Honigsfeld and Owen have created an essential resource for educators of adolescent multilingual learners. Grounded in research and enriched by practical strategies, Reclaiming a Culture of Care and Curiosity reflects a deep commitment to the academic and social-emotional development of adolescent multilingual learners and emphasizes that they thrive when the adults in their lives work together to create cultures of care, belonging, and high expectations.

Dr. Casey Ward, Elementary EL Program Specialist

This book is a powerful and timely guide for educators working with multilingual adolescents as they navigate both academic content and the complex journey of identity, language, and belonging. It thoughtfully invites us to step into the lives of these remarkable “adults-in-the-making,” recognizing the profound influence of the people and practices that shape their experiences in our classrooms. By centering students in grades 5–12 who are simultaneously developing language and content mastery, the authors offer practical, compassionate strategies that truly resonate with the realities of secondary teaching. Most importantly, this book strengthens teachers’ ability to nurture what matters most—the mindset of our English learners—empowering them to see themselves as capable, confident, and full of potential. This is an essential resource for any educator committed to co-creating meaningful futures alongside their students.

Andrea Bitner, EL Educator, Corwin Author, and Speaker

I absolutely appreciate the perspective in this book for “caring for students in ways that reflect their gifts and capabilities.” This is such an important and needed perspective about our multilingual learner students. Seeing them in their whole selves, looking for their gifts and capabilities, and embracing and valuing their cultures & languages as part of who they are is beautiful and necessary. The perspective of the type of teachers students need, the “warm demanders,” gives wonderful guidance in how we best can support our students. This is the exact time we need this book. Thank you!

Jill Ayabei, District Federal Programs Coordinator, Multilingual Learners

With an emphasis on a culture of care and concern, the authors have written an accessible book that closely examines multilingual adolescents, observing their world and the important people, places, and practices that shape them. This book benefits educators by highlighting the untapped potential of middle- and high school-aged students and, through real-life examples, explains why it is important to develop support systems and to embrace students' lived experiences as pathways to academic success.

Audrey Cohan, Senior Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Graduate Studies

Owen and Honigsfeld make a compelling and much-needed case for interdisciplinary work with adolescent multilingual learners, reminding us of how much cognitive load secondary students carry each day as they move through isolated subject classes. The opening questions invite readers to step into the role of the adolescent, a genuine translanguaging connection grounds the work, and the call to un-standardize curriculum draws welcome attention to the real differences among student-centered approaches that are so often used interchangeably. This is a book that respects both the complexity of the grades 5-12 range and the practitioners doing the work, right down to the reminder that co-planning does not require co-teaching, an invitation for secondary teachers to discover the value of collaborative work. This book encourages us to rethink how we educate adolescent multilingual learners, and I highly recommend it to teachers and administrators alike.

Faith Tripp, Ed.D, Director of World Languages and ENL

Belonging is not something that sits alongside learning; it is fundamental to how meaningful learning happens. Owen and Honigsfeld make a compelling case for seeing multilingual adolescents through the strengths, experiences and capabilities they bring to our classrooms, while never losing sight of the high expectations we should hold for every student. This book brings together care, curiosity, belonging and student agency in a way that is grounded in research, but also practical and immediately relevant to the work of teachers and school leaders. Having had the privilege of working alongside Alycia, I have seen firsthand her deep commitment to multilingual learners and the impact this has on students and teachers alike. This is an important book that challenges us to know our students well, value what they bring, and create the conditions in which they can truly belong and thrive.

John Kennett, Secondary Assistant Principal

I had the good fortune of working alongside Alycia Owen at the American International School of Guangzhou, where she was exactly the colleague this book describes: a bright presence in the hallway, a relentless advocate for multilingual learners, and a teacher whose students knew, without question, that she was in their corner. Reading this book, I kept recognizing her. The Earth mosaic on the first day of school, the insistence on learning every student's name correctly, the refusal to let the syllabus swallow the opening days. These are not hypotheticals to Alycia. They are how she taught. What Owen and Honigsfeld have written is not a collection of strategies bolted onto a busy day. It is a coherent argument that care and curiosity belong at the center of the teaching practice, and that adolescent multilingual learners are the very important people our school communities often overlook. The chapters on autonomy and agency should be required reading for anyone who confuses independent work with independence. A generous, practical, deeply humane book.

Will Tragert, Head of Upper School, Cape Henry Collegiate

Dr. Alycia Owen and Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld have chosen an important and impactful topic that every teacher of multilingual learners (MLs) should read. During this challenging time for MLs and their teachers, this book provides valuable concepts, insights and guidelines that are clear, supportive and carefully thought out. Do not miss out on the opportunity to get this inspirational resource!

Michelle Land, ESL Teacher

Alycia and Andrea produced an essential guide for teachers of adolescent MLs. With each section of the book, they show us how to fulfill a very important promise to MLs so that they can have a promising learning experience.

Tan Huynh, Middle School Multilingual Learner Specialist, Corwin Author

Adolescent multilingual learners bring tremendous strengths, curiosity, and potential to our classrooms, but their unique strengths and needs are often overlooked. In Reclaiming a Culture of Care and Curiosity for Multilingual Learners, Owen and Honigsfeld remind us how powerful it can be when educators truly know, value, and listen to their students. With an engaging blend of research, authentic voices, images, and practical strategies, this book shows educators how to create learning environments where multilingual adolescents experience belonging while developing the agency and confidence to thrive. This is a timely and highly useful resource for anyone who teaches or supports multilingual learners in grades 5–12.

Diane Staehr Fenner, Founder and President

At a time when schools are wrestling with questions of belonging, engagement, identity, and connection, Alycia Owen and Andrea Honigsfeld bring us back to something both simple and profoundly important: our students need to be known, valued, challenged, and cared for. Reclaiming a Culture of Care and Curiosity for Multilingual Learners reminds us that care is not lowering expectations - it is creating the conditions in which young people can develop the confidence, agency, curiosity, and sense of belonging they need to thrive. What I especially appreciate is that this book does not stop with what we should believe; it helps educators think intentionally about what we should actually do - in our relationships, our classrooms, our instructional practices, and the cultures we create. For those of us fortunate enough to work in multilingual and multicultural school communities, this is important work. Our students bring extraordinary linguistic, cultural, and personal assets through our doors every day. Owen and Honigsfeld challenge us to see those assets, listen more carefully to our students’ voices, and design schools where every learner knows: you belong here, you matter here, and we are curious about who you are becoming.

Kevin Baker, Director