Nathalie Auger, who grew up between and within languages, pleads for a plural and inclusive "hospitable" pedagogy, a pedagogy of and for diversity. Through the encounter and study of social representations of plurilingualism and linguistic diversity within urban multilingualism, she has examined social and linguistic fractures that generate verbal and symbolic violence, multilingual walls and stigmatization. These experiences naturally led her to address these fractures in her work through a linguistically sensitive pedagogy.

In the pages of this volume, authors have generously shared stories and perspectives – personal and professional – about their experiences at the intersections of Multilingualism and Education. While contributors have undoubtedly been privy to their students’ and their research participants’ language biographies, it has not been common in academic publications for researchers to also disclose their own language biographies. While some authors shared that they were uncomfortable with this exercise, we remain grateful for each individual who rose to the challenge. We invited a variety of researchers to take a singular look at crucial notions in our fields of research and pedagogical action. By bringing them together, we have chosen to lay the groundwork for a conversation that will lead researchers, educators and students to greater understanding of our use of these concepts, based on the acceptance and recognition of a fluid and changing reality that adapts and requires adjustments over time. This collection of papers makes visible how concepts and practices emerge and take shape differently across contexts. When we adopt an embodied listening posture, we can begin to imagine futures for our field that allow us to move forward, building knowledge and transforming practice together.

Educational linguistics has many faces, embodied by thousands of researchers around the world. Whether scholars use similar or divergent terminology, it can be difficult to discern the contours of how concepts are taken up across and even sometimes within contexts. The interpretation of theoretical constructs requires a contextual articulation in relation to history: Where have theoretical constructs come from? How do they manifest? And, where might they lead us? This book aims to bring to life issues and perspectives regarding multilingualism and education that have emerged in specific contexts and through varied lived experiences. Taking a biographical approach, through the individual trajectories of contributing researchers, allows us to better understand how our epistemologies shape the way we mobilize concepts.