Towards experiential foreign language education

This chapter discusses foreign language education in relation to the current changes in society, teaching, learning and communication. The developments suggest the need to redefine the traditional roles of teachers, learners and curricula and move towards a collegial institutional culture. Experiential learning provides new perspectives for the fundamental process of redesigning foreign language education. It is consequently useful to consider what demands the developments in society seem to pose on education for the future. Based on the ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions, it is customary to distinguish between three major educational paradigms: the positivistic paradigm, the constructivist-interpretive paradigm and the critical-emancipatory paradigm. Curriculum represents a selection of the ideas, knowledge, concepts, skills, values, beliefs, norms and practices available in a society. The broad educational goals are usually a matter of national policy-making at the level of central administration, guided by prevailing theories of learning and teaching, and by the academic traditions.