More than words: Language scaffolding strategies in Dutch reception classes

Across European and OECD countries, the number of migrant students is rising. In the Netherlands, reception classes offer intensive programs to newly arrived migrant students who cannot yet use the Dutch language sufficiently to follow mainstream secondary education. In reception classes, an important role is attributed to language scaffolding, which supports learners to engage with content in a language they only partially know. Through an exploratory descriptive design this study investigated language scaffolding strategies reported by nine teachers across nine interviews and observed in a combined total of 21 lessons. The results show that language scaffolds on the word, sentence, and text-levels were applied to support students in meeting both receptive and productive demands. In total 23 different language scaffolding strategies were identified across the three levels and two types of demands. Language scaffolding occurred most often on the word-level and teachers scaffolded the word-level in 13 different ways. Language scaffolding on the word-level should thus neither be regarded as a monolith, nor should the 10 different strategies that occurred on the sentence and text-level be disregarded. These findings can offer teachers approaches to supporting multilingual learners, inform their professional development, and guide policymakers’ decisions about curriculum requirements.