ESL instruction is provided by ESL teacher in conjunction with content area teachers in grade level/content area classrooms

• 2 teachers: ESL-licensed teacher plus an appropriately endorsed content area teacher
• ESL teacher drives ESL instruction, and content area teacher is responsible for content instruction
• Incorporates various co-teaching arrangements
• Scheduled as a dedicated instructional time

Co-teaching ESL is an instructional delivery approach in which ESL instruction is provided by an ESL teacher in conjunction with appropriately endorsed content area teacher. Instruction is provided in grade level/content area classrooms and teachers co-plan, co-teach and co-assess English learners together. In this approach, each teacher takes responsibility for aspects of instruction and assessment related to their area of expertise: the ESL teacher drives language-focused instruction and assessment, while the content area teacher is responsible for content instruction and assessment. In practice, co-teaching ESL may look differently depending on student grouping and specific teaching roles in each lesson. For example, sometimes one teacher teaches while another assesses the whole class, and other times teachers may divide the whole class in two so each can teach a group. Co-teaching ESL aligned to the Massachusetts definition of ESL instruction:

• Is based on a dedicated, systematic, explicit, and sustained language-focused curriculum aligned to both the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework and the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. This curriculum is grade-level appropriate, language driven, and more tightly integrated to the content area curriculum given the higher level of connection between ESL and content area lessons in co-teaching than in other ESL delivery approaches.
• Is tailored to the characteristics and backgrounds of the students served, leveraging their assets (cultural background and experiences, first language, funds of knowledge, etc.) and scaffolding instruction to meet their needs.
• Requires extensive collaboration between educators and administrative support, including professional learning on co-teaching strategies, sufficient staffing, and careful structural design to ensure joint activities and teacher roles effectively leverage each educators’ expertise to maximize students’ language development and content learning.
• Is designed carefully to ensure students identified as English learners receive the appropriate amounts of dedicated, language-focused instruction they need to be successful and as legally required within all English Learner Education programs in Massachusetts.

To learn more about the characteristics, educator roles, and instructional practices for effective co-teaching ESL, see this Quick Reference Guide .

Last Updated: September 20, 2022