Open Access« Le tournoi des langues » : L’enseignement des langues étrangères dans le système scolaire suédois, 1807-2003
Author(s) -
Béatrice CabauLampa
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
historical studies in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1911-9674
pISSN - 0843-5057
DOI - 10.32316/hse/rhe.v16i2.332
Subject(s) - german , foreign language , school system , state (computer science) , sociology , political science , humanities , pedagogy , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , algorithm
This paper analyses the various issues that influenced the foreign languages policy in the Swedish school system during the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, language teaching has always occupied a dominant place in the Swedish school system, which remained elitist until the introduction of common compulsory basic schooling in 1962. Language teaching developed not only with different school system reforms in response to social transformations, but also with a succession of foreign influences. The first part of this article examines the development of the Swedish school system. Then, the status and organization of language teaching as a whole are analyzed, before examining the three foreign languages taught : German, French, and English. In conclusion, the article describes the current state of language teaching in Sweden.