This study attempts to give an account of the position of English in Finland, where both Swedish and Finnish are official languages and taught in the schools of both Swedish and Finnish areas of the country. To provide a better understanding of the position of English, a brief historical sketch is provided, with emphasis on the development of bilingualism and recommendations regarding instruction in both languages. The discussion of bilingualism includes a discussion of the emergence of language groups; quantitative trends; sociological patterns of bilingualism including education, marriage, and home language; and social institutions and patterns of social interaction. The section on language teaching policy discusses quantitative trends in the study of the official languages as well as English, German, Russian, and French, and the development of language teaching policy. Finally, the position of English in society and in the educational system is discussed. It is noted that growing contacts between Finland and the other European countries and the United States have meant the growing influence of English and the growing impact of Anglo-American cultural models. Numerous statistical tables are appended. (Author/AMH)