demonstrate the idea with objects, diagrams, numbers, or actions?
Can the student explain more fully in a first language?
Is the difficulty with a key word, the directions, the background knowledge, or the concept?
Does performance improve after a model or language scaffold?
Does the same difficulty appear in less language-heavy tasks?

Work with qualified language-development, special-education, and family-support staff when further evaluation is needed. Do not treat English development as evidence of a learning disability, and do not assume that every difficulty is caused by language learning.

Use Feedback That Helps Students Act

Correcting every language error at once can bury the lesson goal. Choose feedback according to the task.

If the focus is scientific reasoning, respond first to the quality of the claim, evidence, and reasoning. Then select one or two language features that will make the explanation clearer. If the focus is a particular English structure, feedback can concentrate more directly on that structure.

Useful feedback is specific:

Your diagram shows the process clearly. Add the phrase as a result to explain the connection.
You included evidence. Now explain how it supports your claim.
Your partner can follow the first two steps. Add a transition before the final step.

A Practical Planning Check

Before a lesson, ask:

What is the important content goal?
What language will students need to understand and participate?
What background knowledge does the task assume?
Which visual, model, example, or language support will provide access?
How will students listen, speak, read, and write?
How will I check conceptual understanding separately from English production?
Which supports can fade as students become more independent?

Personalized goals, choices, and feedback may also help, provided they do not isolate students or replace shared grade-level learning. See practical personalized learning strategies for the distinction.

Supporting multilingual learners is not a collection of shortcuts. It is careful teaching: clear directions, meaningful models, appropriate language support, strong expectations, interaction, and attention to what each student’s work actually shows.

For additional approaches to scaffolding, discussion, assessment, and active learning, explore the Instructional Strategies List for Teachers.