This podcast by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) features Maha Abdelkader, Education Program Specialist from OELA, Roger Rosenthal, attorney with the Migrant Legal Action Program and Lissette Colon Collins, Assistant Superintendent for Language Acquisition Funded Programs, School Improvement, and the Arts at Yonkers Public Schools. The panelists discuss the important topic of how U.S. schools can provide English learners with meaningful access to core curricular and extracurricular programs.  

Please note that in this podcast the terms “English learners” and “Multilingual learners” are used interchangeably and refer to the population of students defined as English learners in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act.

Providing English Learners Meaningful Access to Core Curricular and Extracurricular Programs

Elizabeth Judd, an Education Program Specialist at OELA talks with Martha Castellón Palacios, Senior Program Associate at WestEd about the Integrated Language and Science Content Teaching Brief produced by OELA. This teaching practice brief draws upon recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2018 report titled English Learners (ELs) in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives.

The podcast explores five key practices presented in the brief: (1) Embracing asset beliefs that position and support ELs as full participants in disciplinary learning, (2) Engaging ELs in disciplinary practices, (3) Providing scaffolding as a way of supporting students’ engagement and comprehension of challenging content, (4) Engaging ELs in meaningful interactions with other students and teachers, and (5) Providing an explicit focus on how language functions in the discipline.

OELA Podcasts

Integrating Language While Teaching STEM

Integrating Language While Teaching STEM (Science)

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) provides national leadership to help ensure that English learners (ELs) and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academic success.

The OELA Podcast Series is based on teaching practice briefs that highlight promising practices in EL instruction related to science, mathematics, and early childhood education. Each episode features an interview between an OELA staff member and the author of the teaching practice brief.

Visit ncela.ed.gov for more EL resources.

Providing English Learners Meaningful Access to Core Curricular and Extracurricular Programs

OELA Podcast Series

Related tracks