Social Emotional Learning for Multilingual Learners: Essential Actions for Success

Foster multilingual learners’ academic success, wellbeing, agency, and belonging

Though multilingual learners (MLs) comprise nearly 25% of the school-age population, the most widely-used social emotional learning (SEL) frameworks and programs lack an intentional focus on these students’ unique strengths and challenges. To foster MLs’ academic success and wellbeing, educators must consider students’ cultures, languages, assets, expectations, norms, and life experiences when integrating SEL practices.

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner and Mindi Teich break down how each of the five competencies in the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) SEL framework can be implemented with ML success in mind. Staehr Fenner and Teich’s practical and engaging guide provides SEL considerations that are unique to MLs, relevant research, easy-to-implement educator actions, and tools to seamlessly integrate SEL practices into content and language instruction. Additional features include:

• Tools and practical strategies educators can apply immediately
• Programmatic and systemic considerations that impact SEL for MLs
• Examples of successful SEL strategies for MLs currently being used in classrooms
• Ample opportunities for reflection and application in each chapter
• Templates to prioritize and integrate SEL for MLs into teaching practices

MLs thrive when they are validated and supported to achieve their goals, empathize with others, build relationships, and make responsible decisions. The essential actions presented in this guide will enable you–regardless of your role or prior experience with SEL–to empower MLs to achieve academic and lifelong success.

Diane Staehr Fenner, PhD, is the president of SupportEd (SupportEd.com), a woman-owned small business located in the Washington, DC, metro area that she founded in 2011. SupportEd is dedicated to empowering multilingual learners and their educators. Dr. Staehr Fenner leads her team to provide ML professional learning, coaching, and technical assistance to school districts, states, and organizations. Prior to forming SupportEd, Dr. Staehr Fenner was an English language development (ELD) teacher, dual language assessment teacher, and ELD assessment specialist in Fairfax County Public Schools, VA. She speaks German and Spanish and has taught in Berlin, Germany, and Veracruz, Mexico. Dr. Staehr Fenner grew up on a dairy farm in central New York and is a proud first- generation college graduate. She has written nine books on ML education (and counting), including coauthoring the bestselling Unlocking Multilingual Learners’ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible and Culturally Responsive Teaching for Multilingual Learners: Tools for Equity. She is a frequent keynote speaker on ML education at conferences across North America. She earned her PhD in Multilingual/Multicultural Education at George Mason University and her MAT in TESOL at the School for International Training. You can connect with her by email at Diane@SupportEd.com.

Mindi Teich, MEd, is a Multilingual Learning Coach with SupportEd. Ms. Teich has been an advocate for Multilingual Learners and their teachers for over 20 years. She began her career as an ELD teacher in DC Public Schools (DCPS), where she worked with students in pull out, push in, and co-teaching environments. While still teaching, she worked with District staff to develop and implement training on collaborative practices for classroom and ELD teachers. Later, as part of the DCPS Language Acquisition Division, Ms. Teich spent 10 years providing professional development and on-site coaching to DCPS teachers who worked with MLs. She focused primarily on supporting literacy development for MLs and helped develop District guidance for working with MLs during the literacy block. Just prior to joining SupportEd, she worked as a coach and coordinator of a pilot project, Together is Better, supporting co-teaching in the School District of Philadelphia. Upon joining SupportEd, Ms. Teich has continued to provide coaching and professional development to school districts in Pennsylvania. As a coach, she models lessons, co-teaches alongside teachers, and encourages reflective conversations with teachers and administrators. In addition to her work in schools, Ms. Teich presents often at conferences on topics related to ML education. She earned her Master’s in Education at Marymount University.  You can connect with her by email at Mindi@SupportEd.com or on Twitter at @MindiTeich.

Learn more about bringing Mindi Teich to your school or district at SupportEd.Com