Multilingual learners bring a wide range of academic backgrounds, career goals and life experiences to community colleges, yet researchers say institutions still have limited understanding of why these students enroll and what support they need to succeed.
A new report from the Community College Research Center, Supporting Multilingual Learners in Community Colleges: Lessons from City Colleges of Chicago, examines policies and practices across the seven-campus City Colleges of Chicago system.
The three-year mixed-methods study included interviews, surveys and analysis of administrative data. It defines multilingual learners as students developing English proficiency while pursuing education or training.
“Community colleges serve a diverse student population in terms of age, racial and ethnic background, and education level,” the report notes, but “relatively little is known about those who are in the process of developing English language proficiency and what motivates them to enroll.”
Multilingual learners bring diverse goals and backgrounds
Multilingual learners enroll in community colleges for many reasons, including improving communication skills, preparing for careers and earning college degrees.
At the City Colleges of Chicago, students pursuing English as a Second Language programs ranged from recent immigrants to individuals with advanced degrees earned abroad. Some sought basic language skills for work or daily life, while others planned to transfer to four-year institutions or earn associate degrees.
Researchers found multilingual learners often juggle work, family responsibilities and coursework. Many also arrive with widely varying levels of prior education, which can make course placement and instruction challenging.
Survey responses showed that 65% of students reported speaking more than one language in their daily lives, underscoring the linguistic diversity of community colleges.
ESL programs face structural challenges
Community colleges offer several pathways for multilingual learners, including adult education ESL courses and credit-bearing ESL programs designed to prepare students for college-level coursework.
However, the report found that persistence and completion rates often lag behind those of traditional credit students. Persistence measures whether students stay enrolled from term to term—for example, returning the next semester or academic year.
The study found notable gaps in persistence between ESL students and those enrolled in traditional credit programs. For example:
• Fall-to-spring persistence: Multilingual learners in adult ESL programs persisted at about 57%, compared with 64% for all students in credit programs.
• Fall-to-fall persistence: About 29% of ESL students returned the following year, compared with 38% of all credit students.
Researchers emphasize that these numbers do not always reflect failure. Many multilingual learners enroll temporarily to strengthen language skills rather than complete an entire course sequence.
Strategies for supporting multilingual learners
The report highlights several institutional practices that can improve multilingual learner success:
Better identify student needs. Colleges should collect more detailed data on multilingual learners’ backgrounds, goals and language development.
Improve access to services. Advising, tutoring and student services should be easier for students to find and use.
Train faculty and staff. Instructors across disciplines need preparation to support both language and academic development.
Expand academic pathways. Colleges should create clearer routes from ESL programs into credit coursework and career programs.
Guidance for campus leaders supporting multilingual students
The report urges campus leaders to rethink policies and structures to better support multilingual learners throughout their college journeys.
Researchers recommend that colleges integrate language development with academic programs rather than treating ESL as a separate track. Institutions should also improve advising systems and expand opportunities for multilingual students to move into credit courses and workforce programs.
Ultimately, understanding these students’ diverse motivations and experiences will be essential as community colleges continue to serve immigrant and multilingual populations.
Closing these knowledge gaps, the report concludes, is “critical to ensuring the success of all community college students.”
