Exploring multilingualism as a complex, context-related, societal and individual phenomenon, this book centres around perspectives on how multiple languages are made (in)visible within educational settings in the Global North. The authors of each chapter compare and contrast findings across geographical contexts with the goal of understanding the facets of multilingualism that, on the one hand, conform across contexts, and on the other, diverge context-specifically. The chapters range from contributions with a focus on national/state planning for the development of sustainable multilingual and intercultural educational policies, to chapters that deal with multilingual practices and identities of students and student teachers as well as the consequences for language practices, strategies and policies in diversifying societies. This cross-contextual, comparative and interdisciplinary exploration of multilingualism will be of great interest to researchers, administrators, practitioners and students within the fields of multilingual education, sociolinguistics, youth culture and identity studies. The book is open access under a CC BY NC ND licence.

Siv Björklund is Professor of Swedish Immersion and Multilingualism at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Her research interests include language immersion and multilingual education and she serves as a board member of the Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education.

Mikaela Björklund is City Manager of Närpes and a researcher at Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Her research focuses on multilingualism and multiculturalism in education in the Nordic countries, as well as CLIL, linguistic schoolscapes and Dominant Language Constellations.

Contributors

Siv Björklund and Mikaela Björklund: Introduction

Chapter 1. Jim Cummins and Jarmo Lainio: A Comparison of Swedish and Canadian Educational Policies and Instructional Practices: The Case of Multilingual Language Learners

Chapter 2. Kamil Özerk and Colin H. Williams: National Curriculum Reforms and Their Impact on Indigenous and Minority Languages: The Sami in Norway and Welsh in Wales in Comparative Perspective

Chapter 3. Anna Slotte, Janus Spindler Møller and Tuuli From: Languaging and Language Policies among Multilingual Children and Youth Groups in Finland and Denmark

Chapter 4. Júlia Llompart, TjaSa Draznik and Mari Bergroth: 'I am a Plurilingual Speaker, but can I Teach Plurilingual Speakers?' Contradictions in Student Teacher Discourses on Plurilingualism in Spain, Slovenia and Finland     

Chapter 5. Sviatlana Karpava, Mikaela Björklund and Siv Björklund: In Search of Dominant Language Constellations among Multilingual Young Adults in Cyprus and Finland: The Influence of Multiple Language Use and Practices on Linguistic Identity and Trajectories as Future Teachers

Chapter 6. Agnieszka Otwinowska, Mari Bergroth and Eve Zyzik: Supporting Multilingual Learning in Educational Contexts: Lessons from Poland, Finland and California

Chapter 7. Lorenzo Zanasi, Karita Mård-Miettinen and Verena Platzgummer: Researching Adolescents' Linguistic Repertoires in Multilingual Areas: Case Studies from South Tyrol and Finland

Colin H. Williams: Creating Synergies in Comparative Multilingualism: An Epilogue

Index