This paper discusses the role of language studies which take into account a Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic perspective within the University. To do so, the education of language teachers is examined with a focus on two particular problems: disregard for the importance of language in the constitution of the subject and the dichotomy between theory and practice. Starting from the researcher's own teaching experience, this bibliographical study is supported by earlier works which discuss the complexity involved in foreign language learning, the relationship between mother tongue and foreign language, the role of language in the constitution of the subject and the relationship between theory and practice in the language teacher education field. The study would suggest that the complexity and importance of these issues, highlighted by a psychoanalytical perspective, are disregarded at the University. As far as the relationship between theory and practice in the language teacher education field is concerned, emphasis is given to the latter, which leads to what is called "the imperative of application".
education of teachers; Psychoanalysis; University; theory-practice