Being ‘the strange one’ or ‘like everybody else’: school education and the negotiation of multilingual identity

摘要: Abstract Based on first-person accounts, the negotiation of identity and belonging in 12 adults with multilingual multicultural backgrounds is examined. The narratives show contradictory feelings towards issue multilinguality, which generally experienced as a greater obstacle by who have predominantly gone to state schools than went international schools. Education different school systems play role constructing cultural frameworks inclusion exclusion. This paper concludes that significant factor for differing perceptions may lie opportunity or lack thereof share experience multiple allegiances identifications peers. In respect, some environments contribute cultivation their students' linguistic awareness, multilinguality consequently no longer perceived personal communal threat.