UW–Madison Research Develops New Framework to Strengthen Instruction for Multilingual Learners

‘LIFT’ Model Integrates Language Development into Core Teaching Practices

January 20, 2026   |   By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research and Scholarship

As multilingual learners make up a growing share of U.S. classrooms, educators face increasing pressure to support students who are learning academic content and the language of instruction at the same time.

In response, a recent working paper from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), part of UW–Madison’s School of Education, introduces the Language‑Integrated Framework for Teaching (LIFT). It’s a model designed, with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), to help teachers across the country embed a language focus directly into core teaching practices.

“Embedding language into core teaching practices fosters an environment where multilingual learners can thrive academically and linguistically,” says education researcher Mariana Castro, co-director of WCER’s Multilingual Learning Research Center (MLRC).

The paper, “Language-Integrated Framework for Teaching (LIFT): A Framework Supporting Multilingual Learners Through Core Teaching Practices,” is part of an NSF project that supports the preparation of future science teachers in developing the skills necessary to engage multilingual learners in teaching and learning. The paper documents how teachers can create language-rich classroom environments that center multilingual learners’ language practices to support their participation in class without simplifying coursework. The framework responds to longstanding gaps in teacher preparation and instructional design that leave many such learners without the support they need to fully access grade‑level learning, says Castro, who is also serving as WCER’s interim director.

Multilingual learners often face “double the work” — the challenge of mastering English while simultaneously learning subject matter, the paper notes. This dual task places significant cognitive, linguistic, and socioemotional demands on these students.

How Current Practices, Programs Fail to Help

Most teacher preparation programs do not require comprehensive training in second‑language acquisition or culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, the paper says. Only a few states mandate specialized endorsements for teaching multilingual learners, and even where credentials exist, coursework and field experiences vary widely in depth and quality.

Core teaching practices — a set of research-based instructional norms that help teachers engage students in meaningful learning — have emerged as a promising approach to preparing new teachers because the practices emphasize student thinking, engagement, and sense‑making across grade levels and subject areas.

However, these practices often overlook the linguistic and cultural needs and assets of multilingual learners, Castro says. Major national studies of core practices have not incorporated research on language development, and many practice‑based teacher education models do not explicitly address how these students access or use language in learning.

To address these gaps, Castro brings together three strands of research — core teaching practices, content‑and‑language integration, and culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy — to propose the LIFT framework. LIFT is designed to help teachers make language visible and intentional, rather than treating language support as a separate or specialized activity. The framework emphasizes that all students, not only multilingual learners, benefit from deliberate attention to language use during teaching and learning.

How LIFT Works

LIFT aligns language supports with core teaching practices, such as:

1. Eliciting and interpreting student thinking, when teachers learn to:
   • Ask questions that invite multilingual learners to share ideas
   • Attend to both content and language in student responses
   • Use insights to guide instruction
     
2.  Making content comprehensible, when teachers incorporate:
   • Modeling and think-alouds
   • Clear explanations
   • Visuals, examples, and structured supports
     
3. Facilitating small-group work, in which teachers design:
   • Tasks that promote collaboration
   • Clear roles and expectations
   • Opportunities for multilingual learners to use language authentically
     
4. Building respectful relationships, as teachers create:
   • Welcoming, culturally responsive environments
   • Space for students’ full linguistic repertoires
   • Trust that supports risk-taking in language use           

The LIFT framework also highlights the importance of recognizing multilingual learners’ linguistic and cultural strengths, including their ability to translanguage, or use multiple languages in flexible and dynamic ways. Understanding students’ linguistic repertoires allows teachers to design instruction that is both rigorous and responsive, and to create learning environments where multilingual students feel a sense of belonging and can participate fully.

LIFT draws on research showing that multilingual learners master language most effectively when they use it for meaningful academic purposes. Rather than simplifying content, teachers can provide scaffolds within core practices, including their use of various languages, to help these students engage in class discussions, interpret texts, and express their ideas, the paper notes.

By aligning these supports with core teaching practices — which include eliciting student thinking, facilitating small-group work, and making content comprehensible — LIFT offers a coherent approach across grade levels and subject areas to expand these learners’ access to rigorous learning and strengthen their academic and linguistic development.

The paper notes that integrating language into core teaching practices is essential for preparing all teachers to work in today’s linguistically diverse classrooms. The LIFT framework provides a practical, research-grounded model to do that by guiding teacher education programs, professional development initiatives, and classroom instruction.

“Through an intentional focus on language when enacting core teaching practices, the LIFT framework moves beyond simplifying content and instead offers a model where multilingual learners’ language assets are visible, intentional, and embedded into rigorous classroom instruction,” says Castro.

About the Multilingual Learning Research Center

The MLRC is a research center within WCER focused on teaching and learning to advance educational outcomes for multilingual learners through innovative and socially just research and research–practice partnerships. For more information, visit mlrc.wisc.edu.

About the Wisconsin Center for Education Research

The Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW–Madison’s #1-ranked School of Education is one of the oldest and most productive education research centers in the world. It has assisted scholars and practitioners in developing, submitting, conducting and sharing grant-funded education research for over 60 years.

WCER’s mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, positively impact education practice, and foster collaboration among academic disciplines and practitioners. Learn more at wcer.wisc.edu.