Foreign Languages (FSP01‑04)
Relevance and central values

The foreign languages subject is based on understanding and being understood. The subject shall help to promote the pupils’ personal development and facilitate for interacting with and experiencing joy in the encounter with other people and cultures. In a globalised world, there is a greater need to communicate in several languages. Formal and informal communication locally, nationally and internationally requires language skills and knowledge of other cultures and ways of life. This applies not least in educational studies and in working life. The subject can help pupils to develop their intercultural understanding.

All subjects shall help the pupils to understand and apply the value system for learning. Knowledge about a society’s language and cultural diversity provides valuable insight into one’s own and others’ backgrounds. The subject shall help the pupils learn about different identities, values and ways of thinking, forms of expression, traditions and social conditions in areas where the language is spoken. This means that the pupils develop tolerance and an understanding that our views of the world are culture-dependent. Learning a new language, being able to communicate with others and gaining experience from cultural encounters make it possible to interpret the world in several ways. An important part of language learning is also exploring and critically assessing the use of sources, aids and learning strategies. The subject shall help the pupils to gain understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity. Through the subject, the pupils shall be allowed to experience that multilingualism is an asset, both in school and in society at large.