Supporting Multilingual Students in Online Courses

• It’s important to let your students know that their diverse backgrounds are valued and seen as assets. Acknowledging that the range of perspectives and experiences that students bring adds richness to the class will help to create a positive learning environment. Be mindful of ‘non-standard’ uses of English while keeping a focus on and modelling expectations for intelligible scholarly communication. You might consider utilizing a translanguaging pedagogical approach (Baker, 2006; Mazak, 2018) which allows students to make connections between the course content and their first language, for example by reading and/or talking about the content in one language, writing about what they know in another language.
• One explicit way to create an inclusive and positive online classroom climate for multilingual students is to include in your syllabus a statement that addresses how you view multilingualism, for example:
  
  I expect “written accent” (missing articles, incorrect prepositions, incorrect verb tenses) to be treated with respect. While all students in this course are expected to challenge themselves to become more effective and accomplished writers, we will not spend time worrying too much about the aspects of English that take many years to acquire (i.e. articles, verb tense, prepositions), but instead focus on expression of ideas, communicative competence and rhetorical savvy. Valuing linguistic diversity is an important part of being a global citizen and we celebrate this diversity in our classroom. Accented communication is always accepted and welcomed. Any expression of racism, linguicism, and xenophobia will not be tolerated.
  
  From Pedagogical Considerations for Multilingual Students in Online and Hybrid Contexts | St. Lawrence University (stlawu.edu)
  
  
  

• Some multilingual students find the pacing of traditional, in-person courses to be quite fast, with a lot of material and possibly specialized vocabulary covered in a short space of time. In a flipped model, however, students can self-regulate how much time they spend on learning new concepts and content and reviewing material at a pace that best suits them. 
• Ask students to review slides, read, watch videos and learn new vocabulary outside synchronous online class time so that class time can be spent practicing, applying, and strengthening knowledge in low-stakes ways, and you can better assess where muddy points might be and address those in a timely manner.

• It can be very helpful to use multiple modalities in an online learning environment, which can often lack non-verbal cues that aid in communication and comprehension, such as body language, tone, and intonation. For example, if you are giving oral instructions for any online activities, also post them in a place where students can refer to them throughout the activity, and allow time to ensure all students have understood instructions before having them do the learning activity.
• Reduce the amount of text on your slides, especially if you are including a lot of oral content at the same time, as this will prevent cognitive overload and will give students time to absorb the material, especially if you build in regular pauses in both text and speech.
• Include visual representations of concepts or ideas which students can review both before and after synchronous settings.
• Enable captions for any videos so students can read what is being said to enable greater understanding.
• Leverage available online tools such as the chat function, or an online whiteboard, or tools such as Jamboard or Padlet, or a discussion board on Canvas, to give agency to students, enhance learning, and offer multiple modes of expression.

• Checking in with all students early on can help not only to alleviate anxiety, but can also reduce hesitancy in students coming to see you when they have a specific need.
• Establishing a rapport either individually or in small groups creates an opportunity to invite students to come again with questions on areas they need clarification on. It can also help students feel less intimidated if a norm is established at the start of a course, particularly if students come from a background where seeking help might be frowned upon or seen as an imposition. Students may be more willing to seek help if they are first required to meet with the instructor.
• Fostering that connection explicitly  and early is especially important in the online environment. Meeting one-on-one also gives the instructor the opportunity to learn students’ names and how to pronounce them, which also helps students feel seen and welcome.

• Speaking in front of a large group can be intimidating, especially for students who come from an educational background where that is not encouraged. Having students work in smaller groups gives all students more opportunities to interact.
• Scaffolding students from speaking in a small group first to speaking in a large group may encourage more participation in the class, especially once they have had some practice. As with any activity, it is important to model expectations and to give explicit instructions, especially if you are moving from large group to small group and back again. Taking the time to do this will ensure students are all clear about what they are being asked to do and what the outcome of the activity is expected to look like.
• Consider incorporating instructional strategies such as Think-Pair-Share for small group work.

