Teachers’ beliefs and plurilingualism

Plurilingual education portal

Subject classification: this is an education resource.

Type classification: this resource is a course.

Starting Activity

Reflect on your own experiences as a language learner or teacher:

For you, what role does plurilingualism play in language learning?
Do you think teachers should integrate students' multiple linguistic resources into their teaching? Why or why not?
Have you ever encountered resistance (your own or others') to plurilingual education? What were the reasons behind it?

Objectives

At the end of this section, you will be able to:

Define teachers’ beliefs and their role in shaping pedagogical practices.
Understand the relationship between teachers’ cognition and plurilingual education.
Identify challenges and barriers that influence the implementation of plurilingual approaches in classrooms.
Explore possible solutions and strategies to bridge the gap between both positive and negative beliefs and real classroom practices.

Keywords

Teacher cognition, pedagogical beliefs, plurilingual education, language policy, multilingualism in education, language diversity, teaching practices.

Introduction

In recent decades, research has increasingly focused on teachers' beliefs and teacher cognition as key factors influencing language teaching practices. While linguistic and educational policies increasingly promote plurilingualism, particularly in the European context, the actual implementation of plurilingual pedagogies in classrooms often remains limited and sporadic.

In the literature, teachers' beliefs about multilingualism, plurilingualism, language learning, language teaching, and language itself are understood as influencing their teaching methods, their interactions with students, and their openness to integrating multiple languages in the classroom. As summarized by Lundberg (2020, p. 26), "the idea that teacher cognition, consisting of teachers' beliefs and knowledge, informs teachers' perceptions, judgements, decision making and guides their behaviour or in other words drives their pedagogical actions is relatively uncontested in research". Nevertheless, a direct correlation between beliefs and classroom practices is difficult to establish (Wilken, 2020).

In the context of plurilingualism and plurilingual education, some language educators embrace plurilingual approaches and linguistically responsive practices, recognizing their cognitive, social, and educational benefits. Others may hesitate to adopt such approaches because of pedagogical concerns, institutional constraints, limited training, or personal beliefs about language learning and language use. As a result, some teachers integrate plurilingual pedagogies into their practice, while others do not.

Despite widespread advocacy for multilingual and plurilingual education at policy level, for example in the CEFR and European language policies, the practical adoption of plurilingual approaches varies significantly across educational contexts. This variation may illustrate a mismatch between language policies, classroom practices, and teachers' beliefs.

Definition and history of the concept

The concept of teachers' beliefs has been described as a "messy construct" (Pajares, 1992) because it is often used interchangeably with, or closely associated with, related concepts such as attitudes, perspectives, representations, and ideologies. Although these concepts are not identical, they all contribute to understanding how teachers interpret and respond to educational situations. Teachers' beliefs can be broadly understood as implicit or explicit assumptions that teachers hold to be true about teaching, learning, learners, language, and education.

Teachers' beliefs are generally understood as implicit or explicit suppositions that teachers hold to be true about different aspects of their professional responsibilities, including teaching, learning, learners, language, and education (Weger, 2026). Unlike knowledge, which is generally regarded as being validated through evidence and professional discourse, beliefs are often rooted in teachers' personal experiences, educational backgrounds, social contexts, and professional development. Together with teachers' knowledge and emotions, beliefs form teacher cognition, the complex system of mental processes that shapes how teachers perceive, interpret, and approach their work (Borg, 2006; Weger, 2026).

Within this broad field, teachers' beliefs have frequently been examined from three complementary perspectives: epistemological beliefs, concerning teaching, learning, and language; personal beliefs, concerning teachers themselves and their learners; and contextual beliefs, concerning the school environment and wider society. Language is relevant across all three dimensions. For example, teachers may hold beliefs about the educational value of learners' home languages, about multilingual learners' linguistic abilities, or about the languages that should be used for communication within the school community (Weger, 2026).

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, research has increasingly focused on teachers' beliefs about multilingualism and plurilingualism. Studies have explored teachers' views on multilingual pedagogies, translanguaging, and the integration of learners' home languages into classroom practices. Overall, research suggests that teachers generally express positive beliefs towards plurilingual education. However, these beliefs are often complex, sometimes contradictory, and do not necessarily translate into classroom practices. Limited training, insufficient pedagogical resources, institutional constraints, and monolingual curricular traditions continue to hinder the implementation of plurilingual approaches (Bonvino & Cortés Velásquez, 2026; Weger, 2026).

