MULTILINGUALISM, IDENTITY, AND ASSESSMENT FAIRNESS IN AN UZBEK EFL CLASSROOM: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC CASE STUDY OF UZBEK-TAJIK AND UZBEK-RUSSIAN BILINGUAL LEARNERS

This article examines the sociolinguistic profile of a multilingual English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in Uzbekistan and discusses its implications for language teaching and assessment. The study focuses on a group of 15 sixth-grade learners at School No. 142 in Yashnobod District, Tashkent. The learners are 12-13 years old and study English in a formal school context where Uzbek is the main language of classroom explanation and everyday communication. However, the group is not linguistically homogeneous: four learners are Uzbek-Tajik bilinguals from Bukhara and Navoi regions, while eleven learners are Uzbek-Russian bilinguals from Tashkent. Drawing on sociolinguistic theories of multilingualism, World Englishes, identity, language attitudes, code-switching, and linguistic profiling, the article argues that students' linguistic repertoires should be treated as educational resources rather than learning problems. The analysis shows that multilingual learners' English development is shaped by language background, regional identity, code-switching, classroom interaction, peer attitudes, and imagined future identities. The article also emphasizes that assessment in multilingual EFL classrooms should focus on intelligibility, communicative effectiveness, task completion, and fairness rather than native-like pronunciation. The findings suggest that sociolinguistically responsive pedagogy can support learners' confidence, reduce accent-based bias, and create more inclusive English classrooms in Uzbekistan.