Chapter 5: The Case of Germany: Internationalisation and Foreign Language Teaching in North Rhine-Westphalia

To some extent, the European dimension in education was always existent in foreign language teaching due to the dominance of European languages like English and French in teaching. But in the light of the political changes that took place in Europe in 1989, the question of how to create a common European consciousness among the people in Europe became more and more important in teaching. Before 1989, the European dimension in education mainly focused on teaching European languages with a clear emphasis on English as an alleged “lingua franca” for European and international communication purposes. But now, it seemed not enough to provide young people with the necessary communicative skills they need to meet the major changes of European society and prepare them for mobility and work in a growing and merging Europe, but also to make them aware of their common cultural heritage and their shared responsibilities as Europeans.