Teaching Foreign Languages: Political Aspects

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to look at the political context and factors influencing which foreign languages are chosen for being taught in a certain country at a certain time, as well as the way the relationships with other countries can influence which foreign languages are used in a certain country at a certain time. Whether or not the elites are those benefitting from foreign languages instruction is also a matter of political context. Various institutions, such as the European Union, can have their say in choosing which foreign languages are the ones that should be learnt, as well as how many foreign languages a citizen should know.