What are they exactly? Are they similar or different? A Conceptual and Contextual Insights of Multilingualism and Plurilingualism from Indonesian EFL Classrooms

Devilito Prasetyo Tatipang; Anas Irwan; Syahrullah Syahrullah; Fajar  Aswat

doi:10.53682/jeltec.v4i2.12777

Authors

Devilito Prasetyo Tatipang Universitas Negeri Makassar
Anas Irwan Universitas Negeri Makassar
Syahrullah Syahrullah Universitas Negeri Makassar
Fajar Aswat Universitas Negeri Makassar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53682/jeltec.v4i2.12777

Keywords:

Multilingualism; Plurilingualism; Indonesian EFL classrooms, Linguistics diversity

Abstract

This systematic literature review aims to clarify the conceptual distinctions and contextual applications of multilingualism and plurilingualism in Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. The study addresses widespread confusion among educators and policymakers by analyzing 25 high-quality, peer-reviewed studies published between 2021 to 2025. Using rigorous selection criteria and thematic analysis, the review found that multilingualism is typically understood as the coexistence of multiple languages within societies or institutions, while plurilingualism highlights an individual's integrated and dynamic use of multiple languages. Despite Indonesia’s rich linguistic diversity, national policies and curricula have yet to fully adopt plurilingual principles, often favoring strict language separations. Classroom research reveals that language practices are more fluid, with teachers and students frequently combining languages for comprehension and engagement. However, varying teacher beliefs and insufficient training hinder the implementation of effective plurilingual pedagogy. This study underscores the need for clear, shared definitions and improved professional development to bridge the gap between theory, policy, and practice. The findings advocate for policies and teaching approaches that recognize and harness the full linguistic repertoires of learners. Ultimately, this review provides a critical foundation for advancing multilingual education in Indonesia and contributes to global discussions on language pedagogy in multilingual contexts

References

Abtahian, M. R., Cohn, A. C., & Starr, R. L. (2021). Variation and change in the languages of Indonesia: An introduction. Asia-Pacific Language Variation, 7(2), 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1075/APLV.00015.INT

Ahmad, B. M., Arroisi, J., Jan, J. M., & Ramazani, R. (2024). Indonesian pesantren-affiliated higher education: universal Islamic values to develop locally engaged but globally oriented multilingual graduates. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 29(1), 138–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/13596748.2023.2285633

Al-khresheh, M., & Karmi, S. (2024). An Exploration of Cognitive Benefits of EFL Learning in a Monolingual Jordanian Context. An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities), 38(9). https://doi.org/10.35552/0247.38.9.2250

Antony-Newman, M. (2025). Plurilingualism for social justice: a meta-synthesis. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2475915;WGROUP:STRING:PUBLICATION

Birello, M., Llompart-Esbert, J., & Moore, E. (2021). Being plurilingual versus becoming a linguistically sensitive teacher: tensions in the discourse of initial teacher education students. International Journal of Multilingualism, 18(4), 586–600. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1900195;ISSUE:ISSUE:DOI

Booth, A., Sutton, A., Clowes, M., & Martyn-St James, M. (2021). Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806

Cappuzzo, B. (2024). Plurilingualism, Multilingualism, and Lingua Franca English in Today’s Globalised World. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 11(1), 1–15.

Chen, L., Karas, M., Shalizar, M., & Piccardo, E. (2022). From “Promising Controversies” to Negotiated Practices: A Research Synthesis of Plurilingual Pedagogy in Global Contexts. TESL Canada Journal, 38(2), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.18806/TESL.V38I2.1354

Cross, R., D’warte, J., & Slaughter, Y. (2022). Plurilingualism and language and literacy education. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy , 45(3), 341–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/S44020-022-00023-1

Ebrahimi, M. (2023). Multilingualism and Plurilingualism in Teaching the Lingua Franca: A Critical Review. Media and Intercultural Communication: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1(2), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.22034/MIC.2023.176626

Erling, E. J., & Moore, E. (2021). INTRODUCTION–Socially just plurilingual education in Europe: shifting subjectivities and practices through research and action. International Journal of Multilingualism, 18(4), 523–533. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1913171

Furlong, A. (2009). The relation of plurilingualism/culturalism to creativity: a matter of perception. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(4), 343–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710903124997

Fürst, G., & Grin, F. (2018). Multilingualism and creativity: a multivariate approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(4), 341–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1389948

Galante, A., & dela Cruz, J. W. N. (2024). Plurilingual and pluricultural as the new normal: an examination of language use and identity in the multilingual city of Montreal. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(4), 868–883. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1931244;WGROUP:STRING:PUBLICATION

Gallagher, M. A., & Scrivner, S. (2024). Teachers’ Beliefs About Language Diversity and Multilingual Learners: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241257533;PAGEGROUP:STRING:PUBLICATION

García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). The Translanguaging Turn and Its Impact. In Translanguaging. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765_3

García, O., & Wei, L. (2015). Translanguaging, Bilingualism, and Bilingual Education. The Handbook of Bilingual and Multilingual Education, 223–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118533406.CH13

Hopp, H., & Thoma, D. (2021). Effects of Plurilingual Teaching on Grammatical Development in Early Foreign-Language Learning. Modern Language Journal, 105(2), 464–483. https://doi.org/10.1111

Juang, R. P., & Musigrungsi, S. (2022). Indonesian EFL Teachers’ Beliefs about Incorporating Cultural Aspects in Their Multilingual and Multicultural EFL Classrooms. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2022-2801-06

