PRINCIPLE 2 Multilingual learners benefit from flexible opportunities to participate in the four modalities of learning (listening, reading, speaking, and writing). Some students may feel comfortable speaking in one language but writing in another. Others may respond best to prompts that have visual supports and gesticulation. Flexibility is key when it comes to showing students from diverse backgrounds that their engagement matters. Tip Diversify your “firewood.” Just as you would gather a variety of twigs and tinder for a long-lasting campfire, we encourage you to diversify your inputs. Use methods like Total Physical Response to introduce new concepts and allow campers to draw or act out their own definitions of new terms. Let multilingual learners express themselves using different languages, even if this means using several at a time. You might be surprised to find richer contributions in English when you allow campers to borrow from their home language(s)! PRINCIPLE 3 Multilingual learners benefit from additional time to situate themselves in the language structures of English. If students are quiet after a prompt, it doesn’t mean they are disengaged. Chances are they are busy analyzing, decoding, contextualizing, and adapting your speech and preparing theirs. Tip Listen to the “fire crackling.” Some of the best learning happens when we pause and listen. As you engage multilingual learners, use moments of silence to allow them the time they need to situate themselves. In some cases, you might even need to skip an eager contributor to allow others to catch up. When you do this, you build more equitable participation. PRINCIPLE 4 Multilingual learners have multiple conceptual ways of experiencing events. A single activity, place, or topic might mean different things when students approach it through the unique cultural lens of each language. Tip Don’t leave your “campfire” unattended. While students need space to work by themselves and with others, be mindful of situations that need to be contextualized. If campers are not familiar with certain games, illustrate them explicitly. Model new games before asking campers to participate. You can even use your home survey to learn about experiences students have had in their home cultures that are similar to those featured in LitCamp and share those with the group. Building common knowledge allows multilingual learners to relate to one another and develop a sense of belonging.
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