UDL and Language Learners
“What’s good for a few, what’s good for some, is good for all within a learning community.”
Universal Design for Learning addresses barriers in the learning environment, including those commonly encountered by English Learners. For example, UDL supports educators to anticipate barriers due to syntax, vocabulary, jargon, idioms, etc., and then providing support – visuals, reference materials, translation tools, etc. These scaffolds are provided to all learners; in this way, anyone who may need support has access without needing prior identification and anyone using the support avoids unnecessary spotlighting by peers for accessing the support (“why does she get that, but not me?”). UDL also supports culturally relevant teaching practices by allowing the students to bring their whole selves to the classroom and to express themselves in ways that are authentic to them individually and culturally.
In this series of conversations, Dr. Soomin Chao and Elise Yerkey from the Los Angeles County Office of Education describe a variety of entry points and strategies for leveraging Universal Design for Learning to support language learning.
Learn more about UDL and Language Learners by watching the videos below. To go deeper, check out the resources listed under “Ways to Learn More”.
UDL and Language Learners: Part 1
Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Dr. Soomin Chao and Elise Yerkey lay out the foundational connection between Universal Design for Learning and supporting language acquisition.
UDL and Language Learners: Part 2
Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Dr. Soomin Chao and Elise Yerkey explore the connections between Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the CA English Leaner Development (ELD) standards, and the CA English Learner Roadmap. This discussion includes the value of an assets-based approach.
UDL and Language Learners: Part 3
Dr. Soomin Chao and Elise Yerkey from the Los Angeles County Office of Education discuss classroom strategies to leverage Universal Design for Learning to support Language Learners.