Building Bridges: How ENL Teachers and Literacy Coaches Can Collaborate Effectively
Back to BlogBuilding Bridges: How ENL Teachers and Literacy Coaches Can Collaborate Effectively
05/12/2025
Written by Dr. Dilini Toussaint
Collaboration between English as a New Language (ENL) teachers and literacy coaches is essential in fostering language development and academic success for multilingual learners. In today’s diverse classrooms, multilingual learners bring unique strengths and needs that require intentional, research-based instructional practices. By leveraging each other’s expertise, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can create meaningful learning experiences that support all students.
Collaboration between English as a New Language (ENL) teachers and literacy coaches is essential in fostering language development and academic success for multilingual learners. In today’s diverse classrooms, multilingual learners bring unique strengths and needs that require intentional, research-based instructional practices. By leveraging each other’s expertise, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can create meaningful learning experiences that support all students.
Here are key strategies to enhance collaboration and maximize impact:
1. Establish Shared Goals
Successful collaboration begins with a clear understanding of shared objectives. ENL teachers and literacy coaches should work together to align instructional goals with district literacy initiatives while ensuring they are responsive to the linguistic needs of multilingual learners. Regular discussions can help identify areas where literacy instruction and language development intersect, allowing for a cohesive approach.
2. Co-plan for Integrated Instruction
Rather than working in silos, ENL teachers and literacy coaches should engage in collaborative lesson planning. This process can include:
A foundational aspect of this collaboration is understanding and celebrating the unique strengths that multilingual learners bring to the classroom. These students are not “behind”—they are advancing in multiple languages simultaneously. Their lived experiences often include strong problem-solving skills, cultural adaptability, and a wide array of linguistic knowledge. When ENL teachers and literacy coaches intentionally design instruction that honors these assets—such as incorporating translanguaging strategies or drawing connections between students’ home languages and English—students are more likely to engage deeply and build confidence as readers and writers.
3. Using Error and Data Analysis to Inform Instruction
One area where collaboration can be especially impactful is in error analysis. ENL teachers are trained to interpret common language transfer errors and developmental patterns in second language acquisition. For instance, a multilingual learner may consistently omit articles ("the", "a") not because of a lack of understanding, but due to differences in how their home language structures noun phrases. By analyzing these types of errors, ENL teachers can help literacy coaches distinguish between language-based mistakes and misunderstandings of content.
Additionally, data collection tailored to ELLs—such as running records with language-specific notes, writing samples analyzed for grammatical and syntactic patterns, or language proficiency assessments—can reveal critical insights. These insights can guide the literacy coach in selecting strategies that best support language development alongside literacy skills, such as modeling sentence structure, front-loading vocabulary, or integrating oral language practice into guided reading.
4. Provide Joint Professional Learning Opportunities
Ongoing professional development is key to deepening instructional collaboration. By co-facilitating workshops, modeling best practices, and engaging in professional learning communities, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can build shared expertise in language acquisition and literacy strategies. Sessions could focus on topics such as:
5. Foster a Culture of Collaboration
Building a strong partnership requires trust, open communication, and a commitment to shared success. Strategies for fostering collaboration include:
Written by Dr. Dilini Toussaint
Collaboration between English as a New Language (ENL) teachers and literacy coaches is essential in fostering language development and academic success for multilingual learners. In today’s diverse classrooms, multilingual learners bring unique strengths and needs that require intentional, research-based instructional practices. By leveraging each other’s expertise, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can create meaningful learning experiences that support all students.
Collaboration between English as a New Language (ENL) teachers and literacy coaches is essential in fostering language development and academic success for multilingual learners. In today’s diverse classrooms, multilingual learners bring unique strengths and needs that require intentional, research-based instructional practices. By leveraging each other’s expertise, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can create meaningful learning experiences that support all students.
Here are key strategies to enhance collaboration and maximize impact:
1. Establish Shared Goals
Successful collaboration begins with a clear understanding of shared objectives. ENL teachers and literacy coaches should work together to align instructional goals with district literacy initiatives while ensuring they are responsive to the linguistic needs of multilingual learners. Regular discussions can help identify areas where literacy instruction and language development intersect, allowing for a cohesive approach.
2. Co-plan for Integrated Instruction
Rather than working in silos, ENL teachers and literacy coaches should engage in collaborative lesson planning. This process can include:
- Identifying opportunities for academic language development within literacy instruction.
- Embedding language scaffolds in reading and writing activities.
- Selecting culturally responsive texts that reflect students’ linguistic backgrounds.
A foundational aspect of this collaboration is understanding and celebrating the unique strengths that multilingual learners bring to the classroom. These students are not “behind”—they are advancing in multiple languages simultaneously. Their lived experiences often include strong problem-solving skills, cultural adaptability, and a wide array of linguistic knowledge. When ENL teachers and literacy coaches intentionally design instruction that honors these assets—such as incorporating translanguaging strategies or drawing connections between students’ home languages and English—students are more likely to engage deeply and build confidence as readers and writers.
3. Using Error and Data Analysis to Inform Instruction
One area where collaboration can be especially impactful is in error analysis. ENL teachers are trained to interpret common language transfer errors and developmental patterns in second language acquisition. For instance, a multilingual learner may consistently omit articles ("the", "a") not because of a lack of understanding, but due to differences in how their home language structures noun phrases. By analyzing these types of errors, ENL teachers can help literacy coaches distinguish between language-based mistakes and misunderstandings of content.
Additionally, data collection tailored to ELLs—such as running records with language-specific notes, writing samples analyzed for grammatical and syntactic patterns, or language proficiency assessments—can reveal critical insights. These insights can guide the literacy coach in selecting strategies that best support language development alongside literacy skills, such as modeling sentence structure, front-loading vocabulary, or integrating oral language practice into guided reading.
4. Provide Joint Professional Learning Opportunities
Ongoing professional development is key to deepening instructional collaboration. By co-facilitating workshops, modeling best practices, and engaging in professional learning communities, ENL teachers and literacy coaches can build shared expertise in language acquisition and literacy strategies. Sessions could focus on topics such as:
- The role of oral language in reading comprehension.
- Strategies for supporting ELLs in writing.
- Effective use of formative assessment to inform instruction.
5. Foster a Culture of Collaboration
Building a strong partnership requires trust, open communication, and a commitment to shared success. Strategies for fostering collaboration include:
- Scheduling regular check-ins to discuss student progress and instructional strategies.
- Observing each other’s lessons to provide constructive feedback.
- Advocating for inclusive instructional practices that recognize and value multilingual learners’ strengths.
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