Secondary school students’ beliefs about multilingualism across contexts: England, France and Norway

Abstract

Second and foreign language education is key to fostering global citizens who can comprehend and appreciate linguistic and cultural diversity. However, despite governing bodies’ efforts to encourage student enrolment in language classes, some students do not consider it necessary to study additional languages. Studies indicate a need for research focusing on students’ own perspectives on multilingualism to understand how to bring about change. This paper presents findings from the large-scale European project LANGUAGES. Drawing on a context-adapted version of the validated Ungspråk (Young Languages) survey, we collected responses from secondary school students (N = 813) in England, France, and Norway. The findings are based on analyses of students’ reported beliefs about the benefits of multilingualism and views of their current multilingual selves. Key results reveal that students in England hold significantly more positive beliefs about multilingualism than students in France and Norway. At the same time, students in England are significantly less likely to self-identify as multilingual. Based on these findings, we discuss potential reasons for these differences and explore what it might take to shift students’ perspectives on multilingualism and multilingual education across diverse contexts.

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