Significance Of Learning English And Linguistic Imperialism

To a partial extent I believe that the widespread recognition of the importance of learning English is a result of linguistic imperialism. Kachru’s circle shows English as an expanding international language. It is natural from those expanding countries to naturally want to learn English from the inner circles where the language has originated or is mostly spoken from. It creates a linguistic imperialism. However the importance and recognition of learning English is for intercultural communication between countries for wider communication between multilingual societies like Australia.

The importance of learning English is a result of linguistic imperialism. English is now one of the most spoken languages in the world. Therefore countries are

Therefore it cannot serve as a language of wider communication (Mckay 2002) Today there are over seventy countries in which English has held or continues to hold special status as a required language to learn. Kachru’s classification of Circles maintains that the various roles serves in different countries of the world are the best conceived of in terms of three concentric circle: the Inner Circle, where English is the primary language of the country such as Australia, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom. These inner countries English spread due to migration and becomes the national language. The Outer circle where English serves as a second language in a multilingual country such as Singapore, India, and the Philippines as a result of colonization and is one of many official language. The Expanding circle is where English is widely studied as a foreign language such as in China, Japan and Korea. Resulting of learning English as a foreign language. Kachru’s categorization of countries in which English is used creates language imperialism. Mckay (2002) Language imperialism of English has spread

It develops alongside other languages. The purpose of teaching an international language is to facilitate communication of learners’ ideas and culture in an English medium. However, with English what culture should provide the norms for using the language – Inner Circle countries or Outer Circle countries like Singapore and India. Some linguists contend that it is impossible to teach a language without teaching about the culture of that language. However, it is very difficult for English to determine what culture should be associated with English or can several cultures be associated with it. Features of an International Language (Brutt-Griffler, 2002)A ttributes of an International Language (Smith, 1976) An international language becomes “de-nationalized.” There is no necessity for L2 speakers to internalize the cultural norms of L1 speakers of that language. The purpose of teaching an international language is to facilitate communication of learners’ ideas and culture in an English medium. The spread of English is encouraged by the growing number of speakers of English, the economic power associated with English, the amount of information stored in English, and a belief in the power of