Using Asset-Based Language

View the Signed Letter to NC Educators

Dear Educators:

As part of its asset-based belief system, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will now begin using “Multilingual Learner” (ML) when referring to students who use other languages in addition to English. This shift in language takes an asset-based approach to: 1) avoid labeling students in terms of the language they do not yet know; 2) acknowledge that students’ first languages and cultures are a strength;  and 3) reiterate the importance of literacy and proficiency in multiple languages.

ML includes students who are commonly referred to as: English language learners (ELLs), newcomers, students with interrupted formal schooling (SIFE), long-term English learners (L-TELs), English learners with disabilities, gifted and talented English learners, and students with English as an additional language (EAL) (WIDA 2020). 

We recognize that, in the field of K-12 education, various terms are used to describe MLs. For policy & legislation purposes, NCDPI will maintain the term “English Learners.” For all other purposes, NCDPI will begin to use the term “Multilingual Learner.” 

While shifting to this language is a local decision, we hope Public School Units (PSUs) will join NCDPI in using this asset-based and inclusive term.

Thank you for all you do for our multilingual learners in North Carolina. 

For questions, please contact Dr. Stacy Daniel, ELA and Languages Section Chief at stacy.daniel@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2829.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mary Hemphill-Joseph

Director, Division of Academic Standards 

References

WIDA. WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition: Kindergarten–Grade 12. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2020.