20+
Languages supported by the Renzulli Profiler
40,000+
Curated enrichment activities
+28 pts
ELL language proficiency gains in PBL (Lucas/Stanford)
Pre-K–12
All grade levels, age-adapted content
The core idea

Start With Strengths, Not With What They Cannot Yet Say

Quick answer Traditional ELL instruction is often deficit-based: it focuses on what a student cannot yet do in English. A strength-based approach begins with the student's interests, talents, and home-language strengths, and uses them as the engine for engagement. Students complete the Renzulli Profiler in their home language (20+ languages), and the platform matches personalized enrichment to their interests, not their English level, so they learn English through content they genuinely care about.

An emergent bilingual student, whether a newcomer, a long-term English learner, or a dual language student, is not a student who lacks ability; they are a student who has ability the English-only classroom cannot yet see. When a teacher can view a student's interests, learning styles, and expression styles from day one, even across a language barrier, everything changes: instruction becomes personal, relationships form faster, and the student engages from strength rather than from struggle.

The result, borne out in research, is that students learn English faster, and the skills they build transfer to every other subject.

How Renzulli Learning helps

See the Student, Then Personalize From Strength

The Profiler in the home language. Students complete the Renzulli Profiler in 20+ languages. Teachers see the results in the school's language of instruction, so they understand each student even before they share a common language.
Bilingual enrichment, matched to interests. Students navigate the platform in Spanish and English and receive 40,000+ curated enrichment activities matched to their profile, not their English proficiency level.
English through authentic projects. Project-Based Learning builds language through real, interest-driven work and collaboration, the approach Stanford found raised ELL language proficiency by up to 28 points.
Identify gifted English learners. The Profiler and the Cebeci Test of Creativity can be administered in the home language, revealing talent that English-only assessments miss entirely.
Build durable skills, not just proficiency. English learners develop the same critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication their English-speaking peers do, the durable skills Portrait of a Graduate frameworks demand.

The module built for this

Meet ELLA: The Renzulli Learning English Language Learning Accelerator

Everything on this page is delivered through ELLA, our module built specifically for ELL, dual language, and bilingual programs. Students take the Profiler in their home language, receive personalized bilingual enrichment, and accelerate English proficiency through content they care about. See the full ELLA feature set, the six best practices it implements, and how it fits your program.

Explore ELLA
Research-backed best practices

ELLA Implements Six Best Practices for English Learners

ELLA makes the practices that drive English learner achievement easy to implement:

Personalized Instruction

The Profiler identifies each student's interests and strengths in their home language, and matches them to enrichment, making English instruction personal, relevant, and engaging.

Collaborative Grouping

Flexible grouping from Profiler data pairs English learners with peers who share interests, for authentic collaboration across language levels.

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)

Native English-speaking students serve as peer partners through interest-based grouping, gaining leadership opportunities while accelerating their peers' English.

Background Knowledge

Enrichment matched to interests builds background knowledge, so new English vocabulary and academic language stick, connected to what students already understand.

Extended Discussion

Project-Based Learning and collaborative activities create natural, sustained academic discussion, the meaningful practice that accelerates fluency.

Valuing Linguistic Differences

Every language is treated as a strength. Students take the Profiler in their home language and bring their full linguistic identity to every activity.

Dual language programs

Built for Both Languages, From Day One

Dual language programs need tools that work in both languages from the start, not English-first platforms with translations bolted on. Renzulli Learning was built for multilingual classrooms and supports the three pillars of dual language education:

Bilingualism and biliteracy. Students explore enrichment and complete projects in Spanish and English, building academic vocabulary across both languages. The same Profiler results are visible in the home language and the language of instruction.
High academic achievement. 40,000+ standards-aligned activities and Project-Based Learning give every student challenging, interest-driven content, not remediation.
Sociocultural competence. Culturally responsive content and collaboration honor both languages as equal pathways to enrichment, creativity, and project work.
The research

Research Supporting Enrichment for English Learners

The strength-based approach for English learners is backed by peer-reviewed research on enrichment with bilingual and diverse student populations:

Reis & Housand (2009). The impact of gifted education pedagogy and enriched reading practices on reading achievement for urban students in bilingual and English-speaking classes. Journal of Advanced Academics. Found that gifted-education pedagogy and enriched reading practices, the same approach used in Renzulli Learning, improved reading achievement for urban students in bilingual and English-speaking classes.
de Souza Fleith, Renzulli & Westberg (2002). Effects of a creativity training program on divergent thinking abilities and self-concept in monolingual and bilingual classrooms. Creativity Research Journal, 14(3-4), 373 to 386. Demonstrated that creativity training was equally effective in monolingual and bilingual classrooms, validating a creativity-focused enrichment approach for English learners.
Lucas Education Research and Stanford University (2021). Research funded by the George Lucas Educational Foundation found that English learners in project-based learning classrooms scored up to 28 points higher on language proficiency assessments.
Field (2009), University of Connecticut. The effects of the use of Renzulli Learning on student achievement (research on an earlier version of the platform). Found significant gains in reading comprehension (p<.001), reading fluency (p=.016), and social studies (p=.013) across diverse urban and suburban populations, including schools where the majority of students were at risk.

