Teaching with Standards

WIDA understands that your instructional context is unique. For example, you might be teaching academic subjects with multilingual learners integrated into your classroom, or you might be collaborating as a content or language expert for your shared multilingual students. Regardless, the WIDA Language Development Standards can help you integrate language development and content learning appropriate to the grade level and proficiencies of your students.

WIDA has established language development standards for English and Spanish. These standards represent the language students need to be successful in grades K-12.

The first standard, Social and Instructional Language, reflects the ways in which students interact socially to build community and establish working relationships with peers and teachers in ways that support learning.

The remaining four standards present ways multilingual learners can communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies.