The Challenge of the 21st-Century Agenda for Foreign LanguageLearning in England’s Universities

Abstract

This article considers the political pressures for increased foreign language learningin England at the beginning of the 21st century, and the implications these havefor foreign language learning in higher education. I argue, from a Bourdieusianperspective, that restricted access to foreign language learning sustains socialhierarchies. By focusing on functional use, to the exclusion of symbolic value, andthanks to the serendipitous rise of English as the international lingua franca, theEnglish nation has been socialized into contentment with its monolingualism, oblivious to the ‘abusiveness’ of this situation. In the context of the EuropeanUnion, there is both a functional need for increasing the nation’s linguisticcompetence and a symbolic need to demonstrate England’s readiness tocommunicate with partner states in their own language(s). Tentative steps towards raisingthe status of foreign languages in England must overcome the internalized valuesof a hierarchical society, which has traditionally been able to stand apart from othernations. The article examines the recommendations of an independent inquiry, the issues that must be addressed if the nation is to embrace plurilingualism (herethe knowledge of two or more languages), and the role that the universities haveto play in achieving this goal.