This study describes the evolution of English language teaching in Finland and looks into the connections of the societal and educational changes in the country as explanatory factors in the process. The results of the study show that the language teaching methodology and the status of foreign languages in Finland are clearly connected to the changes in society and its education system. Since the first decade of the 20th century, Finnish society has developed from an inward-looking agrarian country into an economically and technologically advanced and industrialized society joining in various ways to the rest of Europe and global community. In that process, learning English has become inevitable for every Finn, although it is commonly agreed that other foreign languages are needed, as well. As a consequence, the plurilingual and pluricultural competence and democratic citizenship education have become goals in language teaching.