Explore the full research library. Part of Renzulli Learning's Special Populations approach.

Frequently asked questions

English Learners & Emergent Bilinguals: Common Questions

Renzulli Learning supports English learners through ELLA, the English Language Learning Accelerator. Students complete the Renzulli Profiler in their home language (20+ languages), navigate the platform in Spanish and English, and receive personalized enrichment matched to their interests and strengths, not just their English proficiency level. Teachers view Profiler results in the school's language of instruction. Students learn English through content they genuinely care about, and the skills they acquire transfer to other subject areas.
Traditional ELL instruction is often deficit-based, focused only on what a student cannot yet do in English. A strength-based approach begins with the student's interests, talents, and home-language strengths, using them as the engine for engagement. Research shows that enrichment and gifted-education pedagogy improve achievement for bilingual students, and that English learners in project-based learning classrooms score up to 28 points higher on language proficiency.
Reis and Housand (2009) found that gifted-education pedagogy and enriched reading practices improved reading achievement for urban students in bilingual and English-speaking classes. de Souza Fleith, Renzulli, and Westberg (2002) found creativity training equally effective in monolingual and bilingual classrooms. Lucas Education Research and Stanford found English learners in project-based classrooms scored up to 28 points higher on language proficiency. Field (2009) documented significant achievement gains across diverse urban populations.
Yes. Students navigate the entire platform in Spanish and English, complete the Profiler in their home language, and receive enrichment in both languages. The platform supports the three pillars of dual language education: bilingualism and biliteracy through enrichment in both languages, high academic achievement through 40,000+ standards-aligned activities and project-based learning, and sociocultural competence through culturally responsive content. Both the dual language teacher and the English teacher see the same student profile.
Traditional identification methods often miss gifted English learners because language barriers mask ability. The Renzulli Profiler identifies each student's interests, learning styles, and expression styles in their home language, revealing talent regardless of English proficiency. The Cebeci Test of Creativity can also be administered in the student's home language, identifying creative potential that English-only assessments miss.
Yes. Renzulli Learning's approach for English learners aligns to Title III requirements and to MTSS frameworks, providing strength-based, data-informed enrichment across tiers. The Renzulli Profiler and assessments supply the data, and personalized enrichment and project-based learning provide the differentiated instruction, for emergent bilinguals at every level.
Beyond the screen

A Hands-On Learning Tool, Not Just a Digital One

Renzulli Learning is the spark, not the screen. The platform identifies each student's interests and gives them the springboard, the project tools, how-to resources, and the structure of real investigation, but the meaningful learning happens off the screen and out in the world.

Hands-on, real-world investigation. Students act as first-hand investigators, producing authentic products for real audiences through Type III enrichment, the kind of work that cannot be done sitting at a screen.
Students work as young professionals. Learners take on the role of a practicing professional: a young scientist, historian, engineer, or artist, learning how experts in the field work and applying those methods to real problems.
Experiential and community-connected. The work extends into field studies, community projects, and hands-on experiences beyond the classroom, connecting learning to the real world.
Interest-driven, collaborative projects. Enrichment clusters bring students together in weekly, cross-grade teams to create something real, developing collaboration and communication through shared, off-device work.
Proven outcomes

Research-Proven Results, Not Just Engagement

Independent, peer-reviewed studies of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model and Renzulli Learning show measurable gains for students:

+9%

Higher predicted future earnings for students in individualized enrichment built on Renzulli's model

University of Amsterdam · Booij, Haan & Plug (2016)

65th → 86th

Creativity percentile gain after three years of Schoolwide Enrichment Model implementation

Italy SEM Study

82%

Of underachieving students reversed underachievement through interest-based creative productivity

Baum, Renzulli & Hébert (1995)

p < .001

Reading comprehension gains in a cluster-randomized study of Renzulli Learning across diverse schools

Field (2009), research on an earlier version

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