This study aims at discussing the relationship between foreign language teaching and society through three political and philosophical approaches: a) education as the redemption of society, which sees it as a solution to all social inequalities; b) education as the as the reproduction of the social relations of production, which aims at keeping the status quo; c) a transformative approach to education, which attributes an important political and emancipatory role to education and takes into account the needs and ambitions of the dominated classes. This study analyzed some official documents issued by the Ministry of Education, which guide the educational process in this country, in the light of the three perspectives. The documents revealed traces of redemption and transformation as key elements in the learning/teaching of foreign languages, a result that translates the struggles of an unequal society.