Kato, R., & Kumagai, Y. (2022). Translingual practices in a ‘Monolingual’ society: discourses, learners’ subjectivities and language choices. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(5), 1681–1696. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1799318

Khan, W. A., Alshehri, A. A., Khan, W. A., & Alshehri, A. A. (2024). Monolingualism to Bilingualism in Tertiary-Level EFL Classrooms: Readiness and Perceptions of English Language Teachers at Saudi Universities. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 14(5), 821–839. https://doi.org/10.4236/OJML.2024.145044

Kharkhurin, A. V., Koncha, V., & Charkhabi, M. (2023). The effects of multilingual and multicultural practices on divergent thinking. Implications for plurilingual creativity paradigm. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 26(3), 592–609. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728922000864

Kirkpatrick, A. (2011). English as an Asian lingua franca and the multilingual model of ELT. Language Teaching, 44(2), 212–224. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444810000145

Kumayas, T. A., Luntungan, G. S., Arsai, A. N., & Tatipang, D. P. (2025). Curriculum Reform Meets Classroom Realities: Selected Indonesian Teachers’ Perspectives on the Merdeka Curriculum. REiLA : Journal of Research and Innovation in Language, 7(1), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.31849/5X19DJ04

Lauwo, M. S., Accurso, K., & Rajagopal, H. (2022). Plurilingualism, Equity, and Pre-service Teacher Identity: Centring [Linguistic] Diversity in Teacher Education. TESL Canada Journal, 38(2), 113–139. https://doi.org/10.18806/TESL.V38I2.1359

Liando, N. V. F., dallyono, R., Tatipang, D. P., & Lengkoan, F. (2023). Among English, Indonesian and local language: Translanguaging practices in an Indonesian EFL classroom. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 204–216. https://doi.org/10.17509/IJAL.V13I1.58270

Liando, N. V. F., & Tatipang, D. P. (2022). English or Indonesian Language? Parents’ Perception Toward Children’s Second Language Learning Context. Jurnal Lingua Idea, 13(1), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.20884/1.JLI.2022.13.1.5749

Liando, N. V. F., Tatipang, D. P., & Lengkoan, F. (2022a). A Study of Translanguaging Practices in an EFL Classroom in Indonesian Context: A Multilingual Concept. Research and Innovation in Language Learning, 5(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.33603/RILL.V5I2.6986

Liando, N. V. F., Tatipang, D. P., & Lengkoan, F. (2022b). A Study of Translanguaging Practices in an EFL Classroom in Indonesian Context: A Multilingual Concept. Research and Innovation in Language Learning, 5(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.33603/RILL.V5I2.6986

Marshall, S. (2021). Plurilingualism and the tangled web of lingualisms. The Routledge Handbook of Plurilingual Language Education, 46–64. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351002783-4/PROMOTING-PLURILINGUALISM-PLURILINGUAL-EDUCATION-GEORGES-L

Nagashima, Y. (2022). Moving Beyond the Monolingual Orientation to Investigate Language Teacher Identities: A Translingual Approach in the Japanese EFL Context. Discourses of Identity: Language Learning, Teaching, and Reclamation Perspectives in Japan, 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11988-0_19

Nursanti, E., & Andriyanti, E. (2021). Language Identities of Multilingual College English Learners in Indonesia. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 316–337. https://doi.org/10.32601/EJAL.911403

Rusdiansyah, Gunawan, W., Kurniawan, E., & Hakim, M. A. (2025). Navigating inconsistencies: The challenges of implementing multilingual education policy in rural Indonesia. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 11, 101601. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SSAHO.2025.101601

Smythe, F. (2023). Navigating plurilingual learning: An inclusive education approach. European Journal of Education, 58(2), 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1111/EJED.12551;CTYPE:STRING:JOURNAL

Tatipang, D. P., Dollah, S., Weda, S., Sakkir, G., Liando, N. V. F., & Lengkoan, F. (2025). I am well aware of it, yet, my Students have to Learn in comfort way: Translanguaging as Mediated English Language Pedagogy. Journal of English Culture, Language, Literature and Education, 13(2), 277–296. https://doi.org/10.53682/ECLUE.V13I2.4598

Tatipang, D. P., Dollah, S., Weda, S., Sakkir, G., Liando, N. V. F., Wuntu, C. N., Budiman, J. N. C., & Ganap, N. N. (2025). Is It a new path? or a new problem?: An Explorative Study Of Deep Learning In Indonesian EFL Secondary Classroom. International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 11(8), 2490–2499. https://doi.org/10.64252/TSFMY023

Veliz, L. (2024). Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Education: Implications for Curriculum, Teacher Preparation and Pedagogical Practice. Multiculturalism and Multilingualism in Education. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004709850

Vogel, S., & García, O. (2017). Translanguaging. Publications and Research. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/402

Zein, S. (2019). English, multilingualism and globalisation in Indonesia: A love triangle: Why Indonesia should move towards multilingual education. English Today, 35(1), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026607841800010X

Zein, S. (2020). Language policy in superdiverse Indonesia. In Language Policy in Superdiverse Indonesia (1st Edition). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429019739

Zein, S. (2022). Translanguaging and Multiliteracies in the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Classroom. English Teaching, 77, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.77.s1.202209.3

Zen, E. L., & Starr, R. L. (2021). Variation and contact-induced change in Javanese phonology among multilingual children in Indonesia. Asia-Pacific Language Variation, 7(2), 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1075/APLV.20005.ZEN/CITE/REFWORKS