Multilingual study guidance in the Swedish compulsory school and the development of multilingual literacies

Helping recently arrived pupils learn the language of education in the countries they move to is a significant responsibility for schools in Sweden and other immigrant-receiving countries. Also important but often overlooked is the continuing development of the language(s) these pupils already speak and their value in learning majority languages and subjects. This article asks what the functions of multilingual practices during Multilingual Study Guidance are and how they help recently arrived pupils in the Swedish school reach the learning goals of subjects in the Swedish curriculum. A functional analysis of linguistic ethnographic data shows how using languages pupils understand to reformulate, explain, discuss and raise task, metalinguistic and sociocultural awareness, creates a temporary space for translanguaging, which facilitates subject knowledge development in Swedish and other languages. It is argued that recognition and expansion of this space has the potential to improve opportunities for recently arrived pupils’ on-going multilingual development