Introduction

English Language Education (ELE) in Germany, with its traditional focus on standard British and American English and native-speaker norms more broadly, appears to be relatively unaffected by recent developments toward Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL). The present chapter introduces the volume and its individual contributions, all of which aim to address this gap. Eleven chapters, structured across three larger sections – (I) TEIL in language teacher education, (II) TEIL in the curricula, and (III) Innovative materials and activities for the TEIL classroom – identify the various barriers to innovation in favor of TEIL in Germany and suggest possible ways to overcome these. Terminological conventions used throughout the volume are also introduced.