Language Assessment in Multicultural Primary Classrooms in Denpasar: Teachers’ Challenges and Strategies

Abstract

Language assessment in multicultural primary classrooms requires teachers to distinguish linguistic difficulty from content knowledge while responding to culturally shaped ways of participating and demonstrating learning. This study investigates the challenges teachers encounter in conducting language assessment in multicultural primary schools in Denpasar, Bali, and the strategies they use to make assessment more equitable and meaningful. Using a qualitative case study design, the study involved 12 teachers from public and private primary schools selected for their experience in multicultural classrooms. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis and were analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s procedures of familiarisation, coding, theme development, review, and naming. The findings show three interrelated areas of challenge: linguistic and comprehension barriers, cultural misalignment in interpreting student participation and performance, and limited access to culturally responsive assessment resources and institutional support. Teachers responded through differentiated assessment formats, visual and linguistic scaffolding, translanguaging, culturally relevant tasks, and regular formative feedback. The study is novel in examining teacher-reported challenges and responsive assessment strategies within the same multicultural primary-school cases in Denpasar, an urban context shaped by local Balinese culture, inter-island mobility, and international migration. The findings indicate that equitable language assessment depends not only on technical assessment quality but also on cultural validity, flexible opportunities for expression, and sustained institutional support. These context-specific findings extend discussion of culturally and linguistically responsive assessment in multilingual primary education.