Newly Arrived Primary School Students’ Cross-Chronotopic Movements through Language Learner Agency and Peer Scaffolding

Abstract

Global migration continues to reshape and enrich educational landscapes, introducing increased linguistic and cultural diversity into classrooms. In Sweden, this has contributed to a multilingual school environment, in which newly arrived students navigate the new educational context through both a new language of instruction and their existing linguistic resources. This paper explores how two newly arrived students, in a Swedish primary school, engage in learning through Multilingual Study Mentoring (MSM). Drawing on a case study of the two students, the study examines how language learner agency and peer scaffolding emerge as involvement practices in Multilingual Study Mentoring sessions in Greek and within the mainstream classroom context. The findings highlight how support structures—established by the municipality, school, and educators—foster responsibility, belonging, and meaningful participation. By focusing on interactions including teachers, students and Multilingual Study Mentors the study shows how the students adapt, collaborate, and co-construct learning in ways that respond to their needs. The cross-chronotopic movement between the MSM room and the mainstream classroom also highlights the fluid and negotiated nature of involvement across multiple learning spaces. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of student participation in multilingual education and sheds light on the under-researched role of MSM in the Swedish context.