Using L1 and the Benefits of Multilingual Approaches in the Classroom

1. By: Nicole Pittman

2. Teaching Parents the Importance of a Multilingual Approach

2.1. Engage parents in their child's learning process by hosting poetry and reading cafes where students can share their stories in L1

2.2. Incorporate multilingual project-based learning where students need to interview the parent/guardian in their first language

2.3. Continuously affirming the child's first language and culture so parents can also feel represented and want to volunteer in school communities where their first language is heard, voiced, and celebrated

3. Why do We Need to Support Dual Language Texts?

3.1. To break down the barriers of assimilation or "solving the problem" education by embracing the cultural identities and narratives of ALL learners

3.2. To "transfer"from L1 to L2 proficiency, the learner must perceive a similarity between first and second languages (Kellerman, 1978)

3.3. Attending to the learner's proficiency in L1 builds the foundation for proficiecny in learning new languages

4. Benefits for Students

4.1. Each student's linguistic and cultural capital is affirmed and reassured as an "asset" and not a "deficit"

4.2. Students can draw upon their strengths and gain self-confidence as they are able to use the mother tongue they are more proficient in

4.3. The entire classroom can be enriched and reflect the globalized diversity of the world we live in

4.4. There is greater emphasis placed on learning the student rather than emphasis placed on strictly learning the content

5. Dual Language Strategies to Support L1

5.1. Encourage ELLs to brainstorm, mindmap, jot down ideas in L1 on all handouts, activities, notebooks, tests, etc.

5.2. Incorporate L1 into formative and summative assessments

5.2.1. Create multilingual environmental posters for recycling to inform the community of the school

5.2.2. Create dual language journal responses, stories, brochures, multimedia, etc.

5.2.3. Allowing ELLs who speak the same language to peer assess each other

5.2.4. Co-creating a classroom multilingual dictionary

5.3. Use multilingual activities in the classroom to allow ELLs the opportunity to make comparisons between their L1 and English

5.3.1. Review Week 2

5.3.2. New Material