The aim of this study was to examine Finnish pre-service primary school teachers’
(𝑛 = 92) understandings of academic language development and self-reported
preparedness to support language learning when teaching multilingual students
(MLSs) in Finnish primary schools. Data were gathered with a survey and analysed
qualitatively and quantitatively. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers had
a reasonable understanding of language learning and reported skills to support academic
language development, but there were gaps in awareness of how to provide
concrete linguistic support for MLSs. Moreover, there were considerable gaps in
the pre-service teachers’ grammar knowledge and one-third of them did not see
a connection between language and mathematical problem-solving skills. The results
indicate that the pre-service teachers’ awareness of linguistically responsive
teaching is still developing. Providing pre-service teachers with research-based and
practice-oriented instruction for supporting academic language development in all
subjects is needed.