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Walk into any classroom with students learning English, and you鈥檒l likely see a complex tapestry of linguistic diversity. There may be students who are conversationally fluent but struggle with academic vocabulary, newcomers with limited English and interrupted formal education, or students who are literate in their home language but just beginning to decode English. This is the reality educators face every day. Unfortunately, it鈥檚 one that many curriculum companies often overlook or fail to prioritize.

Despite decades of research and advocacy around differentiated instruction for English learners, many curriculum publishers continue to design products around a 鈥済rade-level box鈥� that assumes a uniform level of language proficiency and background knowledge. These one-size-fits-all materials often meet state standards but rarely meet the needs of English learners who exist at various points along the language acquisition continuum.

The core problem is this: Curriculum is often written with the assumption that all students in a classroom are functioning at the same academic and linguistic level. But a fifth-grade classroom may include learners with the reading comprehension of a kindergartner in English 鈥� despite having strong critical thinking skills in their home language. Conversely, another EL student might speak English confidently but struggle with writing structured essays or understanding figurative language.

Curriculum that doesn鈥檛 account for these variations forces teachers to do heavy lifting to retrofit materials, spending hours supplementing, modifying, and differentiating lessons that were built on narrow assumptions.

highlights this disconnect between mainstream curricula and EL needs, calling for instructional models that integrate language and content instruction explicitly. Unfortunately, many commercial curricula still , treating EL modifications as afterthoughts or add-ons, rather than essential design principles.

Another oversight is the belief that language proficiency progresses evenly across all domains: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. In reality a student might excel at oral communication while struggling to read grade-level texts or write a coherent paragraph. Yet, curriculum materials rarely provide scaffolded support for this reality. Instead, they often label students generically with little nuance.

This oversimplification of curriculum design can lead to gaps in instruction, often because of a failure to understand the difference between acquiring a language and learning one, as well as limited clarity on where these processes overlap. Teachers may unintentionally misjudge a student鈥檚 language proficiency, assuming a higher level based on conversational fluency or underestimating a student鈥檚 capabilities simply because they are quiet or reserved.

This challenge is when instructional decisions rely more on perception than on a clear understanding of state-identified proficiency levels 鈥� especially when curriculum materials are not aligned with those levels and fail to include explicit recommendations and strategies for integrated language development and strategies.

Beyond language proficiency, curriculum content can also miss the opportunity to tap into students鈥� cultural and linguistic assets. Students come with a wealth of lived experiences, knowledge, and perspectives that could enrich the classroom environment, what researchers describe as 鈥�.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

Yet, many curriculum materials approach ELs as blank slates to be filled, rather than as contributors with valuable voices. Sadly, these supports often appear as surface-level add-ons 鈥� like generic sentence frames or generalized translated glossaries 鈥� rather than as integrated approaches to equitable, meaningful content access.

Incorporating culturally sustaining pedagogy and leveraging students鈥� lived experiences and languages as legitimate background knowledge is not just essential for curriculum design but crucial for for all students.

Prioritizing the following actions in curriculum design can lead to more effective materials 鈥攐nes that yield positive results, reflect classroom realities and genuinely align with teacher student needs.

• 听Build in multiple entry points for varying language proficiencies

Curriculum should reflect students鈥� diverse linguistic and academic starting points, not just simplified versions of the same material. allows English learners to engage meaningfully with rigorous content, rather than being sidelined or underestimated. 

• 听Provide professional development for teachers working with English learners
  Training for EL instruction should be treated as essential, not optional, in curriculum rollout. Equipping teachers with a of how students develop across all four language domains 鈥� speaking, listening, reading, and writing听 鈥� helps them recognize that proficiency varies by domain and provides the perspective and tools needed to scaffold effectively.听

• Treat home languages and cultures as priorities and integral instructional resources, not afterthoughts
  Thoughtfully embedding these elements into curriculum design and materials strengthens student identity, builds relevance, and deepens engagement鈥攎aking learning for all students. For instance, teachers can encourage the use of home languages when possible for brainstorming or initial drafting before transitioning to English

• Embed actionable teacher guidance
  Recommendations and multi-step approaches听 should be woven directly into lesson content 鈥� not tacked on as end-of-book appendices or vague disclaimers. Providing empowers teachers to adapt instruction in real time based on students鈥� language proficiency鈥攏ot just grade-level benchmarks. Curriculum companies should offer strategies tailored to the specific content demands teachers are navigating. That can include callout boxes and in-line prompts within each lesson.

Curriculum companies must recognize that English learners do not come in a standard size, and their learning cannot be boxed into tidy grade-level expectations or neatly matched from one proficiency level to another. As classrooms become more multilingual and multicultural, this reality must be reflected not only in the lessons teachers deliver but also in the materials and products they are given.

English learners should not be a footnote, but a foundational consideration in how we build and deliver educational content.

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