Key features  Papers in this volume are diverse in the depth of investigation and topical variety and also in range of languages and geographical regions covered  Contributors cover a multitude of disciplines: linguists, sociologists, psychologists and sociolinguistsDescriptionThe nine original papers in this volume have been written by international experts and deal with individual bilingualism, societal and educational phenomena, addressing issues such as bilingual usage, acquisition, teaching, and language planning and policy. The volume’s major asset lies in its diversity of topics and in the range of languages and geographical regions covered. The perspective adopted is multidisciplinary, including linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychology, and applied linguistics.ContentsPreface Mike Grover Introduction Jean-Marc Dewaele (Birkbeck College, University of London) Alex Housen, (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Li Wei (University of Newcastle upon Tyne) 1 . Who is afraid of bilingualism? Hugo Baetens Beardsmore (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) 2. The importance of being bilingual John Edwards (St Francis Xavier University)3. Towards a more language-centered approach to plurilingualism Michael Clyne (University of Melbourne)4. Bilingual Education: Basic Principles Jim Cummins (OISE, University of Toronto) 5. Bilingual Encounters in the Classroom Peter Martin (University of Leicester)6. Language Planning: A Grounded Approach Colin Baker (University of Wales, Bangor)7. Accepting Bilingualism as a Language Policy: An Unfolding Southeast Asian Story Gary M. Jones (University Brunei Darussalam)8 . Markets, Hierarchies and Networks in Language Maintenance and Language Shift Li Wei (University of Newcastle upon Tyne) and Lesley Milroy (University of Michigan)9. The imagined learner of Malay Anthea Fraser Gupta (University of Leeds)10. Code-switching and unbalanced bilingualism Georges Lüdi (University of Basle) 11. Codeswitching: Evidence of Both Flexibility and Rigidity in Language Carol Myers-Scotton (University of South Carolina)12: Rethinking bilingual acquisition Fred Genesee (McGill University)Laudatio: Hugo Baetens Beardsmore-no hyphen please Eric Lee (Institut Supérieur de Traduction et d'Interprétariat, Brussels)Editor informationJean-Marc Dewaele is Senior Lecturer in French Applied Linguistics at Birkbeck College, University of London. He has published widely on psychological, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and linguistic aspects of foreign language production. Alex Housen is currently Research Fellow of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (Flanders). His research interests include bilingualism, bilingual education, second/foreign language acquisition and language education. Li Wei is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Head of School of Education, Communication & Language Sciences the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK,. His research interests include bilingualism and cross-cultural pragmatics.