Teaching Young Multilingual Learners
Key Issues and New Insights

This Element provides an overview of research focusing on language teaching practices for young multilingual learners in English-speaking primary classrooms.

Luciana C. de Oliveira (Author), Loren Jones (Author)

9781108928809, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 February 2023

75 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 0.4 cm, 0.11 kg

This Element provides an overview of research focusing on language teaching practices for young multilingual learners in primary classrooms in English-speaking contexts. The term 'young multilingual learner' refers to primary school children, with ages ranging from approximately 5 to 12 years old at various English language proficiency levels. Pedagogy-informed research studies conducted in K-5 classrooms are used to develop research-informed pedagogies for young multilingual learners in primary classrooms. The authors use the notion of culturally sustaining teaching practices to provide examples from pedagogy-informed research studies. The focus on early (K-3) and intermediate (4-5) grades provides a range of illustrations of such practices. The Element concludes with implications for teacher education and the preparation of teachers of young multilingual learners.

1. Key Concepts in Teaching Young Multilingual Learners
2. Practices for Teaching Young Multilingual Learners
3. Practices in Action: Evidence and Examples from Pedagogy-informed Research Studies
4. Implications for Teacher Education
References.

Subject Areas: Language teaching theory & methods [CJA], Bilingualism & multilingualism [CFDM], Language acquisition [CFDC]