Multilingual pedagogies in mainstream classrooms: Responses to some common dilemmas

Today, multilingualism is an everyday feature of many classrooms. Students may learn foreign languages at school, or bring their home languages to school. Some students speak the language of schooling, others are yet in the process of learning it. All these different individual situations of multilingualism come together in a classroom, invoking the question: how should teachers respond to linguistic diversity? Much research shows that teachers find linguistic diversity a challenge in the classroom. Even when they value multilingualism and heritage languages, they are often in dilemma about the pedagogical implications and the possibilities of implementing multilingual pedagogies[i]. In this blogpost, we briefly respond to three common dilemmas mainstream teachers often have about multilingual pedagogies.

---

’Multilingual pedagogies’ is an umbrella term for pedagogies that affirm and actively involve students’ whole linguistic repertoires in teaching and learning, and that can take many strategies, forms and methodologies of teaching and learning[ii]. They can be pedagogies that directly aim at learning multiple languages, but they can also be pedagogies that take a multilingual approach to teaching and learning in general[iii]. While different, multilingual pedagogies have some common elements:

• Acknowledging diversity and students’ unique and changing identities
• Working with students’ whole linguistic repertoires
• Building on students’ languages and their metalinguistic awareness
• Involving all languages, including family languages, minority and migrant languages, this way redefining taken-for-granted language hierarchies[iv]

Importantly, multilingual pedagogies are for all students, not only for those who do not speak the language of schooling, or who speak migrant and minority languages. All students may benefit from multilingual pedagogies in different ways. For example, accepting multilingualism and implementing multilingual pedagogies may foster students’ social, linguistic and academic development; participation and sense of school belonging, and may help establish more inclusive schooling for all students[v].

However, multilingualism is a sensitive issue and opinions about whether and how to implement multilingual pedagogies may vary among students, families and language communities. For this reason, developing multilingual pedagogies for us is fundamentally about collaborations with students, families and communities[vi]. A lot of good intentions and pedagogical efforts may go to waste when teachers enact multilingualism in ways they further marginalise students[vii]. This is why it is important to acknowledge that even though students and families may belong to certain language communities, they are also unique individuals with unique strengths and needs[viii]. Dialogues with students and families and recognising their linguistic repertoires, knowledges, wishes and challenges in education are essential in avoiding stereotypical and harmful enactments of multilingualism and diversity in general[ix].

Multilingual pedagogies may take many forms. Some schools establish formal bi/multilingual education, others remain predominantly monolingual by curricular demands, but even in this case, it is possible to integrate a multilingual approach to teaching and learning in the mainstream classroom[x].

One key challenge is that teachers in mainstream schools often do not feel supported enough to implement multilingual pedagogies: they refer to issues of inadequate teacher training, lack of time, multilingual resources and multiligualism-related pedagogical assistance in the classroom[xi]. In the absence of structural support, teachers may feel that it is impossible to implement multilingual pedagogies.
However, multilingual pedagogies, even as small acts, can be integrated in already existing pedagogical practices. For example, teachers can:

• Acknowledge multiple languages and literacies as sources in pedagogical tasks
• Acknowledge how students and teachers use several languages for different purposes
• Allow students to speak their languages in curricular content related tasks, e.g. through pairwork, groupwork or whole-class conversations or technology assisted learning
• Engage in conversations and other multimodal work with students that involves multiple languages
• Use bi/multilingual labels and translations across languages relevant in the classroom in order to foster socialisation and curricular learning[xii]

Another challenge we often hear is teachers feeling insecure to integrate languages they themselves do not understand[xiii]. They may feel that allowing languages unknown to them may result in losing control over their classes[xiv].
However, taking a multilingual approach to teaching and learning does not require teachers to be proficient in all the languages their students’ speak[xv]. It rather suggests recognising and allowing students’, families’ and communities’ diverse knowledges to become legitimate in classroom practices, and providing a learning enviornment in which students can mobilise those knowledges in curricular learning and social life[xvi]. Therefore, developing multilingual pedagogies involve rethinking the role of the teacher and relationships with students, families and communities: teachers can take the position of a learner and a teacher without losing control.

Conclusions

If you liked this post and you want to read more, you may search for specific multilingual approaches, for example, language awareness, awakening to languages, immersion, intercomprehension, bilingual/monoglossic instruction, multilingual/heteroglossic instruction or translanguaging[xvii]. In our next blog post, we will write about the use of multilingual books in mainstream teaching. Stay tuned!

