This book contributes significantly to our understanding of bilingualism and bilingual
education as a sociocultural and political process by offering analyses of the stories of five
Tibetan individual journeys of becoming bilingual in the Tibetan areas of China at four
different points in time from 1950 to the present. The data presented comprises the narrative
of their bilingual encounters including their experiences of using language in their families
in village and in school. Opportunities to develop bilingualism were intimately linked with
historical and political events in the wider layers of experiences which reveal the complexity
of bilingualism. Moreover their experiences of developing bilingualism are the stories of
struggle to become bilingual. They struggle because they want to keep two languages in their
lives. It illustrates their relationship with society. They are Tibetans. L1 is not the
official language of their country but it is the tie with their ethnicity. It addresses
bilingualism linked with the formation of identity. The unique feature of this book is that it
offers a deep understanding of bilingualism and bilingual education by examining the stories of
five individuals' learning experiences over a period of almost 60 years.
