diff --git a/django/utils/formats.py b/django/utils/formats.py
index 2d8a813825..3babccb0a0 100644
--- a/django/utils/formats.py
+++ b/django/utils/formats.py
@@ -45,11 +45,12 @@ def iter_format_modules(lang):
                 except ImportError:
                     pass
 
-def get_format_modules(reverse=False):
+def get_format_modules(lang=None, reverse=False):
     """
     Returns a list of the format modules found
     """
-    lang = get_language()
+    if lang is None:
+        lang = get_language()
     modules = _format_modules_cache.setdefault(lang, list(iter_format_modules(lang)))
     if reverse:
         return list(reversed(modules))
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ def get_format(format_type, lang=None, use_l10n=None):
         try:
             return _format_cache[cache_key] or getattr(settings, format_type)
         except KeyError:
-            for module in get_format_modules():
+            for module in get_format_modules(lang):
                 try:
                     val = getattr(module, format_type)
                     _format_cache[cache_key] = val
diff --git a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
index 3a75201372..68eafbf276 100644
--- a/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
+++ b/tests/regressiontests/i18n/tests.py
@@ -480,6 +480,11 @@ class FormattingTests(TestCase):
         en_gb_format_mod = import_module('django.conf.locale.en_GB.formats')
         self.assertEqual(list(iter_format_modules('en-gb')), [en_gb_format_mod, en_format_mod])
 
+    def test_get_format_modules_lang(self):
+        with self.settings(USE_L10N=True):
+            with translation.override('de', deactivate=True):
+                self.assertEqual('.', get_format('DECIMAL_SEPARATOR', lang='en'))
+
     def test_get_format_modules_stability(self):
         with self.settings(USE_L10N=True,
                 FORMAT_MODULE_PATH='regressiontests.i18n.other.locale'):