ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with developments towards transnational discourses in the field of language and societies, cultures and people. It is careful not to underestimate the role of national institutions and constructions of national identities. The currently dominant national paradigm in its radical, monocultural form conceals social and cultural diversity and inequality in society as well as in international and transnational relations. Yet, it has been very powerful in language teaching and appears to still dominate many classrooms and textbooks, although perhaps to a lesser degree in the teaching of English as an international language or lingua franca. The paradigm has been problematized and interrogated by a number of scholars. For instance, there is Risager (2006, 2007) on the national paradigm and transnational alternatives, Holliday (1999, 2011) on the concept of small cultures and the need for a broader ideological critique of language education, Kumaravadivelu (2008) on cultural globalisation and the importance of global, national, regional, social and individual realities, and Kramsch (2009) on the importance of studying multilingual subjectivities.
