An Introduction to Language Education in the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain, including Content and Language Integrated Learning Approaches to English

The Basque language is a non-Indo-European language spoken in a small region of Europe, straddling the border between Spain and France.After long periods of indifference and even repression, Basque became a co-official language in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) in Spain following the adoption of a new constitution in 1978.Bilingual teaching models were adopted with the goal of reviving and normalising the language.In recent years, a trilingual approach, encompassing Basque, Spanish and English has been adopted in many schools in the region, in which content and language integrated learning approaches have been instrumental.Japan and the BAC share a number of linguistic and cultural similarities, which suggest that the language education experiences in the BAC may represent a valuable example for Japanese educators and educational policy makers to explore when considering English language education policy and practice in Japan.