Multilingual Learners
Help multilingual students access every lesson you teach
Support students as they build English while learning grade-level content. BrainPOP combines animated storytelling, built-in scaffolds, and leveled language lessons so multilingual learners can understand, participate, and grow with the rest of the class.
THE CHALLENGE
Students need to learn grade-level content alongside learning English
Multilingual learners bring rich knowledge, experiences, and home languages into the classroom. But they’re also expected to keep up with grade-level instruction while learning English. Teachers need flexible support that helps everyone participate in grade-level learning without creating a second version of every activity.
WHY TEACHERS CHOOSE BRAINPOP
Multilingual learner support built into everyday instruction
Language practice as part of every lesson
Students practice their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through structured activities while they learn vocabulary and grammar in English.
Built-in scaffolds meet students where they are
Students explore the same topics as their classmates, with accessible features like captions, read-aloud tools, and translations that make information easier to follow.
Multiple ways to demonstrate understanding
Students can answer questions, draw or record their thinking, create movies, build with code, and use other activities to show what they know in the ways that work best for them.
Teaching Strategies
How this looks in real classrooms
Teachers tell us BrainPOP works as flexible, everyday support across grades, subjects, and instructional moments—without creating extra work. Here's how they use it.
Introduce concepts to the full class, then have students revisit topics independently or in small groups. The same BrainPOP content works across different instructional formats, so multilingual learners get built-in scaffolds (captions, translations, read-aloud) without creating additional materials.
In BrainPOP ELL, activities engage all four language domains: students listen to animated explanations, speak their responses using recording tools, read captions and activity prompts, and write or draw to show understanding.
Help students practice academic language in low-pressure, content-rich ways—modeling pronunciation, rehearsing responses, and building confidence using English in classroom contexts.
When students need additional support, the use of visual explanations, multiple language options, and varied activity types help solidify understanding without requiring you to re-teach or pull students out of class.
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Research-backed, evidence-based, and built for all students
BrainPOP is rooted in research to create an environment that’s engaging and effective for all students—with the validations and certifications to prove it.
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TESTIMONIALS
Why teachers love BrainPOP
"BrainPOP allowed my English Learners to be more brave in their work. They are sometimes shy to share their ideas on film or with their voice, but BrainPOP has so many creative tools ready-made that anyone can create a masterpiece. Anything with Moby is a hit, so having this available makes all my kids feel like rockstars.
ELL Teacher, California
BrainPOP Blog
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Frequently Asked Questions
BrainPOP's language support spans several layers:
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Text translation: Microsoft Immersive Reader, available throughout the product, translates written content into 100+ languages—including movie transcripts and Connected Texts.
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Closed captions: available in English on all movies
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Movie translations: select movies are available in Spanish and French
The combination of Immersive Reader and multilingual movie players means students can access content in their home language while building English.
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BrainPOP ELL is aligned to WIDA Prime, the framework that defines what language-focused instruction should look like for multilingual learners. WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment) is used by more than 40 states to guide English language development programs and proficiency assessments.
The alignment means BrainPOP ELL's leveled lessons are designed around the same language development framework your EL program is likely already using, making it easier to integrate into existing WIDA-based instruction and reporting.
BrainPOP meets ESSA Level 3 (Promising Evidence) standards. ESSA's evidence tiers evaluate whether an instructional program has demonstrated effectiveness through peer-reviewed research. Level 3 means BrainPOP's impact is supported by well-designed research with a comparison group.
Many teachers use BrainPOP in both settings within the same week.
For independent practice, students can watch movies with captions, use Immersive Reader to translate text into their home language, and work through activities like Vocab Builder or quizzes at their own pace.
In small groups, the same content works well for targeted vocabulary review, guided discussion around Pause Point questions, or close reading with Connected Texts at the right Lexile level.
The same lesson a teacher introduces to the whole class on Monday can become the anchor for a small-group pull-out on Wednesday.
Yes. BrainPOP qualifies for Title III, Part A—federal funding designated for English language acquisition, language enhancement, and academic achievement.
Both BrainPOP (for grades 3-8) and BrainPOP ELL align to Title III's permissible uses: BrainPOP (grades 3–8) provides literacy skill-building, accessibility features including Immersive Reader and multilingual movie players in Spanish and French, and culturally relevant content; BrainPOP ELL offers a structured English language acquisition program with assessments aligned to WIDA PRIME standards.
A downloadable Federal Funding Guide with documentation to support your purchasing conversation is available, or you can contact the BrainPOP sales team directly.
Yes—and it does so across BrainPOP products. BrainPOP (grades 3-9), BrainPOP Jr. (grades K-3), and BrainPOP Science (grades 6-8) each include built-in supports for multilingual learners: closed captions in English, Microsoft Immersive Reader for text translation into 100+ languages, multilingual movie players with Spanish and French options for select titles, embedded word- and sentence-level reading scaffolds, and vocabulary-building activities.
For students who also need structured English language acquisition, BrainPOP ELL provides leveled, narrative-driven lessons that build foundational grammar and vocabulary from the ground up.
BrainPOP's grade-level content includes several features designed to give multilingual learners a way into the same lesson as their peers:
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Closed captions on every movie, in English
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Multilingual movie players—select BrainPOP movies are available in Spanish and French
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Microsoft Immersive Reader—available in movies and Connected Texts, with translation into 100+ languages so students can read in their home language to support knowledge building for the content they view in English
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Embedded reading scaffolds—word- and sentence-level definitions built into Connected Texts
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Vocab Builder—activities that develop Tier 2 academic vocabulary connected to each topic
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Pause Points—embedded questions in movies that give ELs structured moments to process, reflect, and participate
These features are part of the core product—no separate add-on required.
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For newcomers at the earliest stages of language acquisition, BrainPOP ELL is the right starting point. BrainPOP ELL opens with a placement test that identifies each student's level, then guides them through structured, narrative-driven lessons—starting with conversational vocabulary and everyday scenarios before building towards academic language.
The two products work together: BrainPOP ELL builds the language foundation; BrainPOP (for grades 3-8) gives students a supported way into grade-level content as they progress.
Yes—this is one of the most common ways teachers use BrainPOP (for grades 3-8). A BrainPOP movie gives every student the same background knowledge, but the built-in supports allow students to access it at different levels.
A student reading two years below grade level can follow along with captions and Immersive Reader; a student building academic vocabulary benefits from Vocab Builder; a student developing reading fluency can work with Connected Texts at the right Lexile level supported by reading scaffolds.
Teachers don't have to run parallel lessons—one starting point, multiple entry points within it.
BrainPOP's (for grades 3-8) standards-aligned instructional content covers 800+ topics across subjects—science, social studies, English, math, health, and more. It's built for all 3-8 students and includes embedded supports that help multilingual learners access grade-level content alongside their peers.
BrainPOP ELL is a dedicated English language acquisition program. It follows a leveled curriculum—beginning with everyday conversational language and building through academic English—with structured lessons covering vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It's designed specifically to develop English proficiency, not just support access to subject-area content.
Many schools use both: BrainPOP ELL for language development, and BrainPOP for supported access to grade-level content across subjects.