This brief highlights how to use culturally and linguistically aligned strategies to support multilingual learners within an multi-tiered system of supports framework
This brief provides a framework for using Response to Intervention (RTI) with students who are English Language Learners (ELL) from Hispanic backgrounds. It examines the characteristics of these students; defines the RTI process; and then models how students’ linguistic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds can guide appropriate screening, progress monitoring, and goal setting that will help promote English literacy. The brief concludes with a case study that provides specific recommendations for how to apply screening and progress monitoring with ELLs.
English learners (ELs), as defined by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, are individuals enrolled in school between the ages of 3 and 21 whose native language is not English. Although ELs are categorized under a single, homogeneous label, they represent a diverse population of students with wide-ranging cultural experiences, native and second-language proficiencies, and varying degrees of subject matter knowledge (Vaughn et al., 2019).
Delivering intensive intervention for ELs involves consistent attention to students’ language development, culture, and academic and behavioral needs throughout the DBI process. Supporting ELs with intensive needs depends on an educator’s