Cover not available
Article published In:
Multilingual education or How to learn to teach multilingual learning
Edited by Eva Vetter and Nikolay Slavkov
[AILA Review 35:1] 2022
► pp. 12–37

Metacognition in multilingual learning and teaching

Multilingual awareness as a central subcomponent of metacognition in research and practice

| University of Innsbruck
| University of Innsbruck

Metacognition has been increasingly discussed as one of the main features of learning in the 21st century (see Haukås, Bjørke, & Dypedahl, 2018). In the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism Theory (DMM) (Herdina & Jessner 2002), which applies Complexity and Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) to multilingualism, it is argued that multilinguals develop increased knowledge of languages and language learning through experience. In this article a CDST perspective on multilingual learning and teaching with a focus on metacognition will be presented. The central sub-component of metacognition in DMM, in the form of multilingual awareness, comprising metalinguistic and cross-linguistic awareness in multilingual learners, will be discussed as a core feature of multilingual proficiency in multilingual development. In a number of studies in the Austrian and South Tyrolean context multilingual awareness has turned out as a core factor in both learning and teaching. These studies show that multilingual awareness has to be trained in multilingual pedagogical approaches in order to foster multilingualism. A holistic approach is needed to deal with the ongoing tensions between complexity, dynamics, adaptation and stability. Although it becomes clear that the nature of multilingualism can only be understood in relation to its context, it is nevertheless possible to isolate and define constant factors in an efficient multilingual awareness training as provided by the Five Building Blocks of Holistic Multilingual Education.

