Advancing Multiliteracy: Home Language Use in Rural Classrooms

Carolyn Harman

Elsberry R-II School District

Elsberry, Missouri

Introduction

The purpose of this project is to promote multiliteracy and affirm home language use among Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in a rural K–12 school in Missouri by building teacher capacity and expanding multilingual classroom resources. Our primary goals were:

1. To strengthen instructional practices that integrate students’ home languages.

2. To provide multilingual classroom materials that support biliteracy development.

3. To increase family engagement through accessible, translated communication.

4. To establish sustainable professional learning structures focused on MLL best practices.

Research supports the intentional integration of students’ home language, academic talk, and scaffolding as high-impact practices for MLLs. García and Kleyn (2016) further describe translanguaging as a powerful instructional strategy that leverages students’ full linguistic repertoire. Additionally, culturally responsive teaching improves engagement and achievement for linguistically diverse learners (Gay, 2018).

This project operationalized these research-based practices through professional development, classroom-ready multilingual tools, and technology integration using Maestra.ai to support multilingual access to instructional content.

Step-by-Step Plan

Phase 1: Foundational Professional Development (August–September)

Purpose: Establish a shared understanding of multiliteracy and home language integration.

●       Conduct PD session on:

○        Strengths-based approaches to emergent bilinguals

○        Translanguaging practices

○        Academic language scaffolding

●       Provide information and practical strategy resources

●       Model sentence frames and structured academic talk

Phase 2: Classroom Toolkit Distribution (September–October)

Purpose: Equip teachers with immediate, usable multilingual resources.

●       Distribute bilingual books and multilingual classroom visuals

●       Provide laminated content-specific sentence starter posters

●       Train staff on Maestra.ai for creating translated instructional videos

●       Support teachers in creating at least one multilingual instructional artifact

Phase 3: Embedded Professional Learning (October–April)

Purpose: Sustain implementation through ongoing support.

●       Offer monthly mini-PD sessions or PLC integration

●       Model strategies in classrooms when requested

●       Share teacher-created multilingual resources

●       Analyze student work for evidence of academic language growth

Phase 4: Reflection and Evaluation (January–May)

Purpose: Measure impact and refine practice.

●       Collect teacher surveys on strategy effectiveness

●       Review student work samples

●       Conduct walkthrough observations

●       Gather family feedback on communication accessibility

Timeline

August–September

●       Launch foundational PD

●       Distribute toolkits

September–October

●       Provide Maestra.ai training

●       Begin classroom implementation

October–April

●       Monthly embedded PD or PLC discussion

●       Ongoing classroom integration

●       Data collection through observation and surveys

January–May

●       Collect student growth evidence

●       Conduct family feedback survey

Materials

Amazon

●       Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners  by Fisher, Frey, and Gonzalez

●       The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox by Ferlazzo and Hull Sypnieski

●       EL Excellence Everyday by Ward Singer

●       Teaching Math to English Learners, Teaching Science to English Learners, and Teaching Social Studies to ELLs by Beene and Fleenor

●       Laminating supplies and instructional materials

Teachers Pay Teachers

●       Content-specific sentence frame posters

●       Multilingual vocabulary supports

Maestra.ai

●       Annual subscription for video translation and captioning tools

Locally Created

●       Shared digital resource library (Google Drive folder for replication)

Sustainability

This project was intentionally designed for long-term integration rather than a one-time implementation, with a focus on creating sustainable systems that will continue to support MLLs. One key sustainability strategy is the intentional embedding of MLL instructional practices into existing structures. Rather than treating support for MMLs as a separate initiative, teachers will regularly collaborate during meetings to analyze student needs, share effective scaffolds, review instructional strategies, and reflect on student progress. By making these conversations part of ongoing collaborative planning, the work becomes integrated into the culture of instruction rather than dependent on a single program or individual staff member.

Another important component of sustainability is the development and maintenance of a shared digital collection of translated materials and instructional resources. Teachers will have ongoing access to translated parent communication documents, vocabulary supports, sentence stems, scaffolded assignments, and adapted classroom resources that can be reused and updated over time. Housing these materials in a shared digital space increases accessibility for all staff members, reduces duplication of effort, and ensures that future teachers can continue to use and expand the collection without having to recreate resources from scratch. This creates a living library of support that grows alongside the needs of students and staff.

