Teachers can try to maximize engagement among multilingual students by creating a safe and comfortable environment for all students and trying to include some of their languages in lessons in the classroom. Trying to label objects around the room with their language as well as in English to hopefully build their vocabulary. Another tool could be a board, with very basic day-to-day actions that have a visual as well as English words underneath it to communicate better. Say they want to use the bathroom. Having a picture of a toilet and having them communicate that way could be an alternative way to have students learn. Another potential solution that I would try is the use of technology, using an app or whatever is out there that helps with translation between instruction and the student.

I think incorporating multilingual students is one of the many challenges teachers will have to face, but I would not place it near the top of the list. Realistically thinking of how I would try to incorporate these students in my future classroom, and I would struggle. Especially if I did not receive proper support and help from administrators in terms of support needed to teach an already potentially oversized classroom filled with children who already struggle with cognitive or behavioural issues. What do you do? How do you handle this situation? What do you focus on and what do you take priority since you cannot simply cover all that is required with the time and resources you have?

Using different instructional strategies such as incorporating multilingual projects or assignments could be effective, as well as incorporating stories with different cultures, different perspectives, and diversity of people. Try to have your students represented in the course material. The TED talk we watched in class Wednesday, with Chimamanda Adichie discusses the idea of “a single story” and how impressionable and influential a story can be. Our brains jump to conclusions and paint a picture that may be biased or stereotypical if we are not educated enough on a topic, especially younger students. The idea of surrounding ourselves or our students with sufficient knowledge and representation to keep opportunities open rather than limiting students’ imaginations and scope of what is possible for them in the future is an impactful way to create more than one story.