Guest editors’ introduction

It is our pleasure to introduce this special issue on emergent biliteracy in early childhood. The volume includes five articles, all original contributions, based on new research examining issues related to the biliteracy development and engagements of preschool- to elementary school-aged children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds across a variety of learning contexts. Emphasizing the sociocultural and sociolinguistic analysis of biliteracy as constituted and manifested in the social contexts of schooling, the articles offer conceptual and methodological innovations for exploring the course and processes of language and literacy development for children growing up with multiple languages, as well as implications for research and practice, setting an agenda for future research.