How to Make a Difference in the Lives of Multilingual Learners

I have learnt, experienced, developed and progressed to be a CELTA certified ESL educator. I have been an IB facilitator for the last 8 years and have been fortunate enough to support bilingual/multilingual learners with little or no English communication and very basic comprehension where English might be their second or third language. I work with a range of students, from newcomers to those who require long-term English support within the school system. I have been instrumental in successfully promoting and implementing international mindedness in my school both in the capacity of IB PYP practitioner and an ESL educator. 

Given the COVID-19 pandemic situation, I feel fortunate to be an educator in the leading IB school in Gurgaon, India where we were undergoing the NEASC, CIS, IB evaluation simultaneously. I lead and contribute to IB documentation, NEASC/CIS Learning Principles and Domains. Constantly reading and unpacking the guiding statements helped me to reflect and suggest improvements in existing ESL practices and bridge the gaps in the student’s learning and in my teaching practise. 

It has been my goal not only to support bilingual/multilingual learners in academics but also to help them and their families to settle into the new school environment, along with helping them with their social and emotional wellbeing. Remote learning has indeed been challenging for young learners and our bilingual/multilingual learners need a lot of collaborative efforts to thrive in this situation. I am excited to share my learning and teaching journey, especially in the remote learning/hybrid learning scenario, and to be able to give back to the teaching community in whatever way I can. 

Create a safe and supportive environment for the students and the parents.

It is a proven fact that the comfort level of the child, as well as the parents’ trust in the system is essential in the academic progress of the child. A welcoming and safe environment, which gives a sense of familiarity for the child, will help to create and nurture a happy young learner. This holds true not only for the ESL student but for the student’s parents too. Our responsibility is towards the social emotional wellbeing of the new family as they are from a different cultural background and are still getting used to our school community.

Take account of the children in your class and their different needs 

It is important for a teacher to take account of the class profile before the beginning of the new session and be aware of the interests, developmental levels, and cultural backgrounds of the children in the classroom. This would help to lay a foundation of a healthy classroom environment and establish a strong bond amongst all the stakeholders. These students navigate a completely new space, new culture, and new practices, therefore it is important to respect the child and the family and support them when they struggle and to help them inculcate trust and develop intercultural understanding.

Collective collaboration

At any given time, all subject teachers and specialist teachers need to be working together to nurture efficacy and agency amongst students and strategize purposeful learning. We must celebrate the uniqueness and differences in each child, thus building competencies and developing a growth mindset through current learning experiences. It is not only the responsibility of the ESL teacher, after all it takes a village to raise a confident learner. 

Celebrate all student’s differences

Celebrate both the host country and the student’s various native country’s language and events. Encourage international mindedness by conducting morning assemblies, circle time activities, class activities, marking international events by encouraging bilingual/multilingual learners to use both their native language in addition to English. Ensure differentiation and student agency in all class activities, formative and summative assessments, and give them more chances of success than failure and slowly introduce English in a non-threatening way. Take them slowly and gradually from the survival vocabulary to the understanding of academic vocabulary. 

Create small learning groups

Working with ESL learners in small groups is very important, be it face to face, hybrid, or remote learning scenario. They need constant guidance and encouragement both within class and out of class. In the initial phase it is important to preserve their self-esteem and possible embarrassment to inculcate zeal to explore and learn through the unknown. 

Create lifelong learners

The attitude of anti-fragility drives me to achieve the most impossible of feats during the COVID-19 scenario and so I try to inculcate the same attitude amongst my learners. I strive to be a lifelong learner within this ever-evolving education system. This past year has brought so many challenges and changed the way I provide support to my students. 

As our doors begin to open again and we resume some aspect of our pre-pandemic life, let us stop and reflect, what lessons have we learned about the effects of our practices on bilingual/multilingual learners, and what will we hold on to and incorporate into our “new normal.” 

I look forward to building upon the skills, knowledge, and expertise I currently have by collaborating with teachers across the world because we all are together in these trying times. I urge you to lend your voice, share your ideas and engage with our community to be able to create lifelong learners.

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