Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
By (author) Prof. Wayne E. Wright, Colin Baker
Publication date:
Q2 2025Publisher
Multilingual MattersDimensions:
246x178mm7x10"
ISBN-13: 9781836680543
The eighth edition of this bestselling textbook has been revised and updated to provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to bilingualism and bilingual education in an everchanging world. Written in a compact and clear style, the book covers all the crucial issues in bilingualism and multilingualism at individual, group and societal levels. Updates to the new edition include:
- Updated chapters with over 500 new citations and the latest demographic and statistical information.
- An expanded Chapter 16 on Deaf-Signing People, Bilingualism/Multilingualism and Bilingual Education, to give readers a thorough grounding in the history of Deaf bilingual education, and in the latest research.
- Several new, or more thoroughly covered, topics including: national, local, family and individual language policy; dynamic bilingualism; multimodal communication; translanguaging and translanguaging pedagogy; raciolinguistics and anti-racist education; language revival and revitalization; translanguaging among Deaf-signing students; the hybrid, constructed, complex and fluid nature of identity; the gentrification of bilingual education; bilingualism and economic inequalities and advantages; mobile apps and social media; technology-enhanced language proficiency assessments; artificial intelligence (AI); recent developments in and limitations of brain imaging research; and multilingualism on the internet and in information technology.
- Important policy developments in the US context are covered, including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Seal of Biliteracy, the Science of Reading (structured literacy), response to intervention, and state consortia for shared English language proficiency standards and assessments (WIDA, ELPA21), and for alternative assessments for disabled students (Dynamic Learning Maps), the US Census, Proposition 58 (California), the LOOK Act (Massachusetts), Arizona Senate Bill 1014 and the Native American Languages Preservation Act.
- Attention has also been given to expanded discussion of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its use across Europe and around the world. Efforts have also been made to update and diversify the global examples of research, policy and practice, with a particular focus on adding examples outside of Europe and North America.
Students and Instructors will benefit from chapter features including:
- New bolded key terms corresponding to a comprehensive glossary.
- Recommended readings and online resources.
- Discussion questions and study activities.