| 1 | | Reading the word, reading the world | | 1 |
| | | Many routes to literacy | | 2 |
| | | The scope and organization of this book | | 6 |
| 2 | | Multilingualism | | 9 |
| | | Language and migration | | 10 |
| | | Languages in contact | | 10 |
| | | Languages and nation-building | | 14 |
| | | What is a language anyway? | | 15 |
| | | Multilingualism and the individual | | 17 |
| | | Multilingualism and society | | 21 |
| | | Key points | | 26 |
| | | Activities and discussion points | | 27 |
| | | Further reading | | 28 |
| 3 | | Education in multilingual societies | | 31 |
| | | Languages, politics and education | | 32 |
| | | Marginalized languages | | 44 |
| | | Minority languages and majority speakers | | 46 |
| | | Key points | | 48 |
| | | Activities and discussion points | | 50 |
| | | Further reading | | 51 |
| 4 | | Multiliteracies | | 53 |
| | | What is literacy? | | 54 |
| | | What are the issues for literacy in more than one language? | | 54 |
| | | How is biliteracy best developed? | | 58 |
| | | Key points | | 61 |
| | | Activities and discussion points | | 63 |
| | | Further reading | | 64 |
| 5 | | The politics and practice of literacy teaching | | 65 |
| | | Language, literacy and power | | 66 |
| | | How do bilingual students learn to read? | | 69 |
| | More... | | |