English Language Learning in Multilingual Settings: Challenges, Advantages, And Pedagogical Implications

Abstract

This paper seeks to delve deeper into the myriad and, in some instances, inherent challenges that learners of English as an additional language grapple with in multilingual contexts. It takes a look at how complexity is brought about by the crossing of linguistic interference, increasing cognitive load for learners juggling more than one language. This illustrates the cross-linguistic transfer benefits or benefits to intercultural competence improvement. To enable engagement with English learners and teachers from a multilingual educational set-up, the study will use a mixed-methods approach. This is in order to gauge what perceptions and understandings students and educators have in relation to the learning experiences. In this regard, it identifies that linguistic interference and cognitive load are the major barriers, while pedagogical significance is to highlight how multilingual benefits can be leveraged. This way, the findings contribute to a richened understanding of pedagogical practices that aim at maximizing the multilingual benefits and reducing the challenges the phenomenon of multilingualism poses. This study holds far-reaching implications for educators in the sense of teaching. In this direction, the understanding may allow the educators to understand and take into consideration the complexities of teaching English well in multilingual settings.