Multilingual Trends in a Globalized World Prospects and Challenges

This book presents evolving language education trends by drawing examples and case studies from around the world. Over the past few decades, significant economic and political changes have taken place around the world which have had a significant impact on language teaching and learning practices across the globe. There is a clear movement towards multilingual practices in the contemporary world, evinced by the title of UNESCO's 2003 education position paper, Education in a Multilingual World. With globalization, the focus of language education has shifted from monolingualism towards bilingualism and multilingualism, in that multilingual practices have become the norm rather than the exception in most parts of the world. Nonetheless, most existing books on language education in general and books on bilingualism and multilingualism in particular have largely ignored or simply eluded the concept of globalization and its influences on language education policies and practices. This book brings together some of latest controversies and case studies from South East Asia, the most diverse and multilingual context in the world, along with various other diverse contexts of importance. This book will be of interest to graduate students and advanced undergraduates in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and bilingual and multicultural education, second and foreign language educators, and other specialists in these fields.