Developing disciplinary literacy equips students with the skills to deeply engage with content area knowledge and culture. When educators use strategies known to support multilingual students in fostering disciplinary literacy, they can support all students in more meaningful engagement within disciplines.
This 30-minute recorded webinar explores four literacy practices that can serve as powerful tools to engage all students, especially multilingual students, in meaningful disciplinary learning.
WestEd experts introduce four practical, evidence-informed strategies that can strengthen disciplinary literacy and support Multilingual Learners in content classrooms.
Gain insights into how educators can:
- encourage translanguaging to support meaning-making for all students,
- highlight key language functions and structures during instruction,
- leverage high-quality instructional materials and assets-based practices, and
- foster opportunities for disciplinary discourse in the classroom.
Whether you’re new to these ideas or looking to build on what you already do, this session offers a helpful starting point for supporting students’ language development and academic success.
Resources Referenced During the Session
- Language and Literacy for a New Mainstream (Research Article)
- English Learners in Public Schools (Website)
- Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning, Second Edition (Book)
- Scaffolding the Academic Success of Adolescent English Language Learners: A Pedagogy of Promise (Book)
- Translanguaging with Multilingual Students (Book)
- Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education (Book)
- Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective (Book)
- Translanguaging (PDF)
- The Translanguaging Classroom: Leveraging Student Bilingualism for Learning (Research Article)
- Reading Apprenticeship at WestEd (Website)
- Writing Apprenticeship at WestEd (Website)
- Quality Teaching for English Learners at WestEd (Website)
Discussion Topics
- Disciplinary literacy
- Translanguaging
- Language visibility
- Culturally relevant materials and pedagogy
- Disciplinary discourse
New to translanguaging?
Read this primer from the experts.
Featured Speakers
Annette Gregg
Gregg brings extensive experience in educational leadership, focusing on enhancing outcomes for English and Multilingual Learners. As the director of the English Learner and Migrant Education Services team, Gregg oversees a comprehensive portfolio of initiatives, including research, technical assistance, and professional learning projects aimed at supporting PK–12 educators and migrant education professionals nationwide.
Amanda Nabors
Nabors is a research associate at WestEd who is based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work uses research and evaluation to better understand the systemic causes of inequitable educational experiences and identify policy solutions to reduce harm and improve student experiences. She brings nearly 10 years of experience leading evaluation and research programs with a focus on early literacy, emerging multilingual students, and LEA and SEA capacity building to serve all learners.
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