Causes and Effects of the Globalization of the English Language Introduction Globalization is a word that has been highly discussed by people for decades of years. It is the process of making something in a lot of different countries all around the world (Longman Dictionary). It involves in a wide variety of areas such as language, business, and technology. This essay mainly focuses on the factors that precipitate English into the most global language, and potential impacts of spread use of English around the world. Some people think that Chinese dominates the global language because recently approximately 1.4 billion people speak it, and it considerably exceeds the population of English speakers. In contrast, other people consider that English …show more content…
There are two typical categories of diversity: linguist diversity and ethnic diversity. Because of the popularization of English language, the native language has been consistently diminishing, especially in Africa and North America. For instance, research shows that the growing use of English seriously influences the existence of African languages. Fishman (2003) claims that “if the current trend towards unilingualism in English continues, the African languages will face attrition and death,” (p.68). Also, Fishman provides the data to analyze the language usage in South Africa. “English alone takes up to 3954.5 hours, or 85 percent of the total airtime; while Afrikaans and all nine African languages have 485 (10%) hours and 226.02 (5%), respectively” (p.76-77). Owing to the expansion of English in South Africa, the native languages are almost extinct. Moreover, English language globalization also threatens to ethnic diversity. According to Kim and Bhawuk (2008), it is a truth that traditional cultures, such as Indian cultures in North America, will be besieged if western cultures and language are continuously spread out (p.302). In other words, old-aged traditions are decreased sharply, and the native language is limited. Therefore, it is obvious that English globalization negatively results in the loss of cultural …show more content…
In China, “English has been the dominant foreign language in the curricula of educational institutions and in foreign language learning in Chinese society for more than two decades”(Chang, 2006, p.514). The Ministry of Education in China has done an appropriate job on English education after English is globalized. Not only in China but also the world popularizes English courses. Statistics show that there are around 80 countries “have officially recognized English as a primary and secondary language” (p.514). The overall number of people who regard English as their first or secondary language has achieved 22.1 billion, and it’s equal to the third of the world’s population (p.514). The reason for this phenomenon is that people are globally and increasingly educated by English subjects in many countries. As a result, English education is internationally disseminated nowadays due to the English globalization, and numerous people can use it
Prior to immigrating to America, Nicole attended a public school in China where all of her teachers were Chinese natives. At Nicole’s school in China, however, English is a required course of study taught mostly by emphasizing English vocabulary, completing short one-page writing assignments, and practicing spelling. Learning English pronunciations and engaging in realistic English conversation wasn’t the goal for educators in China. The goal in China was to prepare students to pass their post-high school exam, which was their ticket into attending a university. The exam is highly demanding for Chinese students because it requires knowledge of English reading, comprehension, spelling and writing. For Nicole, the most stressful part of this exam was that students taking it
English as a communication tool holds prominent position in Chinese curriculum (Liu, 2012). Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) has seen its boost in China (Qiang & Wolff, 2007). Mastering English is an asset for students in job hunting and further education. As academic achievement is highly valued in Chinese culture, students are expected to achieve high marks in English tests (Liu, 2012). University students need to pass National English proficiency examinations, which are the part of the evaluation for obtaining degrees (Wolff, 2010). Students attend after-school English courses for enhancing their English because of the pressure (Liu, 2012). The majority of ELL students aim at improving the international English proficiency tests results, such as International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). ELL students are more motivated in the after-school English courses because of the high-target learning environment. However, the teacher-centred learning procedure neglects the long-term enhancement of students’ English level. The ignorance of the long-term development is due to less student involvement during the teaching procedure (Mo, 2012). Some Chinese ELL students choose to attend ESL courses abroad. The reasons are that they can have a better language environment (Wolff, 2010) and can engage more in the learning procedure (Smith & Hu, 2013). The aim of the study is to compare the teacher-centred teaching in China and student-centred teaching in Canada and to examine efficient teaching methods for Chinese speaking ELL
Throughout Earth’s existence the human race has been capable of developing over 7,000 languages today (Vargo, 2014 ). Nevertheless, out of all these languages, English has been proved to be one of the most dominant languages around the world alongside Mandarin, and Spanish (Vargo, 2014). Not only is English one of the most dominant languages around the world,its also starting to be the only language to connect the workforce of multinational companies across the world. It is spoken by 1.75 billion people worldwide which is one in every four of us, and a estimated 565 million people use it on the internet (Neeley, 2012). According to historical facts, entertainment success, and business prosperity it is proven that English proficiency is a core
English as a global language has been paid special attention to throughout the world. In China, people treat English as a foreign language, and many students may not have any chance to use it after their graduation. However, government still makes a lot of effort in the English education reform, in order to improve English teachers’ quality and raise students’ language learning consciousness. During the reform, language teachers, especially college language teachers, are encouraged to speak pure English in class, so as to give students more chances to practice their communicative skills in the target language. However, the reality is quite different, and a phenomenon called “code-switching” can often be seen in EFL classes.
