Suggested Reading
The following resources are meant to be an additional support for applicants of Multilingual by Design. It is not mandatory to review these materials, but we do find them useful in understanding best practices in multilingual learner education and the adoption of AI tools.
Recognizing that some of them are extensive, we recommend using AI tools to summarize them should your time be limited. Please note that this list is not exhaustive, but rather a first step for individuals and organizations who want to get more familiar with the needs of multilingual learners and AI tools in multilingual contexts.
Math Best Practices, Must Haves, and Pitfalls
English Learners Success Forum
This guide outlines how high-quality math instructional materials can better support multilingual learners by integrating language development with rigorous, grade-level content. It highlights key strategies and common pitfalls to help educators and curriculum designers create more equitable and effective learning experiences.
English Language Arts Best Practices, Must Have Strategies, and Pitfalls
English Learners Success Forum
This guide outlines how high-quality English Language Arts materials can better support multilingual learners by integrating language development with rigorous, grade-level literacy instruction. It highlights key strategies—such as building oral language, maintaining rigor, and leveraging student assets—while identifying common pitfalls to avoid in designing effective ELA instruction for English learners.
Artificial intelligence and English language teaching: Preparing for the future
British Council
This report provides a comprehensive overview of how AI is currently being used in language education and what stakeholders believe the future holds. It outlines critical challenges and risks, implications for AI tool design, and human-centered values that account for linguistic diversity, power dynamics, and varying levels of digital literacy.
7 Smart Ways to Use AI to Support Literacy and Belonging for Multilingual Students
Krause Innovation Center
Drawing inspiration from the book Artificial Intelligence, Real Literacy by Paul Matthews and Jason Gulya, this brief post provides practical strategies and sample prompts for differentiating texts, creating visual scaffolds, and promoting belonging for multilingual learners.
A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, Prepare, Protect
Brookings
This report outlines a framework for navigating the integration of generative AI in education. It offers three pillars for action – Prosper, Prepare, and Protect – with actionable recommendations for governments, technology companies, education system leaders, families, and all those who touch this issue.
Office of English Language Acquisition Statistics
Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition
This Office of English Language Acquisition brief provides a data-driven snapshot of English learners in the United States, highlighting trends in graduation rates, enrollment growth, academic outcomes, and teacher workforce capacity. It underscores both progress over time and persistent gaps in outcomes and educator supply across states.
The Multilingual Learning Toolkit
Multilingual Learning Toolkit
The Multilingual Learning Toolkit is a free, research-based resource designed to help educators, school leaders, and families better support multilingual learners from birth through grade 12. It provides practical strategies, tools, and guidance grounded in evidence and equity, with a focus on language development, culturally sustaining practices, and inclusive learning environments.
Why does it matter?
English Learners Success Forum
This short video highlights why every student deserves learning that helps them thrive academically and choose their own path to success — and why multilingual learners are no different. Through powerful testimonials from multilingual students and their parents, it celebrates the impact and importance of growing up multilingual.
Navigating the Past to Shape the Future of English Learner Education
Sobrato Philanthropies
This Sobrato Philanthropies brief traces the history of English Learner education in California, highlighting how struggles over race, language policy, and equity have shaped current practices. It underscores both past exclusionary policies and the advocacy victories that advanced bilingual education and language justice. The piece emphasizes the importance of learning from this history to build more equitable, culturally and linguistically sustaining schools today.