Fostering multilingual competence in the EFL classroom

Abstract

As classrooms around Europe are becoming increasingly more linguistically and culturally diverse, teachers need to adapt their teaching to accommodate minority languages students. While developing their proficiency in the language of the target community, these students almost invariably receive instruction in English as a foreign language (EFL). Recognizing the important role EFL teachers play in the overall cognitive and linguistic development of minority students, this paper discusses the following pedagogical practices for the 21st century, diverse EFL classrooms: welcoming diversity, multimodality of input, funds of knowledge, clear goals, opportunities for interaction, integrating language with compelling content, facilitating multi-literacy, and differentiating instruction and assessment. By providing both theoretical support and practical tips, the paper aims to empower EFL teachers to foster linguistically and culturally rich environments and support their students’ multilingual development.