AFFIRMING, NOT ASSIMILATING!

Key Takeaways for Teachers:

💡 Practical, Everyday Strategies: Teachers don’t need to be language specialists. Simple strategies—like slowing down speech, using visuals, and paraphrasing key terms—can transform a multilingual learner’s classroom experience.

💡 Affirmation Is Active, Not Passive: It’s not enough to ‘welcome diversity.’ Teachers must actively affirm students’ languages and cultures in both verbal and non-verbal ways.

💡 Lowering the Affective Filter: Creating a safe environment—where mistakes are seen as part of learning—is key to unlocking language development.

💡 Valuing Progress, Not Perfection: Fluency takes time. Teachers can focus on communication and understanding, rather than ac

curacy, particularly in content-heavy subjects like science, history, and mathematics.

Do your multilingual students feel intense pressure?

Many international schools pride themselves on being diverse, inclusive environments where students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds learn together. Truly affirming multilingual learners goes beyond classroom practice—it needs to be embedded in the very ethos and culture of the school. Affirmation is not just the responsibility of the EAL/ELA/ELL teacher; it is a collective, whole-school commitment that requires the interconnected efforts of every teacher, administrator, support staff, and family. From policies that celebrate multilingualism to a curriculum that mirrors students' diverse identities, and from home-language communication with families to ongoing staff development in language acquisition—every aspect of a school’s ecosystem sends a message to multilingual learners. It either affirms that their languages and cultures are valued, or it frames their language proficiency as a 'problem' to fix, implying they must assimilate into an English-dominant school culture to succeed.

Nevertheless, while this whole-school shift is essential, the classroom remains the space where multilingual learners experience the school most intimately—day in, day out. It is in the classroom that students often decide whether to speak up or stay silent, whether to take a risk or withdraw, and whether they feel their voice matters.

In my years of teaching multilingual learners, I have noticed a recurring pattern—many students feel intense pressure to speak English fluently and choose to stay quiet when they believe they aren’t fluent enough. I have seen students remain silent in class, not because they have nothing to say, but because they fear making mistakes. When they struggle to understand a subject-area teacher’s explanation, rather than asking for clarification, they often withdraw from participation altogether. This is not a lack of ability or willingness—it’s a sign that the learning environment may not yet feel safe enough for them to take risks with language.

Without realising it, international schools may prioritise English proficiency in ways that unintentionally discourage multilingual students from fully engaging. For example:

👉 An “English-only” expectation may limit students' ability to process complex content in their strongest language.

👉 Fast-paced instruction and participation structures may favour students who are already fluent, making it harder for others to contribute confidently.

👉 Assessments designed for native speakers may not always reflect the full capabilities of multilingual learners.

While the goal is to help students succeed in English, some may feel pressure to replace their home language and identity rather than build on them. So how do we shift towards a model that truly celebrates and supports multilingual learners?

The Natural Approach reminds us that language acquisition flourishes when students are provided with comprehensible input, a low-anxiety environment, and opportunities to engage with language naturally. It emphasises that language develops best when the pressure to produce is reduced and when understanding is prioritised over grammatical perfection.

Multilingual learners should feel supported and affirmed in their language development:

🌿 L – Language Exposure (Input-Rich Environment)

📢 Affirming Practice: Give students high-quality, engaging, and meaningful input in English without overwhelming them.

✅ Use multimodal instruction (videos, gestures, images, real-world context).

✅ Allow home languages to support understanding (e.g., bilingual glossaries, peer translations, dual-language books).

✅ Create a language-rich classroom where students see their home languages valued alongside English.

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Only allowing English in the classroom, preventing students from using their first language to support learning.

🌿 E – Engagement (Making Learning Interactive & Meaningful)

📢 Affirming Practice: Allow students to express themselves in ways that reflect their linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

✅Use collaborative learning where students work in mixed-language groups.

✅Encourage project-based learning where students integrate their cultural knowledge and perspectives.

✅Invite students to share personal stories, experiences, and traditions as part of the curriculum.

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Expecting students to only interact in English and discouraging cultural references in class discussions.

🌿 A – Acquisition (Natural Language Development)

📢 Affirming Practice: Let students acquire English at their own pace rather than forcing explicit grammar instruction and rote memorisation. ✅ Focus on meaning before form—allow students to use English in real, communicative contexts.

✅ Allow a silent period if students aren’t ready to speak yet. In the Natural Order, the silent period is an expected phase in Second Language Acquisition just like it is in First Language.

✅ Model correct language use naturally with covert error correction rather than forcing corrections. (You can find my article on this here.)

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Prioritising grammatical accuracy over communication, which discourages risk-taking and confidence-building.

🌿 V – Validation (Recognising Students' Linguistic & Cultural Identities)

📢 Affirming Practice: Celebrate students’ multilingualism and home cultures instead of expecting them to conform to a monolingual standard. ✅ Incorporate home languages into the classroom through Translanguaging (e.g., display multilingual signage, allow multilingual projects).

✅ Acknowledge students' linguistic journeys—ask them about their experiences learning multiple languages.

✅ Ensure diverse representation in classroom materials—use books, videos, and examples that reflect global perspectives.

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Correcting students' pronunciation in a way that makes them feel self-conscious or devaluing home languages as "less important."

🌿 E – Engagement (Building Relationships & Safe Learning Environments)

📢 Affirming Practice: Develop strong teacher-student relationships to make students feel safe to express themselves.

✅ Take time to get to know students' backgrounds, interests, and home languages.

✅ Create a low-stress, mistake-friendly classroom where students feel comfortable experimenting with English.

✅ Encourage student-led discussions where they can express opinions in their most confident language first, then translate into English.

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Making English the only acceptable language in student interactions, rather than encouraging multilingual expression.

🌿 S – Scaffolding (Supporting Students to Take Risks & Grow)

📢 Affirming Practice: Give students the right amount of support so they can develop their English without feeling overwhelmed.

✅ Use sentence frames, visuals, and guided notes to help students participate without fear.

✅ Provide clear instructions with multiple modes of explanation (verbal, written, visual).

✅ Allow students to use their home language as a bridge—writing first drafts in their strongest language before translating.

🚫 Assimilation Trap: Expecting students to produce high-level academic English immediately, without providing structured support.

How this approach Affirms, Not Assimilates

When teachers embrace this approach, they:

✔️ Lower the affective filter, making students feel safe to learn.

✔️ Celebrate multilingualism, treating home languages as assets.

✔️ Prioritise meaning and communication, not just accuracy.

✔️ Respect students' linguistic identities, allowing them to bring their full selves into learning.

References:

Krashen, S.D., 1982. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Krashen, S.D., 1985. The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London: Longman.

Cummins, J., 2001. Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: California Association for Bilingual Education.

Gibbons, P., 2015. Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.