Functional Multilingual Learning

Functional multilingual learning (FML) is a concept developed by the Centre for Diversity and Learning (Ghent University, Belgium) that stands for the strategic and integrated use of the linguistic resources of (nascent) multilingual learners in mainstream education, with the aim of increasing opportunities to unlock knowledge.

FML works on several dimensions:

  • a didactic dimension: stimulating learning strategies that allow multilingual learners to use their full language repertoire;
  • a socio-emotional dimension: stimulating multilingual resources to foster communication and personal relationships (trust) between teacher and learners and among learners themselves.