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)
