From Foreign Language Education to Education for Intercultural Citizenship: Essays and Reflections

Drawing on 50 years of experience with languages as a learner, teacher, and researcher, Byram (education, Durham U.) presents a collection of essays for language educators interested in thinking about their teaching in the wider context, to see the bigger picture, and to clarify or renew their vision and their work in the classroom. Coverage includes the purposes of foreign language teaching, what is possible and desirable in the classroom, the role of language teaching in education systems aimed at encouraging young people to identify with the nation state, and ways in which foreign language education can go beyond the traditional educational goal to introduce a critical internationalism and encourage intercultural citizenship. No subject index. Distributed in the U.S. by UTP Distribution. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Michael Byram is Professor of Education at Durham University, England. He studied French, German and Danish at King's College Cambridge, and wrote a PhD on Danish literature. He then taught French and German at secondary school level and in adult education in an English comprehensive school. Since being appointed to a post in teacher education at Durham in 1980, he has carried out research into the education of linguistic minorities, foreign language education and student residence abroad. His books include Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence (1997) and he is the editor of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning. He is also an Adviser to the Council of Europe Language Policy Division.