Finally, although teachers' beliefs tend to be relatively stable, contemporary research no longer considers them immutable. Rather, beliefs are understood as interconnected systems that can evolve through reflection, professional learning, and classroom experience. Teacher education therefore plays an important role in making beliefs explicit and supporting teachers in critically examining their assumptions about language, learning, and linguistic diversity (Fives & Buehl, 2012; Weger, 2026).

Results of empirical studies and practical examples

As stated in a narrative synthesis by Melo-Pfeifer & Schröder-Sura (2024, p. 495, our translation), “studies on language teachers' beliefs about multilingual approaches in foreign language teaching, with or without mention of pluralistic approaches, have become more frequent in recent years (see Araújo e Sá & Melo-Pfeifer, 2015; Barras et al, 2019; Haukås, 2016; Le Pape Racine & Brühwiler, 2020 ; Lundberg, 2019; Melo-Pfeifer, 2020 and 2018b; Pérez-Peitx & Sánchez-Quintana 2019; Portolés & Martí 2018). Despite differences in national contexts, professional experience, and subjects taught, these studies generally reveal consistent and comparable results and conclusions. The key findings of these studies can be summarized as follows, according to Melo-Pfeifer & Schröder-Sura” (2024, p. 496; our translation):

In-service and pre-service language teachers recognize the affective value of multilingual approaches in language teaching in terms of motivation and respectful recognition of learners' language repertoires.
Although they do not always fully accept this (e.g., due to fears of negative inter- or intralingual interference or the fossilization of errors), future teachers recognize the cognitive advantages of mobilizing language skills.
Future teachers contrast structural problems in curricula with the recognition of cognitive and affective advantages, such as continued monolingual assessment, the separation of school subjects, etc., as well as problems related to time and resource management. Teaching (inadequate textbooks, limited communication between teachers of different languages in schools) or even language management in the classroom, either because they fear losing their role as language experts or because they do not perceive themselves as “sufficiently multilingual.”
Language teachers often point to the contradictions between what they have observed or experienced in their language teaching (at school or university) and the challenges posed by multilingual teaching, and regard these as insurmountable tasks that threaten their identity as language teachers.

All in all, studies on teachers' beliefs about multilingualism show that teachers “[...] generally consider multilingualism to be a resource and valuable, but are rather skeptical about its constructive integration into their teaching and do not feel sufficiently qualified or professional” (Huxel, 2018, p. 110).

In 2025, results of a survey of the Erasmus Plus project PEP (Promotion de l’Education Plurilingue; see Cortés Velásquez, 2025, p. 9) showed that:

“teachers emphasize the cultural and societal benefits of plurilingualism, including intercultural dialogue, linguistic diversity, and social inclusion.
classroom practices often incorporate multiple languages for fostering comprehension, emotional engagement, and metalinguistic awareness.
plurilingual assessment practices remain limited, indicating a need for alignment between teaching and evaluation.
teachers report significant challenges in the implementation of plurilingual practices, including insufficient institutional support, resources, specific training, and time”.

These findings are broadly consistent with more recent studies, which continue to report a discrepancy between teachers' generally positive beliefs about plurilingualism and the relatively limited implementation of plurilingual pedagogies in everyday classroom practice (Bonvino & Cortés Velásquez, 2026; Weger, 2026).

Example 1: Teachers’ Conflicting Beliefs About Plurilingualism

A study by Haukås (2015) found that while many teachers support plurilingual education in theory, they often avoid implementing it due to concerns that multiple languages in the classroom might confuse students or hinder the development of the dominant language.

Example 2: Institutional Barriers and the "Monolingual Myth"

Even when teachers have positive attitudes toward plurilingual practices, they face structural challenges such as monolingual curricula, lack of pedagogical resources, and administrative pressure to teach in a single target language (Bredthauer & Engfer, 2016).

Example 3: Teachers Using Translanguaging as a Strategy

Despite challenges, some educators integrate translanguaging strategies—allowing students to use all their linguistic resources to support learning. For example, an English teacher in a multilingual classroom might encourage students to take notes in their home language before summarizing in English.

Example 4: Teacher Training Programs and Plurilingual Awareness

Research has shown that teachers who receive training on plurilingual pedagogies are more likely to implement them in their teaching (Burner & Carlsen, 2023).

