Los estudios ingleses en España (1900-1950): legislación curricular

In most European countries, English Studies emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, whereas in Spain English Philology (as a branch of Modern Philology) only became a university degree in the 1950s, since its appearance was delayed by well-known political upheavals and historical circumstances. This belated creation of English Philology coincided with a remarkable transformation of the philosophy in foreign language teaching. However, before the 1950s, educational authorities evinced a growing interest in the study of Modern Languages. This essay attempts to examine the curricula of both secondary and university education (especially in the Faculties of Arts) that were passed in Spain during the first half of the 20th century. After an introductory survey of some institutional and methodological changes in foreign language teaching during the 1950s, a chronological overview covering three major periods of the legislative educational reforms and counter-reforms is offered: the reign of Alphonse XIII, the Second Republic and Franco's regime up to 1950. The last section will be devoted to considering foreign language in non-philological higher education curricula.