Question: "How can I develop a good network of like-minded educators? In my school, I’m the only English language teacher."

Being the only educator of multilingual learners at your school can feel isolating. I experienced that feeling for years in my work. It was challenging because other teachers did not seem to understand the multilingual learners of English (MLEs), their process of language acquisition and learning, my instructional role, or effective practices for supporting the social and academic language learning while learning grade-level academic content knowledge. Over the years of working in different contexts, I have come to discover that I had been sitting back and waiting for the other teachers to invite me and my students into their setting. Instead, I now understand that I need to invite them into my setting. I’m happy to share some strategies to help you develop your own community of practice (for more on communities of practice, see “Situating Learning in Communities of Practice” and Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation).

Outreach is the first strategy I would like to promote. Many of our colleagues might be interested in our work with MLEs, but we need to reach out to them to invite them in. We want to start with those who are approachable and may have expressed some support and interest. Here are some ideas to do that:

• Host a coffee/tea chat in the teachers’ lounge.

• Have an open house of your classroom and invite colleagues and parents.

• Post information in shared spaces about MLEs’ rights or instructional strategies for MLEs and encourage colleagues to talk to you about the topic.

• Create a WhatsApp group for educators at your school to connect on topics related to MLEs.

• Write invitation cards to invite colleagues to get to know you and what educators of MLEs do.

Regardless of the strategy, remember you are building your own community of practice, and it may take multiple attempts to encourage people to connect.

Bridges of understanding is the second strategy that is a natural outcome of outreach. When we create opportunities for interested colleagues to experience our work in our classroom or other instructional setting, and we all share our ideas about practices and resources, we construct bridges of understanding. We can approach our general education peers from an inquiry stance to learn about their work as a starting point. If we ask them what they love about their content area, or what unit they find the most engaging, we open doors for more conversation. It takes listening, sharing, and time to allow other educators and the teacher of MLEs to bridge the differences in knowledge sets, perspectives, instructional and assessment practices, and priorities (e.g., content knowledge, language acquisition, content coverage, engagement, meaningful learning). As conversations develop, we can share stories of our learners and their experiences and what we do and why.

Sustained connection is the third strategy to build your community of practice (read more about this topic in “From Teacher Isolation to Teacher Collaboration: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings”). When we identify a modality for regular connections, you and your peers can share successes, challenges, questions, and solutions. You can share resources among one another. Recently, I was invited into a community of practice with Egyptian English language teaching supervisors of teachers on WhatsApp. This community did not know each other at first, but with different leaders sharing tips, tools, and ideas, the community members began to do the same. We need to be sure to ask questions and be good listeners to our colleagues’ experiences. In my experience, we will find individuals who are willing to engage in modifying their instructional practices, coteach with us, or stand with us on an advocacy issue.

Up to this point, I have been sharing strategies for you to connect with your peers at your school. However, you already have a community of practice through TESOL International Association. When I was the most alone in my school, I always had my TESOL community to connect with. I did this by joining an Interest Section/Professional Learning Network on the myTESOL forum. You can chat virtually with other educators who have the same interests you do (e.g., K–12, social justice, second language writing, or speaking/listening/pronunciation). Or you can attend a regional TESOL affiliate conference or the TESOL International Association Annual Convention. I hope to see you online or at a conference. Be sure to say hello!

Do you have a question for the TESOL leadership? Email your question to tc@tesol.org with the subject line "Ask a TESOL Leader" and it could be featured in this column!

Dr. Kate Mastruserio Reynolds is a professor of TESOL/literacy at Central Washington University. A licensed K–12 educator, she has taught preservice and in-service teachers and ELT in K–18 public school settings globally. Dr. Reynolds’ publications include Introduction to TESOL: Becoming a Language Teaching Professional. She has forthcoming books on LGBTQ+ allyship in ELT, decolonizing advocacy, and K–12 teacher research narratives. In 2022, she was inducted onto the TESOL International Association’s Board of Directors (2022–2025).

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