The edited volume is seen as a potential fit into the series Language, Migration and Identity, series editor Vera Regan. It is a logical follow-on from the first volume in the series, Language, Identity and Migration which examined the ever more fluid notion of identity in a world which sees increasing numbers of migrants on the move. The increased mobility of populations is likewise the starting point for this volume. Between 2015 and 2016 over 2.5 million people applied for asylum in EU countries, representing the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. The UK was hosting over 117,000 refugees by mid-2015 and Ireland nearly 6000 (statistics from the UNHCR). This unprecedented influx of migrants has catapulted the field of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) – once just one arm of the ELT (English Language Teaching) field – to the fore. For migrants to Ireland and the UK (and other English speaking countries), English is the key to integration into the host country, the key to training and employment, essential for effecting transactions with official bodies as well as everyday interactions (see for example, NATECLA report, 2016, Little, 2000). This volume examines the current state of the area of ESOL with reference to key stakeholders - ESOL learners, providers, practitioners, researchers and policy-makers. With contributions representing these stakeholders in Ireland and the UK, the volume describes and investigates the unprecedented situation confronting today’s ESOL provision, faced with an upturn in numbers of hitherto unfamiliar populations of migrants with unique profiles and needs. Aspects of ESOL critically examined in the volume include: migrant identity; language support; models of provision; models of cultural integration; professional development of ESOL practitioners; curriculum development for ESOL and ESOL policy. A distinctive feature of the volume is the inclusion of case studies and ‘vignettes’ from ESOL practitioners to present ‘living’ portraits of ESOL practice on the ground. This volume is intended to fill an urgent gap in this area, offering both a snapshot of the ‘state of the art’ of ESOL in the UK and Ireland, and projections of how the needs of new migrants are to be addressed going forward. In tandem with these aims, it is hoped to portray the contemporary migration situation in Ireland and the UK not solely as a challenge but as an opportunity for the burgeoning of linguistic and cultural diversity.