Teachers’ experiences on teaching a multilingual classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of teachers when teaching a multilingual classroom. The study was conducted as a qualitative study where eight class teachers and one subject teacher, who was teaching Swedish, English, and Finnish as a second language – lessons, were interviewed. The teachers were interviewed about their background, their positive and negative experiences and feelings, and materials and resources available to the teachers in the context of teaching a multilingual classroom. Data were analyzed via content analysis.

All of the interviewed teachers perceived that their workload had increased after starting to teach a multilingual classroom. None of the interviewed teachers thought that they had received sufficient knowledge and knowhow on teaching a multilingual classroom from their education. All the teachers remarked they had to change their teaching methods to accommodate the needs of the multilingual students in the classroom.

The findings of this study indicated that resources play an important part in the experiences of the teachers. The teachers who had the most resources available to them displayed the most positive experiences and feelings of competence. The teachers with the least resources at their disposal displayed the most negative experiences and feelings toward teaching a multilingual classroom.