This blogpost was written by Nikolett Szelei as part of the Co-Lingual-S project, based on selected literature. Some parts of this post are based on her previous work: Szelei, N., Pinho, A. S., & Tinoca, L. (2021). Teaching in multilingual classrooms: strategies from a case study in Portugal. Revista Brasileira de Educação, 26, 1-25, published Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

References

[i] Kirsch, C. (2020). Translanguaging pedagogies in early childhood education in Luxembourg: Theory into practice. In C. Kirsch & J. Duarte (Eds.), Multilingual approaches for teaching and learning (pp. 15-33), London, New York: Routledge; Liu, Q., Colak, F. Z., & Agirdag, O. (2022). The extent and predictors of linguistically responsive teaching in Southwest China. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(8), 3022-3036; Ticheloven, A., Blom, E., Leseman, P., & McMonagle, S. (2021). Translanguaging challenges in multilingual classrooms: scholar, teacher and student perspectives. International Journal of Multilingualism, 18(3), 491-514.
[ii] Hélot, C. & Ó Laoire, M.  (2011) Language policy for the multilingual classroom: pedagogy of the possible. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. ; Duarte, J., & van der Meij, M. (2018). A holistic model for multilingualism in education. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 5(2), 24-43; Duarte, J. & Kirsch, C. (2020). Multilingual approaches for teaching and learning. London, New York: Routledge; Meier, G. (2014). Our mother tongue is plurilingualism: A framework for orientations for integrated multilingual curricula. In J. Conteh & G. Meier (eds.), The multilingual turn in languages education (pp. 132 – 157). Bristol: Multilingual Matters;Szelei, N., Pinho, A. S., & Tinoca, L. (2021). Teaching in multilingual classrooms: strategies from a case study in Portugal. Revista Brasileira de Educação, 26, 1-25.
[iii] Duarte, J. & Kirsch, C. (2020), Ibid.
[iv] Cenoz, J.; Gorter, D. (2013). Towards a plurilingual approach in English language teaching: Softening the boundaries between languages. Tesol Quarterly, 47(3), 591-599; Duarte and van der Meij (2018), Ibid.; Hélot & Ó Laoire (2011), Ibid.
[v] Cummins, J. A. (2005).  Proposal for action: strategies for recognizing heritage language competence as a learning resource within the mainstream classroom. Modern Language Journal, 89(4), 585-592; Skutnabb-Kangas, T. R. et al.  (2009). Social justice through multilingual education. Clevedon: Channel View Publications; Van Der Wildt, A., Van Avermaet, P., & Van Houtte, M. (2017). Multilingual school population: Ensuring school belonging by tolerating multilingualism. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 20(7), 868-882; Szelei et al. (2021), Ibid.
[vi] Aghallaj, R., Van Der Wildt, A., Vandenbroeck, M., & Agirdag, O. (2020). Exploring the partnership between language minority parents and professionals in early childhood education and care: a systematic review. In J. Duarte & C. Kirsch (Eds.), Multilingual approaches for teaching and learning (pp. 151-167), London, New York: Routledge; Conteh, J., & Riasat, S. (2014). A multilingual learning community: Researching funds of knowledge with children, families and teachers.Multilingua,33(5-6), 601-622.
[vii] Szelei et al. (2021), Ibid.; Ticheloven, A., Schwenke-Lam, T., & Fürstenau, S. (2020). Multilingual teaching practices in primary schools in Germany. In C. Kirsch & J. Duarte (Eds.), Multilingual approaches for teaching and learning (pp. 34-51), London, New York: Routledge.
[viii] García, O. & Sylvan, C.  (2011). Pedagogies and practices in multilingual classrooms: Singularities in pluralities. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 385-400.
[ix] Szelei, N., Tinoca, L., & Pinho, A. S. (2019). Rethinking ‘cultural activities’: An examination of how teachers utilised student voice as a pedagogical tool in multicultural schools. Teaching and teacher education, 79, 176-187.
[x] Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2017) Legitimizing multilingual practices in the classroom: The role of the “practiced language policy”. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(4), 434-448; Hélot, C. (2010) Tu sais bien parler maîtresse!: Negotiating languages other than French in the primary classroom in France. In K. Menken & O. García, O. (eds.), Negotiating language policies in schools (pp. 52-72). New York: Routledge; Jordens, K. K.; Van Den Branden, K.; Van Gorp, K. (2018) Multilingual islands in a monolingual sea: Language choice patterns during group work. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(8), p. 943-955; Szelei et al. (2021), Ibid.
[xi] Szelei et al. (2021) Ibid.
[xii] Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the Bilingual Classroom: A Pedagogy for Learning and Teaching. The Modern Language Journal, 94, 103-115 Duarte and van der Meij (2018), Ibid.;  Jordens et al. (2018), Ibid., Szelei et al. (2021), Ibid.
[xiii] Szelei et al. (2021) Ibid.
[xiv] Herzog-Punzenberger, B., Le Pichon-Vorstman, E., & Siarova, H. (2017) Multilingual Education in the Light of Diversity: Lessons Learned, NESET II report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union; Ticheloven, A., et al. (2020), Ibid.  
[xv]Ticheloven, A., et al. (2020), Ibid.  
[xvi] Conteh, J. & Riasat, S. (2014), Ibid.
[xvii] Duarte and van der Meij (2018), Ibid.;  Duarte, J. & Kirsch, C. (2020), Ibid.; García, O., & Flores, N. (2012). Multilingual approaches. In M. Martin-Jones, A. Blackledge, & A. Creese (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of multilingualism (pp. 232 – 246), New York: Routledge; Meier, G. (2014), Ibid.