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Education Sciences
Special Issues
Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education
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Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2025) | Viewed by 3676

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ekaterina Protassova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Languages, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Interests: language teaching; linguistic diversity; language contact; multilingualism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Yelenevskaya

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Humanities and Arts, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Interests: computer-mediated communication; socio-cultural aspects of immigration; language teaching; linguistic diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global migration trends are reshaping demographics, leading to increased linguistic and cultural diversity in previously homogenous communities. These shifts challenge traditional educational frameworks, necessitating approaches that value students’ multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. Linguistically responsive teaching emerges as a crucial pedagogy in response to this, integrating intercultural communication, contrastive linguistics, and language acquisition processes. This approach enables educators to support students in navigating academic challenges while leveraging their linguistic repertoires as assets.

The increasing diversity among students has prompted educators to adopt or combine teacher-centered and student-centered methodologies. The latter shifts the teacher’s role from authoritative knowledge source to facilitator, fostering student autonomy and personalized learning. Particularly in multilingual settings, student-centered strategies such as collaborative learning, problem solving, and peer interactions enhance communication, encourage tolerance, and support conceptual change. Teaching lesser-used languages poses unique challenges and opportunities, blending language acquisition with cultural heritage preservation. Effective teaching materials tailored to learner needs, multimodal approaches, and community involvement enrich learning experiences. Moreover, technological advancements, including digital and AI tools, further enhance linguistic inclusivity and foster equity in education. Thus, linguistically responsive teaching supports students’ cognitive development, strengthens their cultural identities, and prepares them for global citizenship.

This Special Issue explores the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in educational contexts driven by global migration trends, advocating for a linguistically responsive teaching approach in so doing. The aim is to leverage students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds, integrating strategies from intercultural communication, contrastive linguistics, and language acquisition processes to enhance education for multilingual learners. The scope of this Special Issue includes examining effective teaching methods for diverse language learners, promoting inclusivity, and addressing challenges in heritage and lesser-used language instruction.

This Special Issue is seeking papers which address topics such as the following:

  • Developing learner autonomy, problem-solving skills, and peer collaboration as enhancers of linguistic comprehension;
  • Balancing inclusivity and instructional goals through teacher facilitation;
  • Embracing linguistic and cultural diversity to strengthen learning and students’ identity;
  • Heritage language instruction leveraging culturally resonant and multimodal resources;
  • Digital platforms and AI tools transforming learning and offering collaborative and self-paced opportunities;
  • Challenges in developing advanced materials for less-popular languages;
  • Promoting dialogue and translanguaging to foster critical and creative thinking;
  • Collaborative tasks linking creativity to socio-cultural contexts through negotiation and innovation;
  • Multilingualism as a career asset, promoting tolerance and countering stereotypes;
  • Applying effective strategies to enhance cognitive flexibility and strengthen students’ cultural identities;
  • Migration reshaping classroom demographics and necessitating student-centered approaches.

Dr. Ekaterina Protassova
Dr. Maria Yelenevskaya
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • linguistic diversity
  • innovative language teaching
  • linguistically responsive teaching
  • translanguaging
  • non-global languages

