The History of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom

Abstract

This chapter explores the history of second and foreign language (L2) learning and teaching beyond the classroom (LLTBC) by examining how L2 learning theories and teaching methods have responded to cultural, educational, and techno-social developments over time. Its history is intertwined with the development of universal education, nationalism, and the language standards movement starting in the 19th century. As globalism emerged and educational practices industrialized, the learning of modern L2s necessarily became a school subject, leading to standardized methods and teacher training in the 20th century. Today, as the Internet has truly created a global village, educators are finding older methods and theories inadequate to accommodate the many informal, incidental, and casual L2 experiences their students bring to the classroom. In response, new perspectives on the phenomenon attempt to build on these new contexts and leverage them for pedagogical implications.