Keywords: DMM, metacognition, multilingual awareness, metalinguistic awareness (MLA), cross-linguistic awareness (XLA), early multilingualism, multilingual awareness training, Five Building Blocks of Holistic Multilingual Education
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Change in dynamic systems
  • Metacognitive and multilingual awareness as emergent properties of multilingual development
    • Metacognition in childhood
    • Language choice in early social interactions
  • Cognitive benefits of multilingualism
  • Teaching and training multilingual awareness in the educational context
    • The 5 Building Blocks of holistic language education
      • Introduction and overview
      • Other contexts – New foci
      • The 5 Building Blocks in detail
      • How to deal with diversity in the classroom
      • How to build on students’ real life experience, their concepts and world knowledge
      • How to deal with the language(s) of schooling
      • How to deal with multilingualism
      • How to develop multilingual awareness/language learning awareness
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • References
Published online: 27 September 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.22010.jes
References
Albert, I., Trommsdorff, G., Mayer, B., & Schwarz, B.
(2005) Value of children in urban and rural Indonesia : Socio-demographic indicators, cultural aspects, and empirical findings. In G. Trommsdorff, & B. Nauck (Eds.), The value of children in cross-cultural perspective. Case studies from eight societies, January (pp. 171–207). Pabst.Google Scholar
Allgäuer-Hackl, E.
(2017) The development of metalinguistic awareness in multilingual learners. How effective is multilingual training in the classroom? (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Innsbruck.
Allgäuer-Hackl, E., Hofer, B., Malzer-Papp, E., & Jessner, U.
(2021) Ist mehrsprachiger Unterricht wirklich vorteilhaft? Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 26 (2), 21–47.Google Scholar
Allgäuer-Hackl, E., Naphegyi, S., Sammer, G., & Steinböck-Matt, S.
(2018) 5 Bausteine umfassender sprachlicher Bildung. Retrieved on 19 March 2022 from [URL]
Allgäuer-Hackl, E., & Naphegyi, S.
in press). 5 Bausteine umfassender sprachlicher Bildung als normativer Bezugsrahmen für den schulischen Umgang mit Sprachen in der Migrationsgesellschaft. In I. Amberg, B. Holub, N. Tahmasian, & N. Wiener Eds. Handlungsfeld Mehrsprachigkeit in der Elementar- und Primarstufe (AT) wbv Publikation
Aronin, L., & Jessner, U.
(2015) Understanding current multilingualism: What can the butterfly tell us? In U. Jessner & C. Kramsch (Eds.), The multilingual challenge. Cross-disciplinary perspectives (pp. 271–292). De Gruyter Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E.
(2001) Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy, and cognition. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011) Reshaping the mind: The benefits of bilingualism. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue Canadienne de Psychologie Expérimentale, 65 (4), 229–235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., & Barac, R.
(2012) Emerging bilingualism: Dissociating advantages for metalinguistic awareness and executive control. Cognition, 122 (1), 67–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., McBride-Chang, C., & Luk, G.
(2005) Bilingualism, language proficiency, and learning to read in two writing systems. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97 1, 580–590. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cekaite, A.
(2022) Children’s perception of multilingual landscapes in interaction. In A. Stavans & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism (pp. 649–667). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cekaite, A., & Evaldsson, A-C.
(2017) Language policies in play: Language learning ecologies in children’s peer and teacher interactions in preschool. Multilingua, 36 (4), 451–475. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chung-Fat-Yim, A., & Bialystok, E.
(2022) Language and thought in multilingual children. In A. Stavans & U. Jessner (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of child multilingualism (pp. 216–265). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cross, D. R., & Paris, S. G.
(1988) Developmental and instructional analyses of children’s metacognition and reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80 (2), 131–142. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J.
(1991) Interdependence of first- and second-language proficiency in bilingual children. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children (pp. 70–89). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2000) Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017) Teaching for transfer in multilingual school contexts. In O. García, A. Lin, & S. May (Eds.), Bilingual and multilingual education. Encyclopedia of language and education (pp. 103–115). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dahm, R.
(2015) Developing cognitive strategies through pluralistic approaches. In G. De Angelis, U. Jessner, & M. Kresić (Eds.), Crosslinguistic influence and crosslinguistic interaction in multilingual language learning (pp. 43–70). Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
De Angelis, G., & Jessner, U.
(2012) Writing across languages in a bilingual context: A Dynamic Systems Theory approach. In R. Manchón (Ed.), L2 writing development: Multiple perspectives (pp. 47–68). Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Bot, K.
(2008) Introduction: Second language development as a dynamic process. The Modern Language Journal, 92 (2), 166–178. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Houwer, A.
(2021) Bilingual development in childhood. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deuchar, M.
(2022) Multilingualism in early childhood: The role of the input. In A. Stavans, & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism (pp. 58–81). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dolas, F., Jessner, U., & Cedden, G.
(2022) Cognitive advantages of multilingual learning on metalinguistic awareness, working memory and L1 lexicon size: Reconceptualization of linguistic giftedness from a DMM perspective. Journal of Cognition, 5 (1), 1–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dörnyei, Z.
(2009) Individual differences: Interplay of learner characteristics and learning environment. Language Learning 59(1), 230–248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DyME (Dynamics of Multilingualism with English) at the University of Innsbruck
Retrieved on 14 June 2022 from [URL]
Garcia, O., & Wei, L.
(2014) Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism, and education. Palgrave MacMillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grießler, M.
(2001) The effects of third language learning on second language proficiency: An Austrian example. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 4 (1), 50–60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grigorenko, E., Sternberg, R. J., & Ehrman, M.
(2000) A theory-based approach to the measurement of foreign language learning ability: The Canal-F Theory and test. The Modern Language Journal, 84 (3), 390–405. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haukås, A., Bjørke, C., & Dypedahl, M.
(Eds.) (2018) Metacognition in language learning and teaching. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hélot, C., Van Gorp, K., Frijns, C., & Sierens, S.
(2018) Introduction: Towards critical multilingual language awareness for 21st century schools. In C. Hélot, C. Frijns, K. Van Gorp, & S. Sierens (Eds.), Language awareness in multilingual classrooms in Europe. From theory to practice (pp. 1–20). Mouton De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Herdina, P., Allgaeuer-Hackl, E., & Malzer-Papp, E.
(Eds.) (2019) Mehrsprachensensibel? Monolinguale Sprachenpolitik trifft auf mehrsprachige Praxis. Multilingual sensibility? Monolingual policies meet multilingual practice. Innsbruck University Press.Google Scholar
Herdina, P., & Jessner, U.
(2002) A dynamic model of multilingualism. Changing the psycholinguistic perspective. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hofer, B.
(2015) On the dynamics of early multilingualism. A psycholinguistic study. Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hofer, B., & Jessner, U.
