What are English as Second Language and English as Foreign Language teachers’ beliefs concerning multilingualism? And how do they adapt their teaching to take into account students’ diverse language backgrounds? Even though there has been a growing interest in multilingualism in educational research over the past few decades – as reflected in the Council of Europe framework documents such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2012) – past studies have suggested that this interest has had limited effect on what actually goes on in language classrooms (see for example Burner & Carlsen, 2022).
An essential aspect of what has been termed the ‘multilingual turn’ in language education (Meier, 2016) is the recognition that students’ existing language skills are potential resources for their future language learning (see for example Cummins, 2017). It is important therefore that students and teachers develop an awareness about the benefits of multilingualism and reflect on similarities and differences between languages in a systematic way. All aspects of students’ education may benefit, but especially language subjects.
Numerous studies have looked at teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding multilingualism within different national contexts over the past decade (see for example Burner & Carlsen, 2022; Erling et al., 2021; Haim et al., 2020), but so far insights from these studies have not been systematically collected, described and discussed.
