Multi- und Plurilingualism in School – Insights from Recent Empirical Research

Sarah Désirée Lange; Lisa Rosen; Hanne Brandt

doi:10.71514/jssal/2025.254

Authors

Sarah Désirée Lange Technical University of Chemnitz, Germany
Lisa Rosen RPTU - University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8578-7302
Hanne Brandt Intercultural and International Comparative Education, Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8877-5019

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71514/jssal/2025.254

Keywords:

Multilingualism in education, monolingual ideologies, translanguaging pedagogies,, linguistic diversity

Abstract

Multilingualism is increasingly recognized as the norm in classrooms worldwide, yet educational systems continue to be shaped by monolingual ideologies that marginalize students’ multilingual repertoires. Despite strong empirical evidence demonstrating the cognitive, academic, emotional, and social benefits of multilingualism, its pedagogical potential remains underutilized. This special issue addresses the tension between monolingual norms and multilingual realities through interdisciplinary empirical studies from diverse national contexts. Using ethnographic, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches, the contributions illustrate how translanguaging and linguistically responsive teaching can foster inclusion, identity development, and academic learning, while also revealing persistent ambivalences and structural constraints within schools and teacher education.

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