Foreign Language Instruction: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

There is a surprising consensus among nations on the goals and objectives of foreign language teaching. Political and historical changes in Europe have produced succession in dominant foreign languages, opposing tendencies toward centralization and decentralization in planning and control, and growing influence of international organizations. The results of a questionnaire survey report the following information for each of 14 European countries plus Japan: the school ages during which first foreign languages are taught; the total clock hours devoted to teaching first, second, and third foreign languages; the percentage of students who study various languages; and the treatment of home-learned language other than the national languages. In addition, estimates are given for each country of the amount of change occurring in various aspects of foreign language teaching and the extent to which those changes are due to government action or the influence of the Council of Europe or the European Community.

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References

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2. European Community , The Teaching of Languages in the European Community (Brussels: European Community, 1992).

3. Lars Holmstrand , English in the Elementary School: Theoretical and Empirical Aspects of the Early Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, Uppsala Studies in Education 18 (Uppsala: Uppsala University Press, 1982).