Physical sciences? Social sciences? Humanities!

(the) humanities  [plural] subjects of study such as literature, history, or art, rather than science or mathematics; = (the) arts
 LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English (2006), p. 796

I am looking forward to writing about the humanities because I am a student of English and French. I can tell you about noun phrases and adverbs but not about quantum physics or nuclear fission.
The large field of the humanities - from culture studies and history, through literature and linguistics, down to music and and performing arts - is both flourishing and creative.
In the arts, the last century was a period of great excitement and innovation. The most influential writers reacted strongly against political or economical injustice or leveled criticism against social evils.
And just as Bill Gates points out, the goal should be that everybody gets a chance to read great books and participates in the richness the humanities brings us.

scholastic standards and language portfolios

In the English didactics seminar we read a text about scholastic standards in Germany. Many students learn English as their first foreign language at school and it is just out ouf question to replace it by other languages, such as Greek or Swedish. Learning foreign languages very often means: "learning English".
The European Union has worked out an educationl program in order to spark interest for the large amount of various languages we have in Europe. They want people to become "global players", not only speakers of English.
Different education systems complicate the qualitative analysis of language classes at school or of the learner's level. One idea to facilitate a profound comparison is the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages consisting of 6 levels from A1 (breakthrough) to C2 (Mastery).
So called language portfolios offer a possibility for learners to document their language acquisition. It is not only about language certificates, for example TOEFL, but also about cultural experiences as well as learning processes on one's own responsibility.
As a future English teacher, I am directly concerned with scholastic standards and the question of how to teach a foreign language or how to help my pupils to become "global players". I have not heard about the language portfolios before but I think they are a useful start in order to create a basis of comparison and improvement for all learners for one or more foreign languages