Collaboration is Key: Strategies to Support Multilingual Learners

Why Collaboration Matters ?

Supporting multilingual learners (MLLs) is most effective when it involves the whole school community. When teachers, leadership teams, learning support staff and parents work?together,?MLLs benefit from a more?cohesive, language-rich learning environment.??However, meaningful collaboration requires intentional structures that enable teachers to share expertise, co-plan lessons and provide consistent language support across subjects. So, how can we unify practice and ensure that multilingual learners receive?the support they need in every classroom?

Collaboration in Action

Here are some practical, collaborative strategies that can make a real impact.

Strategy One:

Co-Planning for Language and Content Integration-?Rather than treating language learning as separate from subject learning,?collaborative planning ensures that language objectives are embedded into every lesson.?This is one of the key facets of CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning).

• What This Looks Like in Practice- EAL specialists work with subject teachers to identify key vocabulary, sentence structures and discourse patterns students need to engage with the content. Content teachers adapt their instruction to include scaffolds like sentence stems, visuals and structured speaking activities. Joint planning sessions are scheduled to align?EAL strategies with curriculum goals,?making lessons more accessible.
• ?Impact- Students develop?academic language skills while learning subject content. Teachers feel more confident integrating?language-supportive strategies into their teaching. EAL specialists become valued?partners rather than working in isolation.
• Active Example: ?A?science teacher and an EAL specialist co-plan a unit on 'Plants'. The EAL specialist provides?tiered vocabulary lists, sentence starters for hypotheses?and?graphic organizers for note-taking. www.ealhub.co.uk is a fantastic tool for this. In class, the science teacher uses these tools, making the lesson more accessible?without reducing academic challenge.?

Strategy Two:

Cross-Departmental Training and Peer Coaching- Many teachers want to support EAL students but feel?unsure about how to do it effectively.?Schools that encourage?collaborative CPD empower staff with practical strategies they can implement immediately.

• ?What This Looks Like in Practice-?EAL specialists lead training sessions on high-impact strategies like adaptive teaching, structured talk and scaffolding academic writing. Subject teachers share best practices in department meetings and/or designated PD sessions, ensuring strategies are relevant to each subject area and/or phase. Peer coaching programs pair experienced EAL/Inclusive practitioners with subject teachers to offer?classroom-based support
• ?Impact- All teachers develop?confidence in teaching multilingual learners,?making EAL support?a whole-school priority.?Strategies become?consistent across subjects,?reducing confusion for students. Peer coaching builds a?culture of shared expertise rather than placing all responsibility on the EAL team.
• Active Example: ?Experienced EAL/Inclusive practitioners lead collaborative PD sessions on strategies they are using in their classrooms and share what works. This not only promotes peer support amongst colleagues but also results in teachers feeling more confident incorporating EAL-friendly strategies?in their everyday practice and open to share what works.

Strategy Three:

Embedding Language in Pastoral and Wellbeing Support-?Supporting multilingual learners isn’t just about?academic language, it’s also about belonging and well-being.?When EAL specialists work with?form tutors, school counselors and pastoral leads,?they create a?wraparound support system that helps students feel?safe, included and empowered.?

• ?What This Looks Like in Practice-?Form tutors receive training on recognizing the emotional and social challenges MLLs may face (e.g. culture shock, confidence issues). Pastoral teams collaborate with EAL leads to create?buddy systems or?peer mentoring programs. The Young Interpreter Scheme is a great initiative for this. Counselors work with EAL specialists to design?social-emotional language support sessions,?ensuring students can express their feelings in English or their home language.
• ?Impact- Students feel?emotionally secure,?leading to?greater classroom participation. Pastoral staff become?proactive in identifying and addressing barriers for multilingual learners. Schools develop an?inclusive culture where language is seen as an asset, not a deficit.
• Active Example: ?A school launches a?peer mentoring program,?pairing newly arrived multilingual students with?trained student buddies. The EAL department provides?basic conversation scripts and?cultural discussion prompts to facilitate interaction. As a result, new students?integrate faster and feel more connected and student peers feel empowered in their leadership roles.

Strategy Four

Engaging Parents as Collaborative Partners-?Parents play a?crucial role in their child’s language development and schools who forge strong home-school partnerships and actively engage?multilingual families create?stronger home-school connections which ultimately leads to better outcomes for our students.

• What This Looks Like in Practice-?Multilingual parent workshops provide guidance on how families can support academic language and social-emotionally at home. Translation-friendly communication platforms ensure parents receive key school information in their home language. 'Seesaw', a popular home communication tool, can be translated into over 100 languages.?Parent volunteers share their cultural and linguistic knowledge, strengthening the school’s?diversity and inclusion efforts.?
• Impact- Parents feel?valued as partners,?leading to?greater involvement in their child’s education. Home language development is?embraced,?leading to?stronger bilingualism. and our students benefit from?consistent support across school and home environments.
• Active Example: ?A school hosts?a "Languages at Home" workshop/coffee morning where parents learn?how to support literacy in both their home language and English.?EAL specialists provide?simple reading strategies?and parents leave?empowered with tools to reinforce learning outside of school.

Stronger Together:

When schools?move beyond isolated efforts and embrace collaboration,?multilingual learners receive?holistic, meaningful support across all aspects of their education. Collaboration isn’t just about?meetings and training sessions, it’s about building a school-wide culture where every teacher understands their role in language development, pastoral and academic teams work?together to remove barriers for multilingual students and parents feel?valued and included as partners in their child’s learning journey.

What collaborative strategies have worked in your school to support our Multilingual learners?