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Volume 19, Issue 2 (2026)

Summer 2026 Issue

Building Access and Belonging for Multilingual Learners

The Summer 2026 issue of the Journal of English Learner Education centers on a question that continues to shape the field: What does it mean to create meaningful access for multilingual learners across classrooms, schools, teacher preparation programs, and early learning spaces? The articles in this issue approach that question from different educational settings, but they share a common commitment to multilingual learners’ academic participation and sense of belonging.

These contributions remind us that English learner education cannot be reduced to language instruction alone. Multilingual learners need access to disciplinary texts, thoughtfully designed instruction, supportive school environments, prepared educators, and classroom resources that honor children’s curiosity and lived experiences. The work featured in this issue reflects the broad scope of English learner education and the many professional roles involved in supporting multilingual learners.

The issue opens with Jaclyn Bovee (Oregon State University), Amanda K. Kibler (Oregon State University), Martha Sandstead (Oregon State University), Martha Castellón Palacios' (WestEd), and Sarah Howard's (Oregon State University) article, “Are you Performing with a Band or Singing Karaoke? Rethinking Co-teaching Roles and Practices to Serve EL-Classified Multilingual Learners.” The authors examined co-teaching as a structure for content and language integration, paying close attention to the ways teacher roles shape the instruction multilingual learners receive. Through the article’s musical metaphor, readers are invited to consider whether collaboration is truly shared or whether one teacher is left “singing karaoke” while the other carries the instructional lead. This article provides a strong opening for the issue as it places instructional infrastructure at the center of multilingual learner access.

Priscila J. B. M. Costa (Richland School District Two), Luciana C. de Oliveira (Virginia Commonwealth University), and Meghan Love's (Fort Mill School District) “Sustained Reading: Multilingual Learners Exploring the Language of a Text” then moves the issue into academic language and disciplinary reading. Grounded in a language-based approach to content instruction and aligned with WIDA’s emphasis on content and language integration, the article demonstrates how sustained reading can support multilingual learners as they examine how academic texts work. The authors' contribution is especially valuable for educators seeking practical ways to make disciplinary language visible without lowering expectations for multilingual learners.

Laura Craven (East Carolina University), Jonathan Ohrt (University of South Carolina), and Keeland LoDato's (Lenoir-Rhyne University) “The Relationship Between School Identification and Well-Being among Racial Minority English Language Learners: Implications for School Counselors” broadens the issue beyond classroom instruction by focusing on school connectedness and student well-being. This article reflects an important area of English learner education that is sometimes treated as separate from academic achievement, even though students’ sense of belonging is deeply connected to their school experience. The authors highlight the role of school counselors and other support professionals in creating school environments where English learners are recognized as whole students.

Lourdes Cardozo-Gaibisso (Mississippi State University), Savanah Stewart (Vanderbilt University), Daniela Coral Patino (Mississippi State University), and Haylee Morman (University of North Carolina-Wilmington) continue the issue’s attention to preparation and practice through their article on community-engaged learning in TESOL. Their work explores how TESOL students’ experiences in a rural Mississippi school context shaped their understanding of multilingual learners, ethical practice, and community partnership. This article is a useful reminder that teacher preparation must move beyond abstract knowledge about multilingual learners and create opportunities for future educators to engage responsibly in authentic school communities.

The issue closes with Jennifer Hill (St. Cloud State University) and Deborah Wheeler's (St. Cloud State University) practitioner article, “Inspiring Multilingual Children to Explore the Natural World Using Nature-Based Literature.” The authors provide a classroom-facing resource that connects nature-based learning, children’s literature, and multilingual inclusion in early childhood settings. This practitioner contribution offers educators a practical entry point for using nature-based books to support inclusive literacy experiences for young multilingual children.

Our Summer 2026 issue offers a layered view of access and belonging in multilingual learner education. The issue begins with co-teaching and instructional design, moves through academic language and student well-being, turns toward teacher preparation, and concludes with practical classroom resources for young learners. This progression reflects the field itself: multilingual learner education depends on the decisions educators make at every level of schooling.

As editor, I am pleased to present an issue that brings together scholarly inquiry and classroom practice in service of multilingual learners. The articles collected here invite readers to think carefully about the conditions that help multilingual learners participate fully in school life and to consider how educators can continue building learning environments where multilingualism is treated as a strength.

Laura E. Monroe, PhD
Principal Editor