A Retrospective View of Learning English in Romania
A Retrospective View of Learning English in Romania

Summary/Abstract: Learning English in the 21st century has become indispensable not only to youngsters, but also to grown-up people in any modern culture. On account of its becoming the lingua franca of this age, English is certain to be the key to professional and social success almost all over the world. The demand and motivation for the study of English in Romania has increased considerably in recent years and it keeps being encouraged and steadily promoted at political, educational and social levels. Under the circumstances of globalization mastering a foreign language has become an essential feature of the modern world. It is extremely helpful both for the individual and the society at large because it is the best way of getting to know and understand otherness and implicitly your own self better. Moreover, as it was often stated “knowing the other is not really a matter of aesthetic appreciation or ethical self reflection but serves mostly instrumental purposes. The world is there to be conquered (so to speak) and one cannot do so without understanding the way the world works, and perhaps without mastering the nuances of other countries and ways of life. This usually requires some degree of language acquisition, cultural immersion and multicultural literacy” (Crawford 2002: 273). Learning to facilitate and accept different attitudes and values, get real respect of other cultures takes great pains and of course a lot of time, not to mention the requirement of constant teaching and long-term practice. Such an objective cannot be achieved without language, the best medium of communication, intercultural mediation and mutual understanding. In order to get a more reliable self-image, each culture needs to look at itself from the outside. Thus its own perception will become more objective and more adequate. Romanian culture has always shown availability and honest interest to get deeper knowledge of ”the other” looking at the civilized world with eager wide open eyes in an attempt to understand it better and make headway in its turn. It goes without saying that such an attitude meant besides knowledge of the world increased awareness of our own strengths and weaknesses. It has constantly helped us re-evaluate our positions and standards avoiding isolation and ultimately promoting our own cultural synchronization with the world A radical change has also occurred in the perception and attitude to the study of foreign languages in general, as symbols of education and basic means of direct communication and information. At present foreign languages are being studied by a diversity of people belonging to all walks of life and to all fields of activity. The number of languages studied nowadays is larger than ever and the methods of teaching are continually modernizing and diversifying.

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