This research attempts to synthetize teacher knowledge in advancing plurilinguistic competencies in the elementary school classroom concurrently with an empirical definition of ‘effective practice’. Through a corpus of 87 studies forming the basis of a systematic literature review (PRISMA, 2009), a comprehensive data search exploring peer-reviewed journals, relevant modern foreign language (MFL) terminology, geographical locations and educational policies underpinning the role of teacher knowledge in the plurilinguistic classroom, helped inform and develop this study. The People Exposure Outcome Framework (PEO) was utilized as means of collecting, extracting, and interpreting such qualitative data in concordance with focus groups, reflective journals, questionnaires, observations and surveys.

The rationale for this research stemmed from the recent implementation of Ireland’s ‘Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026’ (DES, 2017) and has given primary school educators the opportunity to enhance plurilinguistic values and pedagogical competencies in the classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate what current research unearths in relation to the demands on elementary teacher knowledge in cultivating plurilinguistic repertoires in classrooms.

Findings of this systematic literature review integrate the current evidence regarding the critical factors conducive to plurilinguistic competencies in the elementary school classroom. This paper will present a critical review of the relevant literature base and synthesize findings in an attempt to ascertain what is known from extant studies. Following on from this, the research gap will be identified and research evidence on specific factors in relation to MFL and plurilinguistic pedagogy. The paper will conclude with a discussion on re-imagining teacher knowledge, effective pedagogical practice and the development of plurilinguistic repertoires driven through new imperatives and creative responses.