For centuries the Netherlands has been a cultural crossroads, where the Germanic and Romance cultures have met and mingled. For centuries, too, the Dutch have been a commercial people, trading and negotiating in lands all across the globe. No wonder, then, that a knowledge of foreign languages is a major goal in Dutch education. Changing times and the new significance of world trade in the economy of the Netherlands, combined with the realization that Dutch is not a world language, have emphasized the importance of foreign languages.

The methods used to teach foreign languages in France were chosen to suit the French school system. They cannot be properly appreciated unless one has some idea of the organization of that system. The following brief description is intended to give a general idea of the educational system in France.