German as a foreign language: historical development and current perspectives

Abstract

This article presents an overall history of a course in German as a Foreign Language (DaF) from the early 1950s until the present time. It focuses on the historical process of institutionalization of this endeavor in Germany and the increasing importance of the subject of German on the international scene through policies related to language and culture enacted by the German government, and the commercialization of books on the teaching of German produced for the global market.

German as a foreign language; historical development; language policies