Integrated Literacy for Experienced Multilinguals, Grades 4-12
Transform how experienced multilinguals develop academic language and literacy skills
Experienced multilinguals—students who have been in language development programs for five or more years—face unique challenges that traditional English language development (ELD) approaches often fail to address. While newcomers receive immediate attention and support, experienced multilinguals frequently find themselves stuck in programs designed for social language development rather than the sophisticated academic language they need to thrive.
In this follow-up to their bestselling Long-Term Success for Experienced Multilinguals, authors Tan Huynh and Beth Skelton provide ELD and English Language Arts teachers with the Integrated Literacy Framework. This revolutionary approach systematically integrates all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) with the four dimensions of academic language (vocabulary, sentence structures, organizational patterns, and context). Through content-based units and intentional academic literacy activities, teachers will learn how to design instruction that moves experienced multilinguals beyond survival language to the complex communication skills required for academic success.
Key features of this resource include:
- The complete Integrated Literacy Framework with step-by-step guidance for unit and lesson planning that weaves content and language development together
- Four comprehensive sample units progressing from foundational to sophisticated academic language, including an approach to create your own vocabulary set, sentence structures, and organizational patterns
- Practical classroom tools including engagement models that cultivate independence, vignettes from Tan’s classroom, "Try It Out" activities, reflection questions, templates, and visual anchor charts
- Foundational literacy routines for systematic sentence-level and organizational instruction, including Structured Quick Write, Sentence Deconstruction and Reconstruction, Co-editing, and Co-revising
This essential resource empowers educators to create the optimal conditions experienced multilinguals need to unlock their potential as the mathematicians, scientists, historians, writers, and artists they know themselves to be. Your students will develop the academic language proficiency necessary to express complex ideas with confidence and sophistication.
"Tan demonstrated a live teaching methods to me from his class in 2024/2025 school year. I adopted it in my class for 2025/2026. Students were able to understand what you’re trying to instruct them to do with visual and verbal at the same time. It shows the I do and we do clearly, which students then can do together for they do part prior to them doing it individually."
"The strategies that Beth and Tan have honed are valuable for all educators, particularly those with multilingual learners in their classrooms. Full of practical and relevant visuals and graphic organizers along with meaningful reflection opportunities, this book models exactly how content should be presented to our students."
"The Integrated Literacy Framework embodies the hopes and dreams that we, as educators, hold for our multilingual learners. The strategies, tools, and insights presented in this work are designed to equip these students with the essential literacy skills that will open up all academic and professional choices for their futures. "
"Integrated Literacy Framework is an excellent resource for all educators, especially those working with our Experienced Multilingual students. All students are academic language learners and while this does focus on our Multilingual students, this framework is laid out in such an intentional and detailed manner for teachers addressing both language and content to make any student more successful in their literacy learning. Tan and Beth give a plethora of excellent examples and detailed visuals throughout this book making it extremely comprehensible and feasible to implement. This is a must read!"
"I have been waiting for a book of this kind and caliber for a long time. I have worked with multilingual learners for decades. I often feel I was working in isolation with only theoretical materials to help me understand the needs of EMLs but no resources to help me develop practical methods to actually teach with. This book provides that kind of resource and strong support."