There’s a moment that happens in almost every classroom with multilingual learners. A student is reading. They hit a word they don’t know. And then they do one of two things: They skip it Or they stop—and try to figure it out That moment matters more than we think. Because when students learn how to infer meaning from context, something changes. Their reading becomes more focused. Their understanding deepens. And over time, their language begins to grow again. This isn’t just

One of the simplest tools teachers can use to improve language development is also one of the most overlooked: structured reading reflection. When students regularly track their reading and record new vocabulary, they begin to notice patterns in their learning. They see what they read, how often they read, and which words begin to appear again and again in texts. For multilingual learners especially, this combination of reading tracking and vocabulary awareness can significa

Years ago, I spent a year living in China. Up until that point, most of my life had been spent just outside of Seattle, and although I had traveled before, I had never lived inside a culture so different from my own. At first, everything felt like an adventure. I explored constantly—new streets, unfamiliar foods, different routines, and ways of doing everyday things that I had never seen before. For a while, the novelty carried me. It felt like I was discovering something new