Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Oecd

Languages in a Global World: Learning for Better Cultural Understanding Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Oecd

The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or countries, are more successful than others at teaching languages.

The book comprises chapters by different authors on the subject of language learning. There are chapters on the role of motivation; the way that languages, cultures and identities are interconnected; the insights that neuroscience provides; migrants, their education and opportunities to learn languages; language learning and teaching in North America; and new approaches to language learning.

Table of Content :

Part I. Globalisation, languages and motivations
Chapter 1. Learning languages in a globalising world
Chapter 2. Motivation and second language acquisition
Chapter 3. Motivational theories on language learning
Chapter 4. Economic incentives for language acquisition
Chapter 5. Bilingual education policy and language learning in Estonia and Singapore
Part II. Cultures, languages and identities
Chapter 6. Seeing the world through our hands: A cross-cultural gesture review
Chapter 7. Ideologies and alphabet reforms in Central Asia
Chapter 8. Verlan, lenvers: Reversing language and reflecting culture
Chapter 9. Cochlear implants, deaf culture and narrowly defined cultural characteristics
Chapter 10. Neuroscientific research and the study of sign language
Part III. Landscapes, languages and policies
Chapter 11. Competencies in Canada in a globalisation context
Chapter 12. Catalan language policy and the challenge of new immigration: Nosaltres parlem Catalá
Chapter 13. Education and creativity in Tanzania
Chapter 14. English as a multicultural language for international communication in Asia
Chapter 15. Language education in Japan and Korea: Policies, practices and challenges
Chapter 16. Language learning and Chamorro culture in Guam
Chapter 17. Language learning in Peru: De mi cerebro, su neurona
Part IV. Movements, languages and migrations
Chapter 18. Why study abroad? Why not!
Chapter 19. Migrants, language and education: An international perspective
Chapter 20. Migrants, early tracking and social mobility
Chapter 21. How the Mexican education system contributes to emigration
Chapter 22. Intercultural or multicultural education in Europe and the United States
Part V. Learning languages, means and ends
Chapter 23. Cosmopolitan education: Building on a biological inclination for care in a globalised world
Chapter 24. Music as an underutilised and underappreciated tool for language learning
Chapter 25. Expansion of our own being: Language learning, cultural belonging and global awareness
Epilogue. Prospects for language policies in an age of globalisation