The fifth edition of this bestselling book provides a comprehensive introduction to bilingualism and bilingual education. In a compact and clear style, its 19 chapters cover all the crucial issues in bilingualism at individual, group and national levels. These include:



* defining who is bilingual and multilingual



* testing language abilities and language use



* languages in communities and minority groups



* endangered languages



* language planning, language revival



* the development of bilingualism in infancy and childhood



* bilingualism in the family



* age and language learning



* adult language learning



* bilinguals' thinking skills



* bilingualism and the brain



* theories of bilingualism



* types of bilingual education



* heritage language education



* evaluations of bilingual education



* minority language literacy



* biliteracy and multiliteracies



* effective teaching and learning methods in bilingual classrooms



* the effectiveness of bilingual education in the United States



* the history of bilingual education in the United States



* language minority underachievement



* bilingual special education



* the assessment of language minority children



* Deaf bilinguals



* the spread of English as a global language



* learning English as a second or third language



* language identity and multiple identities



* the politics surrounding language minorities and bilingual education



* assimilation and pluralism



* bilingualism and employment



* bilingualism and the internet