The increasing influence of the English language is often associated with globalisation. In northern Europe, English has had a strong position for many decades. In southern Europe, French has long maintained the position of the most widely learnt foreign language. This position has been increasingly challenged as the importance of English grew.
The international developments have not left Switzerland untouched. A recent survey shows that a large part of the French-speaking population find it easier to express themselves in English than in German, whilst a large part of the German speaking population find it easier to express themselves in English than in French. For the Italian speaking population French remains the language in which they feel most at ease. The importance of English for business, science and technology, also in Switzerland, cannot be denied, even though not everybody welcomes this development. English is sometimes seen as a threat to national unity and some consider it almost an inferior language, the language of the new economy, of trivial American films and songs. It is sometimes assumed that English can be learnt for economic purposes and French (and to a lesser degree also German) for a person’s personal growth and cultural development.
Yet, there is no reason for the learning and teaching of English to be restricted to purely utilitarian purposes, as is emphasized by many contributors to this special edition of Babylonia. English does not only give students access to the popular and – as some believe - trivial culture, but also to a very rich culture, not only of the traditional countries whose ‘Englishes’ are taught, but also to the cultures of other countries where that language is spoken. In this way, English offers many opportunities to develop students’ intercultural awareness.
Teachers of other language sometimes react strongly against this strong influence, the increasing presence of English in young people’s everyday lives. The articles in this edition of Babylonia show the wealth of English, its importance for the people in this country and offer many didactic ideas. Since it is Babylonia’s mission to build bridges between the languages we hope that also teachers of other languages will read these articles with an open mind and consider also their value for their teaching practice.