Jave arrived at her U.S. high school every morning carrying more than just a backpack. The 20-year-old senior from El Salvador wanted to improve her English and help other newcomers do the same. She described herself as cheerful, sociable, and hardworking—traits that didn’t always lead to easy success.
In her first quarter, she missed half her classes. She worked nearly full-time at a restaurant to pay rent and her phone bill. School mattered to her—she dreamed of becoming a lawyer and loved history—but the balance was difficult. Many students shared similar struggles.
Factors shaping student belonging
A study involving 391 multilingual students from 34 countries revealed that attendance and grades don’t always reflect how connected a student feels. Some attended every day but still questioned their place. Others missed many classes yet called school their second home.
Five school-based factors consistently influenced students’ sense of belonging. Teachers could impact all of them daily.
Collaborative learning stood out as the most important. Students said group work helped them make friends, learn English, and feel more at ease. Simply assigning groups wasn’t enough. David, a 17-year-old sophomore from Honduras, explained: “If I don’t understand something and another student does, he gives me a hand. It helps a lot to work in groups of four, because if one falls, there are the other three who can lift him.”
Teachers could structure collaboration with purpose. Mixed-proficiency groups, discussion guidelines, and clear roles gave students confidence. Sentence stems and turn-taking rules also helped. The most effective approach involved creating norms with students. Discussions about respectful listening and valuing different languages, accents, and perspectives made a noticeable difference.
The first eight weeks proved especially important—a “welcoming window” where small supports had significant effects. Peer buddies, structured interactions, and rotating groups helped newcomers build connections before isolation took hold.
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Language could either block or help learning. Teachers who treated mistakes as part of the process created safer spaces. Allowing students to use their first language strategically—brainstorming, clarifying, or taking notes—actually improved English skills. When studying the water cycle, for example, students connected new vocabulary to words they already knew in their home language. This approach wasn’t cheating; it was a way to make sense of new concepts.
Extracurricular activities also played a role. Clubs, sports, and school events often became places where students felt valued. Language barriers sometimes made joining intimidating. A personal introduction to a coach or sponsor, or a peer who attended the first meeting with them, could ease the transition. Sometimes, just walking a student to that first meeting was enough.
Belonging didn’t develop instantly. It grew through small interactions—teachers who learned students’ names, peers who included them in conversations, moments where they felt noticed. David sometimes ended up in the assistant principal’s office for behavioral issues. Still, he called his school family. “They help you, they give you support, they make you feel that you’re important to them,” he said. “They give you attention, respect, affection, and everything.”
For students like Jave, the stakes were high. She juggled work, school, and survival. The right supports—collaboration, language safety, peer connections—could turn a school from a stressful place into a home.
Lasting impact through small changes
Teachers didn’t need dramatic actions to make a difference. A well-planned group project, a few minutes of conversation, or encouragement to join a club could change how a student viewed their place in school. The study confirmed that belonging didn’t appear suddenly. It developed through daily actions that showed, “You’re welcome here.”
For multilingual students, that message could determine whether they thrived or merely survived. The tools existed in classrooms. Schools needed to put them into practice.
Teachers looking to strengthen their methods can find additional strategies in resources about improving their craft.
