This post kicks off a new series: Practical Systems for Multilingual Learner Growth.Every week, we’ll highlight one area where schools can create meaningful English growth for students — especially Experienced Multilingual Learners — without adding heavy new programs or burning out teachers.

Why experienced multilingual learners? Because they’re often the students who “plateau” — sitting in U.S. schools for years, passing classes, but never breaking through to advanced English proficiency. These learners aren’t stuck by ability. They’re stuck because our systems haven’t consistently centered language growth.

Here are five concrete strategies schools can use to change that right now.

1. Get Comfortable with AI as a Feedback Partner

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future tool — it’s here, and teachers can use it today to make student growth visible.

Here’s how:

• Take a writing sample from a student.

• Paste it into ChatGPT or another AI assistant.

• Ask: “Give me three simple improvement tips for this student” or “Which IXL skills match these mistakes?”

• Share those tips with the student or assign the suggested IXL codes.

This practice takes minutes, not hours. More importantly, it shifts feedback from vague (“Work on your grammar”) to concrete (“Practice connecting ideas with transition words”).

Schools don’t need a full AI system to start. They just need teachers experimenting with it now, so that when district-wide systems come, their staff are already ahead of the curve.

Click here to read about more AI hacks to personalize learning for all of your students.

2. Implement Core Tier 2 Vocabulary Across All Subjects

Experienced multilingual learners don’t need more worksheets — they need consistent exposure to the academic words that transfer across every subject.

The simplest system:

• Pick 15–20 Tier 2 words each quarter (words like analyze, evidence, illustrate).

• Post them schoolwide on word walls, anchor charts, and digital displays.

• Ask every teacher — from Algebra to History — to use and reinforce those words.

When students encounter the same vocabulary in multiple contexts, their understanding deepens and sticks.

Click here to read more and download graduated lists of Tier 2 Vocabulary Words.

3. Use Common Language Frames Across the School

Vocabulary is powerful, but students also need structures for using those words in speaking and writing. That’s where sentence stems (or “language frames”) come in.

Examples:

• “I predict that…”

• “The reason is…”

• “One example is…”

• “In conclusion…”

When every teacher uses the same set of frames, Experienced multilingual learners get daily, schoolwide practice. The repetition builds automaticity, helping students internalize the academic patterns of English.

This system is powerful because it doesn’t require teachers to add anything new — they’re still teaching the same lessons, but with language scaffolds baked in.

Click here to read more and download a free sentence starter resource for students.

4. Embed “Use of Academic Vocabulary” in Every Rubric

Instead of asking teachers to track growth in new systems, fold language growth into the rubrics they already use.

Here’s how:

• Add a line to writing rubrics: “Uses academic vocabulary.”

• Point students to classroom word walls and anchor charts so they know where to find the right words.

• Hold them accountable for using Tier 2 words in essays, projects, and even short responses.

This works because it keeps language growth visible and measurable. Academic vocabulary isn’t just decoration on the wall — it becomes part of how students are evaluated in every class.

Click here to read more and download a free rubric.

5. Set Intellectual Routines to get All Students Talking

At the heart of Experienced multilingual learner struggles is one overlooked fact: students aren’t speaking enough in class.

The fix isn’t new programs — it’s simple, repeatable routines:

• Turn & Teach → After learning something new, students explain it to a partner.

• 3-2-1 Share → 3 facts, 2 questions, 1 opinion about the reading.

• Sentence Stem Pair Talk → Students respond with frames from Tip 3.

These routines take only minutes, but they make speaking practice part of the fabric of the school day. More speaking → stronger oracy → better writing → improved test performance.

None of these tips require new programs, big budgets, or endless teacher hours. They’re simple systems that keep English growth visible and repeatable — even amid cuts and staffing shortages.

Click here for more interesting tactics, routines and resources to make your class MUCH more speaking and learning centered.

Long-term English learners don’t need more compliance paperwork. They need schools that create consistent, practical opportunities to grow their language every day.

Further Exploration

• Olsen, L. (2014). Meeting the Unique Needs of Long-Term English Learners. NEA.

• Zwiers, J., & Crawford, M. (2011). Academic Conversations.

• August, D., & Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners.