From 'Promising Controversies' to Negotiated Practices: A Research Synthesis of Plurilingual Pedagogy in Global Contexts

To better understand the factors facilitating or impeding the translation of "promising controversies" (Taylor & Snoddon, 2013, p. 439) of plurilingualism theory into meaningful practices, this article presents a synthesis of 30 empirical studies on plurilingual pedagogy as enacted and experienced by educators and learners in various global K-12 and postsecondary contexts. Informed by plurilingualism (Coste et al., 1997/2009; Council of Europe, 2020), this synthesis forefronts the key contributions of plurilingual pedagogy as it fosters: (a) students' development of plurilingual (and pluri-/intercultural) competence, (b) evolution of language beliefs towards a positive orientation to plurality and hybridity, (c) affirmation of student and teacher identity and promotion of agency, and (d) language and literacy development. The perceived challenges, however, are related to the nature and practical issues of designing and implementing plurilingual pedagogy in the classroom which are interconnected with institutional policies and ideological discourses. The results illuminate the up-to-date progress as well as hurdles of promoting plurilingual pedagogies across different contexts and provide important implications for multiple stakeholders involved in pre-service teacher education, in-service professional development, curriculum improvement, and language policy making in Canada and other multicultural and multilingual societies and communities.