The study examines the narratives of Finnish lower secondary school
teachers working in linguistically diverse schools by analysing their
narratives’ discourses on encountering multilingual learners. The study
reflects the current period when the Finnish education system is
experiencing growth in linguistic diversity and a change in educational
policies that require language-awareness from all teachers. In the
study, 16 teachers participated in semi-structured group interviews. The
teachers’ narratives were analysed by applying a framework for
linguistically responsive teaching (Lucas & Villegas, 2013) in
combination with discourse analytical methods. The analysis resulted in
six discourses concerning agency, acceptance, and change in the school
culture. The findings provide insights into the complex and multivoiced
ways in which teaching multilingual learners is discussed. By revealing
contradictory and overlapping voices, the study deepens the
understanding of the process of developing teachers’ preparedness for
linguistically diverse classrooms.