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 448 KB  
Article
From Policy to Practice: Challenges and Opportunities in Bilingual Preschool Education in Georgia (Sakartvelo)
by Gulnara Bibileishvili
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(10), 1340; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15101340 - 9 Oct 2025
Viewed by 332
Abstract
In Georgia (Sakartvelo), a program promoting bilingual education in preschool institutions was formally adopted in 2020. It aligns with the objectives of the 2021–2030 State Strategy for Civic Equality and Integration Plan, which envisions a comprehensive reform of bilingual education across Georgia’s regions. [...] Read more.
In Georgia (Sakartvelo), a program promoting bilingual education in preschool institutions was formally adopted in 2020. It aligns with the objectives of the 2021–2030 State Strategy for Civic Equality and Integration Plan, which envisions a comprehensive reform of bilingual education across Georgia’s regions. Any reform requires research and evaluation to measure how effectively it is being implemented and whether the intended outcomes have been achieved. The bilingual education initiative pursues a dual objective: to preserve the native languages of minority communities while ensuring effective acquisition of the state language. This dual mandate is intrinsically linked to state language policy and constitutes a sensitive issue for local communities, parents, and preschool administrators, thereby necessitating a careful and nuanced approach. The present study analyzed the readiness of the social environment to support the implementation of bilingual education programs at the preschool level in the regions of Georgia in which ethnic minorities live side by side. Research was carried out in two ethnically diverse regions—Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe–Javakheti. The author conducted individual and group interviews, and the elicited data were analyzed with the help of content and thematic analyses. This study examines key attributes of the ongoing preschool reform to identify factors that facilitate the effective implementation of early bilingual education initiatives. The findings highlight both commonalities and regional variations in parental attitudes toward the bilingual education reform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education)
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20 pages, 1533 KB  
Article
Storytelling in the Heritage Language: Polish Language in Finland
by Izabela Jakubek-Głąb
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1221; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091221 - 15 Sep 2025
Viewed by 654
Abstract
The Polish diaspora’s commitment to maintaining its cultural and linguistic heritage in foreign environments not only enriches their communities but also deepens the understanding of diaspora dynamics in cultural preservation. This article analyzes the narrative development of Polish-speaking children as a means of [...] Read more.
The Polish diaspora’s commitment to maintaining its cultural and linguistic heritage in foreign environments not only enriches their communities but also deepens the understanding of diaspora dynamics in cultural preservation. This article analyzes the narrative development of Polish-speaking children as a means of supporting the maintenance of the Polish heritage language (HL) in Finland. The case study focuses on a family with a visually impaired father and three children. The material was drawn from interviews with the parents, books created by the children on their own initiative, and picture book narratives. Using an ecological approach and narrative analysis, the study explores how children naturally expand their competence in Polish through storytelling. By fostering storytelling skills, children strengthen their linguistic, cultural, and emotional connection to their HL. Narratives enable them to use Polish in meaningful, everyday contexts, creating a natural environment for language practice. Through stories that incorporate elements from Polish, Finnish, and international settings, children develop intercultural awareness, adaptability, and a deeper appreciation for their Polish roots. Storytelling between parents and children in Polish also fosters emotional closeness and reinforces the family’s linguistic bond. It encourages children to communicate with Polish-speaking relatives, such as grandparents, thereby supporting intergenerational language transmission. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education)
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29 pages, 1751 KB  
Article
Peer Collaboration to Support Chinese Immigrant Children’s Chinese Heritage Language Use and Learning in New York
by Yeshan Qian and Colette Daiute
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091210 - 12 Sep 2025
Viewed by 481
Abstract
Post-monolingual circumstances are increasing reflecting the growing occurrence of multilingualism, migration, and advancing communication technologies. Cultural groups value maintaining heritage languages while also learning the ones in their new life environments. Heritage language maintenance is, for example, promoted by immigrant parents and grandparents [...] Read more.
Post-monolingual circumstances are increasing reflecting the growing occurrence of multilingualism, migration, and advancing communication technologies. Cultural groups value maintaining heritage languages while also learning the ones in their new life environments. Heritage language maintenance is, for example, promoted by immigrant parents and grandparents in the Northern Netherlands, as well as in other locations. Maintaining cultural heritage language also needs innovative instructional approaches and pedagogy. This article presents a study exploring the role of peer collaboration in supporting children’s Chinese heritage language use and learning in New York City. Drawn from sociocultural theory and extended in prior research examining peer collaboration in writing development, we focused on understanding the role of peer collaboration in Chinese immigrant children’s Chinese heritage language use in an after-school (Sunday school) program. In collaboration with organizers of the school, our study involved a 30 min peer collaboration writing activity. The activity invited children to collaborate with a peer to write a letter about the fun experiences they had in the Chinese language school. Interaction processes and products were collected and analyzed to address two primary research questions including the following: What are the languages and peer collaboration processes that children in this Chinese language school used in their conversations and in the text of the letters they created together? How did children’s use of Chinese and English during peer collaboration relate to language in the texts they wrote? Results indicated that children played diverse, mutually supportive roles during their collaboration, such as suggesting narrative sequences for the letter, including confirming/agreeing, and correcting and clarifying, although different pairs balanced such strategies somewhat differently. Among numerous findings is that children used Mandarin most frequently when narrating events that they found enjoyable at the Chinese language school. The findings fill a gap in research on multilingual peer collaboration, in particular with Chinese and English in the United States. In addition to those findings, research in an after-school heritage language program provides a model for innovative research in practice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education)
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20 pages, 283 KB  
Article
Integrating International Foodways and the Dominant Language Constellation Approach in Language Studies
by Alexandra Grigorieva and Ekaterina Protassova
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(6), 765; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060765 - 17 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1076
Abstract
People in multilingual societies develop complex and interconnected food-making and food-discussing networks. On the basis of an experimental course titled “Food at Home, Food on the Move: Globalization and Regionalism in Modern Food Culture” taught at the University of Helsinki, we will show [...] Read more.
People in multilingual societies develop complex and interconnected food-making and food-discussing networks. On the basis of an experimental course titled “Food at Home, Food on the Move: Globalization and Regionalism in Modern Food Culture” taught at the University of Helsinki, we will show how the acquisition of culinary terminology puts forward the interconnectedness of languages and the dynamics between them in several sociolinguistic contexts. The lectures were grouped geographically: Eating with the Neighbors (Finnish cuisine and Swedish, Russian, Karelian and other influences); From the Baltic to Central Europe (Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, German, and Hungarian food cultures); Formative Cuisines of the Mediterranean (French, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern cuisine, etc.); and Eating Outside Europe (food culture influences from the US, Mexico, China, Japan, and India). The assignments included a critical lecture diary, an essay about eating experiences, or additional reading, a conversational analysis of a culinary show, or fieldwork in an ethnic restaurant. Raising awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, motivating course participants to discuss the role and interaction of languages in their repertoire, makes them reflect on their multilingual identities. It allows educators to explore individuals’ DLCs in different contexts while navigating diverse global and local environments based on the principles of fairness and equality in education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovation and Design in Multilingual Education)
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