Multilingual learners are arguably this nation’s biggest asset. And school districts across the U.S. have had success creating communities that begin with students’ existing linguistic and content knowledge, using it as a resource in authentic learning tasks that promote cultural flexibility and prepare students for effective participation in global contexts.
But there still exists a disconnect between our discourse and our reality. Our current policy landscape labels students as what they do not possess (i.e. English language learners). Meanwhile, the demand for multilingual employees and services continues to outpace our supply.
How can we replicate an asset-based culture for multilinguals across this country that is both equitable and progressive?
Join Dr. Eugene García, Dr. Ester de Jong, Gabriela Uro, and Dr. Joel Gómez from the Center for Applied Linguistics as they discuss this question and consider asset-based approaches for educating multilingual learners.
