Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 15 Number: 3 Page: 251–263
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'We Would Have to Invent the Language we are Supposed to Teach': The Issue of English as Lingua Franca in Language Education in Germany
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Helene Decke-Cornill
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The focus of English language teaching is changing from a concern with English-speaking countries, especially Britain and the United States, to the role of English as a lingua franca. The impact of this
change on understanding of teachers of English concerning the nature and aims of their subject in the school curriculum was explored through interviews with teachers in German schools. Teachers with strong
academic qualifications teaching in a selective school (Gymnasium) rely more heavily on a focus on specific countries and cultures than those in a non-selective school (Gesamtschule), who
often have no specific academic qualifications in English. The latter are more at ease for themselves and their learners with the concept of English as a lingua franca than the former, although they share
some of the doubts about standards and models of language competence to guide their teaching. If English is indeed to be taught as an international language, however, there are implications for teacher
education and the need to re-consider the traditional Humboldtian view of the relationship between language and culture.
© Multilingual Matters 2002
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