Research
Medley is inspired by leading research in multilingual education
About our approach
Our approach is grounded in decades of research on effective supports for multilingual learners. We've carefully studied what works and built Medley to automate these evidence-based practices for secondary classrooms.
The research is clear: secondary-level multilingual learners thrive when they can access grade-level content through appropriate scaffolds that respect their home language while building English proficiency. But implementing these scaffolds consistently across multiple content areas requires expertise and time that many schools simply don't have. Medley bridges this gap by making research-backed practices accessible to every teacher and student.
For ELL Directors, Medley offers a solution to one of your biggest challenges: how to provide consistent, high-quality ML support across all secondary content areas when most of your multilingual students spend the majority of their day in general education classes.
Sources that inform our approach include:
Baker, S., Lesaux, N., Jayanthi, M., Dimino, J., Proctor, P., & Morris, J. (2014). Teaching academic content and literacy to English learners in elementary and middle school (NCEE 2014–4012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
WIDA. (2020). WIDA English language development standards framework, 2020 edition: Kindergarten–grade 12. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
WIDA. (2020). WIDA proficiency level descriptors: Informing expectations and scaffolding. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
Billings, E., & Walqui, A. (2021). De-mystifying complex texts: What are “complex” texts and how can we ensure ELLs/MLLs can access them? WestEd.
Billings, E., & Walqui, A. (2017). Dispelling the myth of “English only”: Understanding the importance of the first language in second language learning. WestEd.
de Oliveira, L. C., & Westerlund, R. (Eds.). (2022). Scaffolding for multilingual learners in elementary and secondary schools. [Publisher information not provided].
Goldenberg, C. (2013). Unlocking the research on English learners: What we know—and don’t yet know—about effective instruction. American Educator, 37(2), 4–11.
Annenberg Institute at Brown University. (2024). Supports for multilingual students who are classified as English learners. EdResearch for Action.
Russell, J. M., & Wariua-Nyalwal, P. (2015). Research-proven strategies for improving content vocabulary for middle school English language learners. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6(9)
Howard, E. R., Paez, M. M., August, D., Arteagoitia, I., Pizzo, L., Green, J. D., Gonzalez, E. M., & Artzi, L. (2018). Effective vocabulary instruction for Spanish-speaking students. Center for Applied Linguistics.
U.S. Office of Special Education Programs. (2021). Meeting the needs of English learners with and without disabilities: Brief 1, multitiered instructional systems for ELs.
Symons, C. (2014). Meeting the needs of linguistically diverse students in the mainstream classroom. Michigan Reading Journal, 46(2).
Roberts, N. S., & Truxaw, M. P. (2013). For ELLs: Vocabulary beyond the definitions. Mathematics Teacher, 107(4), 272–278.
Wald, M. (2023, February 27). Embracing translanguaging in the classroom with bilingual texts. Iowa Reading Research Center Blog.