ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the context for the study - a multilingual and multiethnic high school situated in Melbourne, Australia which I refer to as Ferndale Secondary College. It begins by outlining the school’s demographics and ethos and how these have developed over time. It then moves to a discussion of the school’s efforts in overt and covert language policy and planning, and the consequences of these actions. The final section explores interethnic relations within the school community, and the ways in which the factors discussed in the prior sections shape friendship group formation and patterns of interaction between students from different backgrounds.
