Sociolinguistic Competence in Curricula, Teacher Cognition, and Classroom Practice: Research Gaps and Future Directions

Sociolinguistic competence (SC) has been recognised as essential for Communicative Language Teaching since the 1970s and features prominently in policy documents like the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Research demonstrates that explicit, systematic instruction effectively develops learners’ SC. While the academic case for SC in language teaching remains strong, we identify significant weaknesses and barriers to its implementation in contemporary EFL teacher education. These challenges span three key domains: integration into secondary-school and higher-education curricula, teacher cognition, and classroom practice—specifically how and how often SC is taught in EFL contexts across different regions and schools. While our findings have relevance for EFL contexts globally, we use Austria as a case study to illustrate these challenges and opportunities. Based on a review of existing theoretical, methodological, and empirical work, we formulate five critical research questions across these three domains. We conclude that comprehensive mixed-methods research triangulating curriculum, teacher cognition, and classroom practice is essential for transforming SC from a curricular ideal into classroom reality, equipping learners with communicative skills required for navigating increasingly diverse linguistic landscapes.