The process of globalization affects all societies in diverse and different ways: economically, politically, culturally and linguistically. Mobility and migration have become common phenomena all over the world, leading to pluralization and hybridization as well as to assimilation of social structures. In many areas, there is a need for innovative thinking. Language learning and teaching are radically influenced by these processes. Bi- and multilingualism are no longer merely abstract goals but have turned into basic requirements in professional language teaching. In that field, the former objective and ideal of native speaker likeness has gradually been replaced by visions of intercultural speaker competence. Processes of language acquisition and language learning are increasingly intertwined; multilingual and multicultural identities have become the rule rather than the exception – a tendency which is beginning to inform curricula and teaching concepts. Alongside growing complexity and diversity, one can also observe processes of global assimilation in language education: the Common European Framework of References for Languages, for example, is becoming more and more influential not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world, as are teaching methods such as task-based learning or concepts such as learner autonomy. World languages have come to dominate many national curricula and the global coursebook does not seem far. All in all, the debate around modern language teaching today is informed by the conflicting forces of global equalization and local diversification. The 24^th conference of the German Society of Foreign Language Research (DGFF) is entitled: