Multilingual Learner Project
About the Program
The Multilingual Learner Project (MLP) prepares teams of high school teachers to support the academic and socioemotional needs of Multilingual Learners (also known as English Language Learners), one of the country’s fastest growing groups of students. Designed by scholars and instructional specialists from The City College of New York and New Visions for Public Schools, the program aims to support the literacy development and academic achievement of Multilingual Learners across content areas.
The program is fully funded and provides teachers with a unique opportunity to earn a New York State certification in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), free of charge.
There are limited spaces available; teachers who are interested in this opportunity should form a team immediately and begin assembling their application materials. Click here to learn more about MLP’s benefits for schools and teachers.
“The way the MLP is structured—the classes, workshops, coaching—guides us to help the students. Each class has meaningful and useful information to apply the next day! I’m an ELL myself. Everything they talk about in each class is what I lived, and now I have strategies to help my students. ” Program Participant, Cohort 1
Our Approach
Our rigorous coursework and team-based professional development is informed by three core program values and guided by the goal of providing meaningful support to thousands of multilingual learners across New York City.
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Building on linguistic & cultural assets
Multilingual learners (MLs) enter school with rich cultural histories and broad linguistic repertoires that support academic achievement. The program provides participants with knowledge and strategies not only to build on those resources, but also to engage the families of MLs and to address the socioemotional needs of MLs.
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Enacting explicit language & literacy strategies
The program focuses on the use of instructional routines and cognitive strategies across the content areas to support language and literacy growth in students. Teachers learn how to assess the language demands of curricular materials and tasks, modify curricula to meet the needs of MLs, teach cognitive strategies, and facilitate group learning routines.
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Collaborating, experimenting, & reflecting in teams
Learning in teams is a core element of the program design. Teachers apply to the program with a team of other teachers from their schools. These in-school teams develop goals together and foster strong working relationships to support MLs at their schools. Participants also have the opportunity to collaborate with teachers from other schools who teach the same subject area.
What are the benefits to teachers?
Additional certification – Teachers have the opportunity to earn an additional and increasingly sought-after teaching certificate (TESOL).
Instructional support – Teachers receive ongoing individual and team-based support from ELL specialists during the 2018-2019 school year.
Funding – Tuition and fees, estimated at $7,000 per teacher, are fully funded.
Salary – All participants who complete the program earn 13 graduate credits. DOE teachers can apply these credits toward salary differentials. Charter teachers who have a NYS teaching certificate and complete the program are eligible for an annual stipend differential of $2,500.
Online Learning – Some coursework is offered online via web conferencing and an online learning platform, allowing teachers the flexibility of learning from the comfort of their home.
Program Timeline
Off-site professional development takes place during two days in late August and four days over the course of the school year. Teachers also engage in regular professional development activities in their schools throughout the school year, including bi-weekly, in-school sessions, facilitated by ELL specialists.
