Those of you who have had the privilege of being ESL teachers will know the look I am about to describe. It’s the expression on students’ faces when you arrive at the classroom door to collect them for tutorial support, their smiles lighting up the room as they realize it’s their turn to go with you. Other times you might notice a jump in energy when you walk in, as students suddenly rush to grab their pencils and head over in enthusiastic anticipation. Yes, ESL support classes can create an incomparably safe, fun, and dynamic environment full of rich learning. It’s a smaller space, quieter … where a few familiar students and a dedicated, specialized teacher provide the extra scaffolding, time, and support new students may need to find their footing and continue to learn.
It goes without saying that many multilingual language learners appreciate and look forward to these welcoming and affirming tutorial programs.
But …
But.
Not all students do.
Those of you who have been ESL teachers will also be familiar with a different look, I think. Sometimes, it is an older student who looks a bit embarrassed, not wanting to be singled out in front of peers as needing “help”; sometimes it is a student who is passionate about the next lesson topic, and looks frustrated and disappointed they will miss it; other times the student is unmistakably crestfallen, having worked tirelessly on their art project or science demonstration, only to find they will not be present for the first part of the class presentations on it; one of the worst is a quiet look of sadness, the student’s desire to stay with their friends seeming to hang in the air in front of you, everything about their expression telling you they just want to stay and participate in everything their peers are doing.
Make no mistake, these looks are not the result of subpar teaching or lackluster ESL learning programs; on the contrary, ESL teachers are some of the most talented and knowledgeable educators among our ranks. It is simply a part of that undeniable truth, that students have unique and varying learning needs, and that while some may appreciate and benefit from tutorial instruction in the traditional sense, others need something else. They want to stay and be included in their learning community in the classroom, be the same as their friends, and learn English and curriculum in the process.
In my last blog entry First, then, I described some of the potential academic pitfalls of isolated ESL tutorial instruction, where educators teach separate programs with little to no communication and collaboration. In such isolated models, students may not have as many opportunities for scaffolded support and recycling of key language structures needed in the mainstream classroom, potentially resulting in reduced linguistic development and curriculum access. However, academics are not the only consideration in this scenario. The innate desire we all have as humans to contribute and be included is equally important. And in decades’ past, when ESL support models overwhelming defaulted to isolated tutorial support, we may have met the needs of some students … but not all.
Implicit in a model that requires students to learn English as a separate subject before they are able to participate in classroom lessons is the assumption that students do not have the ability to participate as they are, here and now. That their current linguistic repertories are irrelevant to learning. That their rich experiences and skills do not count in school. That they are not enough.
Fortunately, today’s ESL teachers are no longer relegated to isolated islands of instruction; classroom teachers and ESL teachers can now actively collaborate with one another to ensure MLLs are included in daily instruction, and have access to a full and robust curriculum, with the language supports they need to do so. To accomplish this, some educators co-teach in the same classroom, ensuring MLLs can stay with their peers and continue learning English; some teach separately but communicate with one another, so that their language programs are aligned and mutually-reinforcing.
All of this is well and good if – if – proper supports for educators are in place, with students’ needs centred. And regardless of support model used – tutorial, or integrated, or some wonderful combination of the two – the professional judgement of teachers, coupled with adequate funding and teaching staff, are critical to choosing, creating, and sustaining responsive learning programs for students.
I will not repeat the myriad of ways collaborative, inclusive teaching models can be accomplished. I will however offer the link again, to ETFO’s infographic quick guide “Collaboration and Co-teaching for MLLs” as well as additional infographics in the same series, “Translanguaging” and “Program Adaptations”, which detail how students’ first languages and background knowledge can be included and affirmed in the classroom, and used for rich curriculum learning. ETFO Secure – Supporting English Language Learners Resources
Wishing you the best of luck in re-imagining your classroom environments, in which all students’ identities, knowledge, and languages provide bright paths to learning. Where they are more than enough … right here, right now.
