This engaging workshop delves into practical, research-based strategies for effective teaching in multilingual classrooms. As linguistic diversity grows in education, it redefines multilingualism as an asset. Participants will explore the integration of learners’ linguistic backgrounds, cultural knowledge, and experiences into English language teaching to enhance comprehension, and engagement,
The workshop centres on scaffolding learning within multilingual contexts. Participants will examine how thoughtfully designed scaffolding allows learners to transition from supported involvement to increased independence in their use of English. The session presents effective strategies for the classroom, including the intentional incorporation of learners’ first languages (L1), multilingual input, and layered instructions that integrate visuals, oral explanations, modelling, and peer support. These methods reduce cognitive load while maintaining high academic standards.
The workshop fosters active participation and prompts educators to engage in critical reflection on their teaching methods and the contexts of their institutions. At the conclusion of the session, participants will have a clearer insight into how to integrate multilingual pedagogical strategies into daily classroom practices, fostering inclusive and effective English language instruction.
Key highlights include:
- Understanding multilingual classrooms in local contexts
- Investigating effective scaffolding techniques for multilingual learners
- Creating inclusive classroom routines using multilingual resources
Speakers:
Dr. Vanita Chopra, Freelance Consultant, British Council, India and Teacher Educator, Lady Shri Ram College For Women–Delhi University (LSR–DU)
Dr Vanita Chopra is an English language and education consultant with the British Council, India, a role she has held since 2017. She has over 17 years of experience in teacher education, spanning higher education, teacher professional development, and research mentoring. She is currently a teacher educator at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, and has previously worked as an Assistant Professor in teacher education departments across University of Delhi colleges.
For the past four years, Dr Chopra has been mentoring teachers from King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thailand, while also mentoring teachers and guiding mentors across several states in India. She is a core committee member of MenTRnet and has served as Co-Chair of Teacher Research! Online since 2024. She has authored two books and published research on mentoring teacher research, language assessment, and teacher development.
Her interests include language pedagogy, assessment, and teacher capacity building. She also enjoys travelling, yoga, nature, reading, fitness pursuits, and watching biopics.
Dr. Kandharaja K M C, Assistant Professor of English, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing
He is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM), Kancheepuram. Previously, he served as a Guest Faculty at the Centre for English Language Studies, School of Humanities, University of Hyderabad. He has also taught at MSIT, IIIT Hyderabad, and has coordinated and designed English language teaching materials for Communicative English and Business English courses.
He holds an M.A. in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) from The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in English Language Studies from the University of Hyderabad. As an Erasmus Scholar, he conducted research at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, Poland.
His areas of research interest include classroom discourse, gender and language, teacher education, materials development and evaluation, sociolinguistics, and language policy and planning.