The project also prioritizes the retention and continued use of multilingual classroom libraries. These libraries will provide students with access to high-interest, culturally relevant texts in both English and their home languages, thereby encouraging literacy development, language acquisition, and student engagement. Because these materials remain in classrooms year after year, they become a lasting instructional resource that supports independent reading, small group instruction, and family literacy connections. The ongoing presence of multilingual texts also reinforces an inclusive classroom environment where students’ languages and identities are visibly valued.

In addition, the project emphasizes training multiple staff members in effective MLL instructional strategies in order to build internal capacity within the school. By involving a variety of teachers, instructional leaders, and support staff in professional learning opportunities, knowledge and expertise are distributed across the building rather than concentrated in a single individual or department. This approach helps ensure continuity even during staffing changes and allows experienced educators to mentor and support new teachers over time. Building internal expertise strengthens the school’s ability to sustain high-quality support for MLLs without relying heavily on outside consultants or additional funding sources.

Because the instructional materials are reusable, the professional learning structures are ongoing, and the strategies are embedded in everyday classroom routines, the project is designed to continue growing and evolving long after the initial implementation period. Together, these sustainability measures create a strong foundation for lasting instructional impact and continued support for MLLs across the school community.

Reflections

One of the key takeaways from this project was that teachers need both a strong theoretical foundation and practical, ready-to-use tools in order to successfully implement MLLs strategies in the classroom. The combination of research-based understanding and tangible classroom resources supported teacher confidence and implementation. In particular, sentence frames and structured opportunities for academic discussion produced an immediate and noticeable impact on student participation, language production, and engagement.  Additionally, technology tools such as Maestra.ai helped increase accessibility for students and families by supporting translation and communication needs. Staff members benefitted from guided onboarding and modeling to feel comfortable integrating these tools into instruction.

The project also revealed several challenges during implementation. Some staff members initially expressed hesitation or uncertainty about translanguaging practices, particularly if they had limited prior experience working with MLLs or were unfamiliar with instructional approaches that incorporated students’ home languages into classroom learning. Another challenge involved the time required to create multilingual instructional materials and adapt existing resources in ways that were accessible for diverse learners. Teachers often felt overwhelmed by balancing these additional tasks alongside their existing instructional responsibilities.

To address these challenges, several solutions proved highly effective. Modeling instructional strategies during professional development sessions helped reduce uncertainty and gave teachers concrete examples of how translanguaging and language supports could function in classrooms. Providing ready-made templates, sentence stems, scaffolded assignments, and translated materials also minimized teachers' planning burden and made implementation feel more manageable. In addition, celebrating early successes among staff members helped build momentum and foster a sense of shared investment in the work. As teachers began to see positive student outcomes, confidence and buy-in continued to grow across the school community.

This project also offers several important recommendations for replication in other schools and districts. First, schools should begin with mindset work before introducing instructional tools or programs. Helping educators understand the value of bilingualism and the importance of viewing students’ home languages as academic assets creates a stronger foundation for implementation. Second, schools should provide plug-and-play classroom materials that teachers can immediately adapt and use. Third, checkpoints should be intentionally built into the implementation calendar to give teachers regular opportunities to discuss progress, challenges, and next steps. Finally, schools should leverage existing collaborative structures, such as PLCs and staff meetings, to support sustainability and reduce the need for additional initiatives or meeting times.

Overall, this project demonstrates that rural schools can successfully advance multiliteracy and support for MLLs without implementing a full dual-language program. By positioning students’ home languages as valuable academic resources rather than barriers to overcome, educators can create classrooms where bilingualism is visible, valued, and intentionally integrated into daily instruction.

References

Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.

García, O., & Kleyn, T. (2016). Translanguaging with multilingual students: Learning from classroom moments. Routledge.

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Institute of Education Sciences. (2014). Teaching academic content and literacy to English learners in elementary and middle school. What Works Clearinghouse.