The increasing role of English in Basque education

This paper focuses on the increasing role of English in the educational system of the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain. The position of English in the curriculum has become stronger in the last years and schools include multilingualism as one of their aims. This chapter discusses two main trends: first, the early introduction of English in pre-primary education when children are four years old or younger; second, the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) with English, along with Basque and Spanish as an additional medium of instruction. The paper also discusses studies aimed at examining the outcomes and effectiveness of these practices and the main challenges faced when teaching English in the Basque context.