In its inaugural year, the Multilingual Learning Research Center’s Speaker Series emerged as a dynamic space for researchers to share their findings on all aspects of multilingual learner education. The monthly series brought together educators and researchers to jointly examine recent empirical research and to consider implications for both practice and additional research.
A Year of Engaging Conversations
Every first Thursday of the month, the MLRC Speaker Series spotlights a researcher or team of researchers sharing fresh insights and findings related to the teaching and learning of multilingual learners. This year’s 10 talks spanned a remarkable range of topics, including:
Math Education and Literacy:
Haiwen Chu from WestEd delved into how multilingual learners collaboratively construct mathematical proofs and representations. Jackie Relyea from North Carolina State University examined effective strategies for reading and writing within content-rich literacy instruction for multilingual learners.
Teacher Development:
Megan Madigan Peercy from University of Maryland and her team explored humanizing pedagogy, essential teaching practices, and educators’ beliefs about linguistic diversity.
Policy and Legal Issues:
Megan Montee from Georgetown University discussed U.S. world language policies, while Trish Morita-Mullaney provided historical context on language rights and racial integration.
Assessment:
Narék Sahakyan from WIDA investigated trends and disparities in standardized assessments affecting multilingual learners.
Social-Emotional Learning:
Xuan Zhou from Texas State University shared her study on urban STEM teachers’ social-emotional competencies and teaching efficacy.
Teacher Beliefs and Lived Experiences:
Christine Montecillo Leider from UMass Lowell and Christina Dobbs from Boston University explored how teachers’ beliefs about language learning are closely linked to their sociopolitical attitudes toward linguistic diversity. Nicolette Grant from East Carolina University shared insights into the experiences of international dual language immersion teachers.
We are grateful to our outstanding speakers, engaged attendees, and everyone who has watched and shared our sessions. Missed a session? All recordings are available on our website.
By the Numbers
The series’ reach and engagement have grown steadily, with each session drawing in new participants and sparking lively discussion. We saw our highest live attendance between February and April, with each session during this period drawing over 100 participants and the talks have continued to resonate long after the live events. As of August 2025, the series’ recordings have been viewed over a total of 1,200 times on our YouTube channel, underscoring the lasting impact and value.
Looking Ahead
We look forward to returning in September with our second year of talks, continuing our focus on empirical research and engaging with the work of early career scholars in ways that support their professional growth, lift up their work, and expand our knowledge of the field. We hope to invest in the next generation of multilingual researchers, provide a space for collaboration, and highlight the importance of innovative, rigorous and socially just research about, with and for multilingual learners. Kick off the 2025-2026 MLRC Speaker Series with us on September 4th as we welcome Elenita Irizarry-Ramos, Bilingual Education Lead for Massachusetts. Don’t miss this inaugural event as Dr. Irizarry-Ramos shares how her findings from a mixed-methods study are shaping dual language and bilingual education policy across the state. Register for her mixed methods talk. Stay tuned for more announcements about next year’s lineup! Thank you for being part of making the Speaker Series a resounding success!
