Understanding curriculum issues in L1 education through international comparison: The case of the V4 countries

In this review, I will discuss the academic monograph Teaching of National Languages in the V4 countries edited by M. Pieniążek & S. Štěpáník (2016). The review discusses the value and quality of the book, and at the same time tries to identify issues in L1 education that can be of interest to readers outside the Central European context. In reviewing the monograph, I will attempt to illustrate that many of the issues that the V4 countries are dealing with are in fact of a more universal nature. In doing so, I argue that the book may be seen as a good starting point for a detailed international comparison of L1 curricula and the challenges associated with them.