English-language learners are a growing population in American schools, and it is essential that schools and teachers support them by creating positive classroom environments and engaging in teaching strategies that scaffold students’ learning of new academic content and vocabulary. More than ten percent of students in the United States speak a primary language other than English, and this number is growing (Kaplan, 2019).
With English language learners making up such a large portion of American students, it is crucial that schools and teachers address their unique needs and help them feel accepted and supported in the classroom. Project-based learning is a strong framework for addressing the unique academic, emotional, and language needs of ELL learners while fostering the development of important cognitive and life skills. The essential components of PBL, including collaboration and student choice, naturally support English language learners as they strive to simultaneously learn a new language and meet grade-level academic standards.