Enhancing Instruction for Multilingual Learners

Teachers need more help supporting multilingual learners, and the right coaching moves can make a difference.

Every year, the number of multilingual students grows, and despite best intentions, their learning can lag behind their peers. Leadership expert Paula Polk has identified intentional and inclusive coaching practices that will help teachers empower these students at every level.

Enhancing Instruction for Multilingual Learners is filled with tips and tools so that instructional leaders and coaches can
• Create a culture of partnership and communication based on core coaching beliefs.
• Prioritize the instructional principles that best build language proficiency.
• Implement the coaching strategies that fit the learning goal.
• Make sure teachers include students in their own learning.
• Guide teachers in planning content that meets students' needs.
• Develop teacher-centered coaching models that enhance their expertise.

A shift toward equity and inclusion cannot occur in isolation. It requires partnership—between coaches, teachers, and students. Learn which motivations, mindsets, and moves will make you an agent of change and empower teachers with the skills to ensure high-quality instruction that meets multilingual students' needs.

Paula Polk has served in education for 16 years, teaching 1st grade and 3rd grade for the first 10 years of her educational career. Her journey into educational leadership began as a language coach; she then embarked into district leadership as an English as a second language (ESL) facilitator. In this role, she coaches language coaches, language acquisition specialists, and ESL teachers preK–12 as they work with stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, and multilingual students and families. This role also affords her the opportunity to curate professional learning for teachers, coaches, district coordinators, and administrators as they seek to create spaces for multilingual students to thrive. You can learn more about her work and her journey to writing Enhancing Instruction for Multilingual Learners at https://coachreflective.org.