• Requesting quick feedback from all students at the end of class, such as using ‘exit tickets’, gives them an opportunity to be heard and feel included, and gives you the opportunity to get a sense of the pace, scope, and depth of students’ understanding of the material. An ‘exit ticket’ is a formative assessment tool that asks students to respond to one to three key questions or prompts at the end of a lesson.
• Questions might include:
  • What is/are the one/two/three main takeaway(s) from today?
  • What is something from today’s class you need to understand better?
  • What was the pace of the class like for you today - too fast, just right, too slow?
  • What are three things you learned, two questions you have about those things, and one reason why it’s important to learn about those things?
  • What is something you need help with? Something you are in process of understanding? Something you understand well?
• Offer opportunities for anonymous feedback in different modalities. Clickers, Canvas Quiz or Zoom polling can be used for exit tickets. Here are some templates for creating exit tickets: Exit tickets (nsw.gov.au). Free online tools such as Kahoot and Mentimeter can be used for gathering anonymous formative feedback.
• Asking questions that require short answers may appeal to students who are not all that confident about their writing abilities, especially when they don’t have time to prepare and revise.   
• How to distribute weekly exit tickets to check-in on students - IT Teaching Resources (stanford.edu)

• The last few years have been challenging for everyone; additional challenges for some multilingual students may have included finishing high school and/or starting university in an isolated environment lacking in support and socialization, less exposure to using English regularly in a variety of contexts, and limited acclimatization to the norms and expectations of university life. It is important to remember this and to avoid making assumptions if students appear to be struggling.
• Being kind, compassionate and understanding will demonstrate awareness that for learning to happen, anxiety has to be lessened, and the expectation is not for perfection, but for progress. Students will appreciate flexibility and a willingness to be accommodating with any challenges they have, which might include linguistic anxiety, having to share devices, access to adequate online connection, being in a different time zone, juggling family and/or work responsibilities, health issues and so on. If students have missed deadlines, reaching out to them with an invitation to chat is more helpful than assigning a punitive mark. Inviting student input into a community of practice agreement is more collaborative than setting rigid, top-down rules, and being flexible, within reason, allows students to stay engaged and feel supported.
• It’s also important to reach out to any students who are not doing well early one and invite them in for a chat so you can get some feedback from them and offer ways to support their learning and progress in your course.

When designing your course, consider how students might experience your course and course site and try to make it as welcoming and accessible as possible:

• Provide some sort of orientation to the virtual space to ensure students are comfortable in the environment from the start.
• Make it clear to students how they can access available resources should they need to troubleshoot any technical issues, and make it clear what your boundaries are in terms of contacting you and expected response times.
• Try to include enough white space in your layout of blocks of text to signal appropriate ‘breaks’ for students to absorb and reflect. Long blocks of text can be overwhelming for some students, especially those who might still be translating unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Avoid idiomatic language, slang, or cultural references that may be unfamiliar without explanation. Write clearly and plainly so that all students can understand the content.
• If you are posting videos for students to view in advance, always include captions so students can both read and listen which helps mitigate and speech they might not have understood.
• Describe your expectations for engagement with assignments in detail - consider giving suggested times for activities so students understand the expectations and can plan appropriately. For example, you might suggest two to three hours for asynchronous reading and note-taking preparation prior to a synchronous online session.
• Make it clear how and when you expect students to engage online (synchronously, asynchronously, orally, in written form, on camera, in a chat window, on a discussion post, with you, with the content, and with each other), and if you have a participation mark, make it clear how this is assessed.

Resource

• Customizable Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist drawing on knowledge of Canvas and Universal Design for Learning principles, and applying understanding of pedagogical best practices to help Canvas users elevate the quality and accessibility of Canvas courses for all learners.
  Course-Evaluation-Checklist-v2.0 - Google Docs