ABSTRACT
As language learning never happens in a vacuum, research has to include the impact of the social context and of extracurricular learning opportunities. Therefore, this chapter focuses on language policies and connected social forces that influence the learning process and that determine how linguistic and cultural diversity is dealt with. This chapter shows how language is connected with power relations, how language continues to be an important characteristic of European nation states and thus determines the identity of their members. Moreover, aspects such as the contact with target language speakers, the existence of parallel worlds, and their relation to sociolinguistic and sociocultural integration—where historical attempts at explanation are made and the relation between language and intercultural learning is pointed out—are discussed.
