ABSTRACT
Emerging from a long period of intercommunity conflict, Northern Ireland has only recently become a noticeably multicultural society following the expansion of the European Union in 2004. Prior to this, other than curricular European languages such as French, German, or Spanish, multi- or bilingual education was mostly evident in the approach to the Irish (Gaelic) language as a curricular second language or in an immersion education environment. This paper will discuss how language education and multilingualism are accommodated and how newcomer pupils are supported in Northern Ireland’s schools and teacher education in policy and practice. It also considers how this new multiculturalism and multilingualism may encourage a reconsideration of the Irish language and linguistic diversity in general in a society which has a long history of political and cultural division. The policy framework will be examined within the European Union, United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland contexts and statistical data will be taken from examination bodies and the relevant government departments.
