CYTEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2025
1-2 NOVEMBER 2025, Nicosia, Cyprus
Multilingual Pedagogies and Inclusive Practices
in Language Teaching and Learning
Due to global migration, multilingualism, linguistic and cultural diversity have become the norm (Cenoz and Gorter 2015). For this reason, it is important to incorporate a critical language awareness component and emphasize inclusive education and social justice in teacher training programs, ensuring a link between theory and practice (Young 2014; Gorter and Arocena 2020). Inclusive teaching, grounded in the principles of diversity, equity, and equality, emphasizes collective responsibility and is enriched by the diverse backgrounds, experiences, learning needs, and preferences of students. By employing accessible delivery methods, it fosters a sense of community in the classroom and enhances opportunities for student collaboration (Florian 2014), leading to improved academic progress and achievement, particularly for students with special educational needs (Florian and Spratt 2013; Ní Bhroin 2017).
According to Marshall and Moore (2018), and dela Cruz (2023), the theoretical-pedagogical framework of plurilingualism underpins an action-oriented approach to language teaching, learning and assessment. This framework advocates that teachers should encourage students to use the languages in their repertoire flexibly and creatively for both communicative and educational purposes (Cenoz and Gorter 2013; Piccardo 2017). Researchers and practitioners have proposed various plurilingual strategies, including translation for mediation (e.g., Galante 2021), cross-linguistic comparisons (Auger 2008), translanguaging for meaning-making (Cenoz 2017), and cross-cultural comparisons (e.g., Byram 2020).
Teachers have varying perceptions of multilingual pedagogy across different contexts, which can range from rejection to active engagement (French 2019; Do and Nguyen 2023). Limited language proficiency and insufficient multicultural competence can serve as barriers to implementing linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogy. This approach considers "what to teach, why to teach, how to teach, and to whom to teach with respect to ethnic, racial, cultural, and social diversity" (Gay 2015: 124-125). Culturally responsive teaching is affected by teachers' beliefs about their students' ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity, as well as their perceptions of students' ability to acquire academic knowledge and skills (Young 2010; Gay 2015). Further research is necessary to explore the integration of evidence-based and action-oriented multilingual pedagogies and inclusive practices in English language teaching (McAndrews and Thomson 2017; Galante and Piccardo 2021). Our conference aims to bring together language educators, applied linguists, and language teachers and practitioners to exchange information, experiences, and research results on multilingualism, multiculturalism, inclusive education, diversity, equity and equality in language classrooms.
References:
Auger, Nathalie. 2008. Favoriser le plurilinguisme pour aider à l'insertion scolaire et sociale des élèves nouvellement arrivés (ENA). Glottopol 11. 126–137. https://glottopol.univ-rouen.fr/telecharger/numero_11/gpl11_05bertucci.pdf
Byram, Michael. 2020. Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence: Revisited. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800410251
Cenoz, Jasone & Durk Gorter. 2015. Towards a holistic approach in the study of multilingual education. In Jasone Cenoz & Durk Gorter (eds.), Multilingual Education: Navigating between Language Learning and Translanguaging, 1–15. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cenoz, Jasone, & Durk Gorter. 2013. Towards a plurilingual approach in English language teaching: Softening the boundaries between languages. TESOL Quarterly 47(3). 591–599. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.121
Cenoz, Jasone. 2017. Translanguaging in school contexts: International perspectives. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 16(4). 193–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2017.1327816
Cruz, John Wayne dela. 2023. Plurilingual strategies for teaching pronunciation in TESOL: A research-based and action-oriented approach. In Kashif Raza, Reynolds Dudley & Christine Coombe (eds.), Handbook of Multilingual TESOL in Practice, 53–67. Cham: Springer.
Do, Tra, & Thi My Linh Nguyen. 2023. Teaching English to linguistically and culturally diverse students: Multicultural pedagogy in practice. In Kashif Raza, Reynolds Dudley and Christine Coombe (eds.), Handbook of Multilingual TESOL in Practice, 163–176. Cham: Springer.