(2022) Metalinguistic awareness and early multilingual learning. In A. Stavans, & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism (pp. 163–189). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Horvath, L., & Jessner, U.
in press). Multilingual awareness-raising as a promising pedagogical tool in the initial stage of L3 teaching. Hungarian Journal of Applied Linguistics.
Hufeisen, B., & Neuner, G.
(2003) Mehrsprachigkeitskonzept – Tertiärsprachenlernen – Deutsch nach Englisch. Council of Europe Publishing.Google Scholar
Ianco-Worrall, A. D.
(1972) Bilingualism and cognitive development. Child Development, 43 (4), 1390–1400. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U.
(2006) Linguistic awareness in multilinguals: English as a third language. Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
(2008) A DST model of multilingualism and the role of metalinguistic awareness. The Modern Language Journal, 92 (2), 270–283. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017) Multicompetence approaches to language proficiency development in multilingual education. In O. Garcia & A. Lin (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education, Vol 5.: Bilingual programs (pp, 1–13). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018) Metacognition in multilingual learning. A DMM perspective. In Å. Haukås, C. Bjørke, & M. Dypedahl (Eds.), Metacognition in language learning and teaching (pp. 31–47). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021) Use it or lose it! Was bleibt von den Fremdsprachenkenntnissen nach der Schule? Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 26 (2), 119–142.Google Scholar
in prep.) On the development of trilingual children in Ladin kindergarten in South Tyrol.
Jessner, U. & E. Allgäuer-Hackl
(2020) Multilingual awareness and metacognition in multilingually diverse classrooms. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 1 (1), 66–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., Allgäuer-Hackl, E., & Hofer, B.
(2016) Emerging multilingual awareness in educational contexts: From theory to practice. Canadian Modern Language Review, 72 (2), 157–182. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., Allgäuer-Hackl, E., & Malzer-Papp, E.
(2021) Paving a new way to literacy development in migrant children: A DMM perspective. In E. O. Breuer, E. Lindgren, A. Stavans, & E. van Steendam (Eds.), Multilingual Literacy (pp. 97–122). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., & Kramsch, C.
(Eds.) (2015) The Multilingual Challenge: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., & Mayr-Keiler, K.
(2018) Why context matters: Social inclusion and multilingualism in an Austrian school setting. Multilingualism and Social Inclusion, 5 (4). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., Oberhofer, K., & Megens, M.
(2020) The attrition of school-learned foreign languages: A multilingual perspective. Applied Psycholinguistics, 42 (1), 19–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U., Pellegrini, C., Cossarini, C., Török, V., & Santer, J.
(2018) Lexical and morphological L3 attrition in an Austrian school context. Rivista di Psicolinguistica Applicata/ Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics, 8 (2), 17–36.Google Scholar
Karmiloff-Smith, A.
(1996) Beyond modularity: A developmental perspective on cognitive science. The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Kecskes, I., & Papp, T.
(2000) Foreign language and mother tongue. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kemp, C.
(2007) Strategic processing in grammar learning: Do multilinguals use more strategies? International Journal of Multilingualism, 4 (4), 241–261. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kramsch, C.
(1993) Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kroll, J., & Bialystok, E.
(2013) Understanding the consequences of bilingualism for language processing and cognition. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25 (5), 497–514. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larsen-Freeman, D.
(2014) Ten ‘lessons’ from Complex Dynamic Systems Theory: What is on offer. In Z. Dörnyei, A. Henry, & P. MacIntyre (Eds.), Motivational dynamics in language learning (pp. 11–20). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyra, V.
(2009) Constructing academic hierarchies: Teasing and identity work among peers at school. Pragmatics 19 (3), 449–466.Google Scholar
Mary, L., & Helot, C.
(2022) Multilingual education in formal schooling: Conceptual shifts in theory, policy and practice. In A. Stavans & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism (pp. 82–112). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
May, S.
(Ed.) (2014) The multilingual turn. Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education. Routledge.Google Scholar
Mitits, L.
(2015) Language learning strategies and multilingualism: Monolingual EFL and multilingual EFL/L2 Greek learners in Greek secondary education. Saita Publications.Google Scholar
Navracsics, J.
(2022) Infant bi- and multilingual development. In A. Stavans & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism (pp. 13–37). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nshiwi, D., & Jessner, U.
(2021) The effect of metalinguistic awareness and the previously learned foreign languages on fourth language acquisition by adult learners. Hungarian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11 (1), 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
(2005): The definition and selection of key competencies. Executive summary. OECD.Google Scholar
Ortega, L.
(2014) Second language learning explained? SLA across 10 contemporary theories. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (pp. 245–272). Routledge.Google Scholar
Piccardo, E., Germaine-Rutherford, A., & Lawrence, G.
(Eds.) (2022) Routledge handbook of plurilingual education. Routledge.Google Scholar
Pinto, M. A., Titone, R., & Trusso, F.
(1999) Metalinguistic awareness. Theory, development and measurement instruments. Istituti Editoriali e Poligrafici Internazionali.Google Scholar
Pliatsikas, C.
(2020) Understanding structural plasticity in the bilingual brain: The Dynamic Restructuring Model. Bilingualism, 23 (2), 459–471. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Psaltou-Joycey, A., & Kantaridou, Z.
(2009) Plurilingualism, language learning strategy use and learning style preferences. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6 (4), 460–474. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reich, H., & Krumm, H.-J.
(2013) Sprachbildung und Mehrsprachigkeit. Ein Curriculum zur Wahrnehmung und Bewältigung sprachlicher Vielfalt im Unterricht. Waxmann.Google Scholar
Ribot, K. M., & Hoff, E.
(2014) “¿Cómo estas?” “I’m good.” Conversational code-switching is related to profiles of expressive and receptive proficiency in Spanish-English bilingual toddlers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38 (4), 333–341. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schwienbacher, E. D., Quartapelle, F., & Patscheider, F.
(2017) Auf dem Weg zur sprachsensiblen Schule – Das Mehrsprachencurriculum Südtirol. Wolters Kluwer Deutschland.Google Scholar
Slobin, D.
(1978) A case study of early language awareness. In A. Sinclair, R. J. Jarvella, & W. Levelt (Eds.), The child’s conception of language (pp. 45–54). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stavans, A., & Jessner, U.
(2022) The Cambridge handbook of childhood multilingualism. Cambridge University Press:. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vygotsky, L.
(1962) Thought and language. The MIT Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wang, X.-L.
(2022) Multilingualism and language play. In A. Stavans, & U. Jessner (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Child Multilingualism (235–256). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Young, A.
(2022) Being plurilingual in the language classroom. In A. Stavans & U. Jessner (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of child multilingualism (pp. 355–375). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Pun, Jack & Xuesong Gao
2023. Teachers’ metacognitive understanding of teaching science in English as a medium of instruction classes. Language Awareness ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 28 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.