ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how multilingual education is connected with intercultural education in the light of the challenges due to globalization and migration. This relationship as well as proven advantages of bi- and multilingualism influence European guidelines for education aimed at the preparation of students for a society characterized by linguistic and cultural diversity. This leads to the two guiding questions, which are to be answered in this book under consideration of a dynamic perspective: which factors promote and which restrain the students’ further language learning outcomes in linguistic and cultural diverse contexts and how do primary school children, parents, and language teachers perceive the interaction of these aspects?
This chapter not only introduces the topic but also presents the South Tyrolean historical as well as sociolinguistic context, which serves as an example throughout the book. This Italian border region is characterized by three official languages—Italian, German, and Ladin—and divided school systems for these groups.
Moreover, specific term definitions and an overview of the book’s structure are provided.