Florian, Lani & Jennifer Spratt. 2013. Enacting inclusion: A framework for interrogating inclusive practice. European Journal of Special Needs Education 28(2). 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2013.778111
Florian, Lani. 2014. What counts as evidence of inclusive education? European Journal of Special Needs Education 29(3). 286–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2014.933551
French, Mei. 2019. Multilingual pedagogies in practice. TESOL in Context 28(1). 21–44. https://doi.org/10.21153/tesol2019vol28no1art869
Galante, Angelica & Enrica Piccardo. 2021. Teaching pronunciation: toward intelligibility and comprehensibility. ELT Journal. 1–12. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cca b060
Galante, Angelica. 2021. Translation as a pedagogical tool in multilingual classes: Engaging the learners' plurilingual repertoire. Journal of Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 7(1). 106–123. https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00064.gal
Gay, Geneva. 2015. The what, why, and how of culturally responsive teaching: International mandates, challenges, and opportunities. Multicultural Education Review 7(3). 123–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2015.1072079
Gorter, Durk & Eli Arocena. 2020. Teachers' beliefs about multilingualism in a course on translanguaging. System 92. 102–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102272
Marshall, Steve & Danièle Moore. 2018. Plurilingualism amid the panoply of lingualisms: Addressing critiques and misconceptions in education. International Journal of Multilingualism 15(1). 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2016.1253699
McAndrews, Mark & Ron I. Thomson. 2017. Establishing an empirical basis for priorities in pronunciation teaching. Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 3(2). 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.3.2.05mca
Ní Bhroin, Órla. 2017. Inclusion in Context: Policy, Practice and Pedagogy. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Piccardo, Enrica. 2017. Plurilingualism as a catalyst for creativity in superdiverse societies: A systemic analysis. Frontiers in Psychology 8. 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02169
Young, Andrea S. 2014. Unpacking teachers' language ideologies: Attitudes, beliefs, and practiced language policies in schools in Alsace, France. Language Awareness 23(1-2). 157–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2013.863902
Young, Evelyn. 2010. Challenges to conceptualizing and actualizing culturally relevant pedagogy: How viable is the theory in classroom practice? Journal of Teacher Education 61(3). 248–260. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109359775
We welcome abstract submissions on any of the following questions or related topics:
• Interdisciplinarity in language teaching, learning, and assessment;
• Language teaching, interpreting, and translation;
• Teaching and learning in the digital age;
• The role of culture in language teaching and learning;
• New approaches and theories in translation in language teaching and learning;
• Equity, equality and diversity in language teaching and learning;
• Multilingualism, multiculturalism and translanguaging;
• Development of learners' critical thinking;
• Language education policy and planning;
• Pedagogy, teacher training and education;
• Critical dialogue in language teaching and learning;
• Multimodal language teaching and learning;
• Classroom discourse;
• Materials and content development;
• Content and Language Integrated Learning;
• Technology-enhanced language teaching and learning
Keynote Speakers:
Prof. Ana Llinares, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
Dr Maria Diakou, Cyprus Ministry of Education, Frederick University, Cyprus
Organizers:
Cyprus Teachers of English Association (CyTEA)
EUC Language Centre, Nicosia
Organizing Committee:
Dr Sviatlana Karpava, CyTEA President (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)
Dr Natassa Stylianou, CyTEA Vice President (Citizens in Power - C.I.P., Nicosia)
Ms Damaskini Metzidaki, CyTEA General Secretary (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)
Mr Panos Panayiotou, CyTEA Treasurer (European University Cyprus, Nicosia)
Dr Chryso Pelekani, CyTEA Media Coordinator (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)
Ms Spyroula Mavrommati, CyTEA Event Coordinator (Hellenic Open University, Patras)
Ms Vasilia Christofides, CyTEA Event Coordinator (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)
Scientific Committee:
Prof. Siv Björklund, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
Prof. Veronika Makarova, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Prof. Anna Krulatz, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Prof. Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland
Prof. Marina Tzakosta, University of Crete, Greece
Prof. Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Tallinn University, Estonia
Prof. Ekaterina Protassova, University of Helsinki, Finland
Prof. Georgios Neokleous, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Prof. Silvia Melo-Pfeifer, University of Hamburg, Germany
Prof. Pilar Safont, Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, Spain
Prof Agnieszka Otwinowska-Kasztelanic, University of Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Nicos Sifakis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Dr Christina Gkonou, University of Essex, UK
Dr Natalia Ringblom, Umeå University, Sweden
Dr Letizia Cinganotto, University for Foreigners of Perugia, Italy
Dr Anastasia N. Sorokina, Southern Connecticut State University
Dr Craig Neville, University College Cork, Ireland
Dr Maria Nayr de Pinho Correia Ibrahim, Nord University, Norway
Venue:
European University Cyprus (EUC), Nicosia
Abstracts for presentations will be accepted until the 1st of June, 2025. Presentations will last 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for discussion. The abstracts have to be submitted by email: karpava.sviatlana@ucy.ac.cy
Abstracts up to 300 words must be written in English (excluding references, graphs and tables) and must be anonymized to exclude any identifiable information. Authors may submit a total of two abstracts, one individual and one joint.
Website: https://cytea.webnode.page/
Abstract submission deadline: 1st of June, 2025
Notification of acceptance: 15 July, 2025
Conference: 1-2 November, 2025
