Changing society - changing language learning and teaching practices?

Abstract

Swift and unexpected changes have taken place in society over the past few decades: globalisation, increasing mobility, labour market changes and fast technological development have transformed society, making it multicultural, multilingual and multimodal. Education – and here above all language education – is at the centre of most societal activities and should be able to react to the changes quickly and flexibly. However, the changes in education are slow, and the views of the parties involved in the various levels of education as to the changes and their consequences do not always correspond. The purpose of this article is to outline the field of language education in the midst of the current societal changes through the conceptions and activities of three different actor levels: teacher educators, practising teachers, and student teachers (i.e. future teachers). The article draws from the results of two studies. The first is used to outline the different actors’ conceptions of the on-going societal changes and their effects on language education. In the second study, we will take a closer look at the phenomena behind the findings presented in the first study. More specifically, the aim is to examine the media uses, conceptions and mindsets from the perspective of the future teachers.