Bringing Universal Design for Learning to the World Language Classroom

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that aims to provide all students with equal learning opportunities by setting firm goals, maintaining high expectations, and ensuring that students have access to multiple means of engagement and representation along with various methods of action and expression. However, implementing UDL in world language classes presents unique obstacles.

Although voice and choice are critical, shifting to student-led instruction while maintaining 90 percent target language usage and ensuring comprehension is challenging. Fortunately, barriers can be minimized in the world language classroom by setting firm goals and offering flexible means within the UDL framework.

5 Ways to Integrate UDL into World Language Classes

1. Articulate a firm language goal. The key to making each unit successful is establishing a firm daily language objective using the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages and ACTFL’s “can-do” or “students will be able to” statements.

Ensuring a specific, measurable can-do every day helps determine if students can meet the objective, allowing them to demonstrate understanding through partner discussions, drawings, or sticky notes (e.g., “I can express a sincere apology in the target language”). This approach ensures that students will have completed at least 180 tasks by the end of the year.

2. Foster self-reflection. After sharing the daily language goal, provide students with opportunities to activate their background knowledge and reflect on what they already know as they work toward the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards.

For example, when aiming for an objective like “Students will be able to compare Costa Rican and U.S. school lunches and describe their ideal lunch,” use tools such as a know-wonder-learn (KWL) chart; the task’s rubric; a free write; or a products, practices, and perspectives chart to prompt student thinking. This approach helps students build a deeper understanding of cultural context and linguistic concepts, fostering self-awareness and academic growth.

3. Scaffold inputs. To provide multiple means of engagement and representation, input strategies can include visual cues, pictures, total physical response (TPR), body language, target-language equivalents, tangible examples, common associations, and personal connections. For instance, to introduce new vocabulary, a teacher can employ a game called “class vs. teacher.”

In this activity, the teacher displays a picture with a word underneath it. When the image matches the word, the class repeats it aloud; if not, they remain silent. Points are awarded to the teacher or the class based on correct responses. This interactive method encourages students to connect words with visual representations. When students are ready to access text, the same images can be shared, allowing students to make familiar connections and rely on visual cues rather than English translations.

4. Scaffold outputs. Comprehensible output scaffolds include providing sentence starters and chat mats, encouraging pair or small group discussions to lower the affective filter, using the “I do, we do, you do” method, and incorporating cognates to support multiple means of action and expression. These strategies, however, can sometimes lead to students reverting to English, such as with the turn-and-talk method. To address this, offer a chart with sentence starters in the target language, such as “If I… could be/had been… famous, older, younger, rich… I would/have…”

Modeling these language structures in context with examples and guiding brainstorming sessions can support the target language. Additionally, structure tasks with clear guidelines, accessibility, and time frames (e.g., one minute, adjusted for proficiency levels), and use timers to maintain focus. During discussions, providing phrases on a “chat mat,” such as “It is your turn,” “I don’t know,” “Tell me more,” or “Can you clarify?” help further support the use of the target language among students.

5. Provide construct-relevant choice. Offering authentic resource choices in the world language classroom can be challenging according to students’ ability to access and understand specific vocabulary and language structures. Instead of allowing students to choose from various resources, provide options for accessing a high-quality resource.

For example, if the goal is for students to describe the main character and three events from a text in the target language, offer different methods, or multiple means of representation, to achieve this. This approach ensures that all students can work toward content and proficiency goals with high-quality inputs, agency, and autonomy.

• Leer con una pareja: Read aloud with a partner, taking turns.
• Leer en un grupo: Read the story in a small, teacher-assigned group, where students take turns reading.
• Leer individualmente: Read the story independently. Students can record themselves reading the chapter aloud using sites such as vocaroo.com. The audio can be shared for others to listen to and review with permission.
• Leer con la maestra: Read in a small group with the teacher. The teacher may read aloud or assign reading roles to students in the group.

Similarly, if all students are working toward a speaking goal, they will all have to speak; however, options for action and expression can include demonstrating a spontaneous conversation in a partner presentation or creating a slide presentation with an embedded video showcasing their speaking skills. For writing goals, options could be a free write, a smashdoodle (words and doodles), or a haiku poem (three lines, five-seven-five syllables).

While maintaining language comprehensible for student access, applying the core principles of UDL will help create learning experiences that work for all students and make effective inclusion possible. This means creating multiple pathways for students to learn and demonstrate what they “can do” every day. The key is to elevate both the World-Readiness Standards and language goals and ask, “Is there another way that students could learn or share what they know without sacrificing quality and rigor? If the answer is yes, try it!