Introduction

Abstract

This part of the book considers the background and justification for Modern Languages Across the Curriculum. Chapter 2 takes a historical perspective and offers an account of the teaching and learning of modern foreign languages in Europe during the twentieth century. Cultural, political, pedagogic and methodological issues are compared and contrasted. We see how Modern Languages Across the Curriculum as an approach is a logical extension of and development from past trends in the teaching and learning of second languages. The evolution from grammar–translation methods to Communicative Language Teaching is explained, as are the socio-cultural contexts that acted as a background to the directions taken in language teaching. Chapter 2 provides both historical and methodological rationales for Modern Languages Across the Curriculum. Chapter 3 then considers MLAC in terms of what is known about learning languages. Knowing how things are learnt should help us prepare for how to teach. Chapter 3 looks at what we know about language learning and what this implies in terms of methodological approach. Language and content, as an integrated whole, are seen to offer a defining principle for practical implementation. How such integration addresses prime discoveries about the conditions for successful second language learning and teaching is also discussed.