These are great times for native English speakers and the universities of the English speaking world, right? The rising tide of globalization has made English the new must-have skill, giving us native English speakers a major advantage, and assuring the Anglo-American universities of a never ending supply of students from around the world who want an English language college degree. But before you relax and break out the Champagne, you may want to read a new book by David Graddol, published by the British Council, called English Next. He suggests that things are not completely as they seem.
Graddol begins with a very interesting analysis of the transition from modernity, in which language played a key role in defining the nation and its identity, to postmodernity, in which the forces of globalization are leading to more complex concepts of individual and national identity, and to new forms of multilingualism. Because so many of the drivers and enablers of globalization have a major “English factor”, English is playing a central role in this transition. As Graddol notes, “On the one hand, the availability of English as a global language is accelerating globalisation. On the other, the globalisation is accelerating the use of English.” (p.22). English has become a key component of the took kit of skills that the postmodern worker must have, and English is being introduced as a required second language in grade schools in many countries of the world, including China. Since older workers are also upgrading their English skills, Graddol reports that computer models show that within a few years “Nearly a third of the world population will be trying to learn English at the same time.” (!) (p.101)
So far, so good, but now for some of the problems. As Graddol points out, as more people speak English, the competitive advantage of speaking English diminishes. Speaking English becomes the new baseline, and the advantage goes to those who speak English plus other languages. In addition, as more and more people speak English, more and more universities around the world teach in English. This greatly increases options for students who want an English language college education, and decreases the need to choose the expensive option of going to the traditional English language countries such as the US , Britain, or Australia.
In addition, throughout the book, Graddol talks of the tensions that arise in this transition between modernity and postmodernity. This is particularly important in many parts of the world where countries are just now beginning to reinvent their identity as nation-states, while at the same time rushing into globalization. This tension leads to countries “appropriating English in ways which do least damage to their national language and identity.” (p.117) In addition, increasing use of English now means that fewer interactions that take place in English now involve a native speaker. Consequently, what is arising is a type of “Global English”, a lingua franca that is focused on international intelligibility and has little interest in the cultural baggage historically associated with English. Pronunciation features that contribute to understanding are emphasized, those that do not are ignored. Accent if OK, and retained as a mark of national identity. In this new Global English, many of the complexities of native English are simply irrelevant and to be avoided.
Graddol reports that “In organisations were English has become the corporate language, meetings sometimes go more smoothly where no native speakers are present.”(p.115). He adds “the problem may be that few native speakers belong to the community of practice which is developing amongst lingua franca users. Their presence hinders communication.” (p.115) This leads him to the quite reasonable but somewhat depressing conclusion that elements of this new lingua franca need to be taught “within a mother tongue curriculum” if we native English speakers are to be able to function effectively in this new world.
So the bad news is that the competitive advantage of being a native English speaker is likely to be short lived. Since English is falling rapidly in the rankings of number of native speakers, there is an increasing proportion of people in the world who are really good at some other language, their own mother tongue. A huge percentage of those people are adding English to their tool kit. All of this says that if we are to compete in the future, we need to turn to the teaching of foreign languages with an intensity and effectiveness that has hitherto been absent in most of the native- English speaking world. And, according to Graddol, we also have to learn how to speak English as a lingua franca! And finally, our expectations that international students will come to us because they really want an English language degree are likely not to be realistic. We will have to focus on making them want to come to us because of the excellence and effectiveness of our institutions of higher education. We have some work to do there, as well (see, e.g.How are we doing teaching cognitive skills, July 4, 2006; How people learn, May 1, 2006; Educational value added, Sept.1, 2006).
As might be imagined, different folks with different perspectives will get different conclusions from this book. Some blogs that give a range of perspectives from around the world are: Mandarin's Influence Expands, The Learned Man, Wong Sulong, and Network Sense
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