Take-Home Messages

Teachers' beliefs play a crucial role in the implementation of plurilingual education, although the relationship between teachers' beliefs and classroom practices is complex and not always direct.
Many teachers hold positive beliefs about plurilingualism and plurilingual education but remain reluctant to adopt plurilingual pedagogies because of institutional and structural barriers, concerns about their own self-efficacy and agency, or a perceived lack of preparation.
Insufficient teacher education, limited pedagogical resources, and inadequate institutional support contribute to the gap between policy recommendations and the implementation of plurilingual approaches in classroom practice.
Teachers' beliefs are not fixed; they can evolve through professional development, reflective practice, and experience, making teacher education an important lever for supporting plurilingual pedagogies.

Self-Assessment

Resources to Go Further

Council of Europe – Plurilingual Education: https://www.coe.int/en/web/language-policy/plurilingualism
Research on Teacher Cognition: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308502263_Teacher_cognition_and_language_teaching

Bibliography

Barkhuizen, G. (2019). Qualitative Research Topics in Language Teacher Education. Routledge.

Bonvino, E., & Cortés Velásquez, D. (2026). Croyances des enseignants sur le plurilinguisme. In C. Ollivier & S. Melo-Pfeifer (Eds.), Encyclopédie de l'éducation plurilingue (pp. 116–118). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b23455

Borg, S. (2006). Teacher Cognition and Language Education. Continuum.

Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: a review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching 36, 81–109.

Bredthauer, S., & Engfer, H. (2016). Multilingualism is great – but is it really my business? Sustainable Multilingualism, 9, 104–121.

Burner, T., & Carlsen, C. (2023). Teachers' multilingual beliefs and practices in English classrooms: A scoping review. Review of Education, 11.

Cortés Velásquez, D., Strasser, M., Bogensperger, T., Hülsmann, C., & Zini, D. (coord.), Bonvino, E., Brinkmann, L.M., Capucho, F., Damaskou, E., Gaillat, T., Gerwers, F., Gkaintartzi, Kitsiou, R., Kratochwil, L., Lamonaca, M., Melo-Pfeifer, S., Ollivier, C., Vetter, E., & Wagner, P., (2025). Language use in secondary and higher education: Teachers’ beliefs and practices. Survey Report. PEP – Promoting Plurilingual Education. https://doi.org/10.25592/uhhfdm.16755.

Haukås, Å. (2015). Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism and a multilingual pedagogical approach. International Journal of Multilingualism, 13(1), 1–18.

Huxel, K. (2018). Lehrer*insein in der Migrationsgesellschaft. Professionalisierung in einem widersprüchlichen Feld. ZISU 7, 109–121.

Lundberg, A. (2020). Viewpoints about educational language policies. Multilingualism in Sweden and Switzerland. Malmö University.

Melo-Pfeifer, S., & Schröder-Sura, A. (2024). Überzeugungen zu Pluralen Ansätzen – Zwei Untersuchungen in der ersten und dritten Phase der LehrerInnenbildung. In D. Reimann (Ed.), Geschichte und Gegenwart der romanistischen Fachdidaktik und Lehrerbildung in deutschsprachigen und romanophonen Kontexten (pp. 49-512). Narr Verlag.

Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307-332. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307

Weger, D. (2026). Teachers' beliefs on multilingualism. In C. Ollivier & S. Melo-Pfeifer (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of plurilingual education (pp. 119–121). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b23455

Wilken, A. (2020). Professionalisierung durch Schüler*innen-Mehrsprachigkeit? Englischlehrer*innen im Spannungsfeld zwischen Habitus und Norm. PhD Thesis. Hamburg: Universität Hamburg.

Credits

This resource has been created by Projet PEP (discuss • contribs) (Erasmus+ project, co-financed by the European Commission) :

Diego Cortes Velasquez (Università Roma Tre)
Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer (Universität Hamburg)

Portal: Plurilingual education

	They believe that plurilingualism accelerates learning.
	They feel that integrating multiple languages could hinder the development of the dominant or the target language.
	They are required to exclusively use monolingual pedagogies.
	They have no personal beliefs about language teaching.

	Their personal experience as monolingual speakers.
	The presence of language policies favoring strict monolingual instruction.
	Their participation in training programs that focus on plurilingual teaching.
	The lack of multilingual students in their classroom.

	True
	False