This paper portrays, in a summarized way, how social changes caused by globalization and new demands from the work market induce changes in the education such as to increase the students' capacity for autonomy, creativity and critical judgment. The several methodological approaches for teaching German as a foreign language employed in Brazil are used to demonstrate how they follow the changes in the concepts of student's role and social importance of foreign languages. It also illustrates how new mass media such as internet and cable TV affect the learning of foreign languages and open new possibilities for public school students.
Foreign language teaching; education and autonomy; German as foreign language