The non-native speaker teacher as proficient multilingual: A critical review of research from 2009–2018

Abstract

With many countries now implementing multilingual educational initiatives in schools, there is a need to reconfigure training programs and encourage teachers to develop a multilingual identity so that they can better promote multilingualism among their students. At present, monolingual ideologies dominate the language education landscape, particularly disadvantaging non-native speaker teachers (NNSTs), who are proficient multilinguals by default and who might best embody the successful language learner model for emergent multilinguals. Studies on NNSTs, however, have traditionally focused on their status as deficient native speakers instead of exploring their multilinguality, although this has started to change in recent years. This study represents a critical review of empirical studies (n=84) from 2009–2018 that reflect this change. The review indicates that a growing number of studies have started to document NNSTs’ unique affordances and multilingual practices in the classroom globally, that NNSTs can develop a reactive multilingual identity in response to native-speakerism, and that learners, when engaged by researchers, do recognize the multilingual affordances of NNSTs. The study's findings should contribute to the growing body of research on multilingual teacher identity, affordances, and practices, especially as this concerns NNSTs.