ABSTRACT
World language education in American public schools is largely unsuccessful at producing individuals competent in second languages. This lack of success in world language learning is not due to any particular methodological or pedagogical failure on the part of world language teachers. In the case of language, the common assumption in United States society is that monolingualism in English is both typical and normal. The classroom world language educator must not only have competence in the target language, but must also understand the nature of human language more generally, and must be sensitive to the political, ideological and sociocultural aspects of language and language use. In the case of world language education, although obvious bias has been largely eliminated in textbooks and instructional materials, many underlying ideological and cultural biases remain unexamined and unaddressed. An important aspect of the ideological content and functions of the curriculum is visible in the national standards movement.
