The Teaching and Learning of German as a Foreign Language in Greece – A Critical Investigation and Assessment

Abstract

It is commonplace that the knowledge and use of foreign languages contribute positively to various and diverse fields in all countries of the world as well as to many social, cultural, labour, commercial, economic, political discussions and interactions of any civil society. Their role has been decisive in the past, still is today and it is more than evident that foreign languages will continue to play a decisive role in the future, especially on the personal, collective, state and cross-border levels, due to the ever-increasing mobility of people, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, from one continent to another, from one country on the same continent to another, from one poor, war-torn, oppressive and fascist country to a peaceful, democratic one, from one democratic country to another democratic one, etc. In particular, it plays a key role in: a. the acceptance of others with different origins, culture, religion, language, etc.; b. the mutual understanding, communication and the establishment of social relations between citizens of different cultures; c. the intellectual cultivation, cultural exchange, personal, professional rehabilitation and development of people; d. the conception and understanding of citizens that education and culture are the main pillars of the economic development of a country and of each individual; e. the cultivation and promotion of interdisciplinarity and the general progress of science and research; f. the friendship between States; g. the diplomatic (inter)negotiations, commercial transactions, various agreements between States. The present paper has been written for all these reasons and a few more discussed further on. It studies in a critical-interpretative way various aspects of the teaching and learning of German as a foreign language in Greece, a language spoken by several million people all over the world.