Globalization and English

We lived in a globalized world where English is spoken by people from many different countries, and where more and more countries are changing their status from EFL to ESL, and from ESL to English as the first language. The number of people who speaks English in the world is one out of five, and the other four are being pushed to learn it too. English is far the most spoken language in the world. The domain of English includes “books, newspapers, airports and air-traffic control, international business and academic conferences, science technology, diplomacy, sport, international competitions, pop music and advertising” (Graddol, 1997, p. 32). This situation have raised some controversial issues: the extent to which the spread of English has hindered the literacy development in other languages, the socio-economic division it represents, and the detrimental results of the imperialism of Eurocentric ideologies over other cultures’ ideologies (Brown, 2000). Even though it is a fact that the ownership of English cannot be claimed by two or three countries anymore, the reality is that for many reasons the influence of Western over the rest of the English speaking countries is still very strong.

In this context, it is important to develop an extra sensitive position towards different languages and cultures. Even though as language teachers we will be limited somehow by the governmental or/and school policies and the material available regarding cultural issues, we must teach our students by example and preach to be respectful and open towards different languages and cultures.

References

Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.

Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English? A guide to forecasting the popularity of the English language in the twenty-first century (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-elt-future.pdf