The world of the twenty-first century is inescapably multicultural. Twentiethcentury
technological innovations, particularly during the past quarter century,
have revolutionized human and information transfer creating radically new
opportunities for cross-cultural human communication in both real and
virtual time.
Our shrinking political boundaries have brought with them everyday
social encounters no one thought possible a mere half century ago, when
increasing human mobility was beginning to challenge concepts of citizenship,
nationality, and cultural identity.
Over the past half century, as societies have become increasingly
multicultural, many demands for specific language and literacy proficiencies
have arisen in terms of maintaining, revitalizing, and archiving the languages
of non-dominant cultures and in acquiring languages of wider or official communication.
In response, experimental bilingual and multilingual education
programs have been developed, and they have grown into well-researched
educational alternatives that are now familiar options in schools around the
world.