ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses Blommaert's point about the centrality of language ideologies and offers a language-ideological approach to the study of multilingualism. It provides an introduction to the key social issues in the study of multilingualism. The book examines that the fuzziness that exists between languages is also to be found within languages. It also examines the consequences of this fuzziness for both teaching and research. The book explores educational systems in much greater detail, classifying them on a continuum from fixed to flexible. It analyses the pros and cons of mother tongue education programmes. The book criticizes the 'fixed' nature of some of these programmes and introduces the concept of the 'literacy bridge' as one way of introducing greater flexibility. It argues negative media representations of multilingualism.