Globalization is taking place in every facet of people’s lives. Thomas Friedman used an interesting metaphor in the title of his book The World is Flat to describe the world as a playground where competitors share equal opportunities regardless of their historical and geographical background (Friedman). The same principle can be applied to world language, geography cedes to be the barrier for the exchange between various nations as English has became a global language. Wherever one travels around the world, there is always a substantial chance for that person to communicate with minimum English. At the same time, one may notice that English in different nations has its own characteristics that could not be found in any other countries. English in New Zealand is a distinctive example of how English language in different nations has been introduced and shaped. We can observe the development of English in New Zealand through the examination of how English was introduced and became the dominant language as a result of the weakening of Maori culture, the authorization of the Treaty of Waitangi and the encouragement of English education; and how New Zealand English formed its distinctive features in respect to the mixture of early settlers, the interaction between European immigrants and the indigenous Maoris and the communication among young New Zealanders; and the current status of English under the background of Maori renaissance.
“I feel that English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience. But it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings.” Languages are of a fluid and static nature. They draw from various origins, and grow constantly, changing with trends and tongues. A world language must
The main aim of this written task is to analyze the consequences of English as a global language through a socio-linguistic eye. After in depth research and study, I have achieved various learning outcomes for Part 1. I have gained knowledge of the current status of English language in society, the influence of social and political factors on English language and the linguistic change which the language is experiencing. This allowed me to successfully evaluate the implications of English as a global language on society.
Experiencing those days where people would laugh at other for the broken English; the grammar and pronunciation are the toughest parts of the language. People with English as a second language always stumble upon difficulties; however, the determination of learning a new language do not decrease easily as the motivation is still surrounding one’s mind. Today, English has become an international communication; even the teaching and learning of the language has already spread throughout the world. English is known as one of the most common use language and has been offering classes everywhere for years especially around Asia; additionally, the world common language has now become the number one language uses in every fields of career that is being offer everywhere. Non-American students should be required to take English class as a second language in school
...to thoroughly observe how language substantially contributes to cultural diversity. The diversity that language exudes can be present in a variety of forms. Languages employ tones, clicks, ocular signs, and other types of general sounds to indicate difference in meaning (Baronchelli et al, 2012 p.1). Cultures use disparate combinations of these communicative components to mold and refine their diverse forms of language. Scholars and researchers alike now acknowledge the fact that languages are an ever-evolving piece of the cultural experience. The foundations of language are now seen to be shaped, altered, and refined by the societies that use them. (Dale & Lupyan, 2012 p.1). This concept of constant linguistic evolution greatly contributes to the cultural diversity that language facilitates, as two language will never, at any point in time, become truly identical.
Clark, Dorie. "English - The Language of Global Business?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
In conclusion, it was stated that due to the vital global challenges the country encounters, Chinese-English bilingual education represents a significant issue in Chinese education. Assuming all the arguments discussed in this essay it might be suggested that this form of BE appears to provide economic, occupational and cultural benefits for the Chinese society due to the increase of English language proficiency among the population. However, it was also noted that today Chinese-English BE faces three main challenges in its promotion, but all of them already have available solutions. Therefore, the broad implementation of bilingual education in China might cost time for the government but appears to have considerable advantages which could benefit the country in the foreseen future.
Since the establishment of the British Empire, the spread of English language has been experienced in many parts of the globe. The success can be attributed significantly to the colonization activities that the empire had embarked on. They would train the indigenous community English language as they suppressed the local dialect. This massive spread is termed as lingual imperialism (Osterhammel 2005, pp. 14). The English language has become the first and second language of many nations across the world, and this makes it an international language. The native’s proportion to the non-native who speaks English cannot be compared with nations in the isle of Britain and far are speaking the language .considering that more than 70%
Standardization of the English Language There are several important events before 1500 that, when listed together, show a series of steps in the struggle for English language supremacy. These steps are mainly governmental, legal and official events that pushed English usage. In 1356 The Sheriff's Court in London and Middlesex were conducted in English for the first time. When Parliament opened in 1362 the Statute of Pleading was issued declaring English as a language of the courts as well as of Parliament, but it was not until 1413 that English became the official language of the courts everywhere. Thirteen years later in 1423, Parliament records start being written in English.
...nology is moving ahead at the speed of light. With all this advancement comes the inevitable need for a language that unifies the world. The need for a common language to conduct our business and economic affairs, and our need to communicate internationally on political and world interventions has made English the leader in world languages. It is not the language spoken first by most, but it the language that the world uses when it comes together to communicate.
In order to visualize the “global” as an adjective in the collocation “global language”, a study has shown the numbers of people speaking the language. According to them, there are about 6000 languages in the world and not surprisingly English is at the top of the list of most dominant. In the world there are 375 million first-language speakers, approximately the same number of second-language speakers and about 750 million foreign-language speakers (David Graddol, The Future of English? A Guide to Forecasting the Popularity of the English Language in the 21st Century. British Council, 1997). According to magazine Economist, more than one billion people speak some form of English. These numbers could make people think that English is really conquering the world which can be both positive and negative.