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5o In sum, the globalization of English does not mean that if we who speak only
English just sit back and wait, we' 11 soon be able to exchange ideas with anyone
who has anything to say. We can' t count on having much more around the world
than a very basic ability to communicate. Outside certain professional fields, if
Engli sh-speaking Americans hope to exchange ideas with people in a nuanced
way, we may be well advised to do as people elsewhere are doing: become bilin-
gual. This is easier said than done. If learning a second language were so simple,
no doubt many more of us would have picked up Spanish or Chinese by now. It
is clear, though, that the young learn languages much more readily than adults.
Surely, American children who are exposed to nothing but English would benefit
from being taught other languages as well.
51 At the same time, English is flourishing, and people here and everywhere are
eager to learn it to the extent that it is practical for them to do so. It would behoove
us to make learning English as easy as possible, for both children and adults, in this
country and abroad.
52 However unwelcome this news may be to some, not even headlong technologi-
cal advances mean that computers will soon be doing all the hard work of coping
with other languages for us. For the foreseeable future computers will be able to do
no more than some of the relatively easy work. When it comes to subtle compre-
hension of our world and the other people in it, we are, as ever, on our own.
THINKING CRITICALLY
1. In her introduction, Wallraff states "the idea of English as a global language
doesn't mean what [professionals/experts] think." Based on the information in this
essay, what do people seem to think about the globalization of English? Why does
Wall raft disagree with the position of the people she has interviewed on the issue?
2. Statistics on the far-reaching impact of English seem to imply that English is on
its way to truly becoming the lingua franca of the world. What ways might one
read the data? Based on statistical information, what might one surmise about
the future of the English language?
3. How are language and the aspirations and hopes of one generation for the
future of the next connected? What role will English play in a global context in
the shaping of cultures in the future?
4. What factors might slow the globalization of English? Explain.
5. What does Wallraff mean when she says there are "several languages called
English"? Explain.
6. What influence does technology play in the globalization of English?
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. Wallraff opens her essay with the example of when the Pope addressed a
mixed group of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in English. Is English the new
language of diplomacy? Write a short essay exploring how the use of English
could improve or harm international communication.
2. Write an essay exploring what would happen if English did indeed become the
global language of choice. Would it change your life in any way? How could it
affect the lives of the next generation? Explain.
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English as a Global Language: A Good Thing
or a Bad Thing?
Keith Redfern
While some people feel that the globalization of English is a good thing, oth-
ers are not so certain. Both sides, however, generally concede that the English
language has become an essential means of communication in the areas of the
Internet, commerce, finance, education, and politics. Interestingly enough, the
United States and other English-speaking countries have not directly sought the
globalization of their language. In this next blog-style essay, author Keith Red-
fern explores the pros and cons of English as a global language.
Keith Redfern is a retired teacher and author who trained at Westminster
College, Oxford, England. He now lives in southwestern France. He has pub-
lished two works of nonfiction, many magazine articles, short stories, and a
novel. He is a writer for Helium, an online "knowledge co-operative" that pro-
motes the exchange of ideas supported by good writing. This essay appeared
on Helium.com.
, Whether we think it is a good thing or not, English has virtually become the global
language already, and not because an official decision was made. That is simply the
way it has developed. It is difficult to isolate where or when this began to happen,
but it probably has a lot to do with the world wide coverage of English language
movies, of English language television programs and English soccer.
However, hi story must play its part and, like it or not, it is a remnant in some
areas of a British colonial past. There are perhaps two threads to the development,
one geographi cal and the other related to areas of expertise. English became the
first language of North America once the English had gai ned dominance over the
French and Spanish in that continent's settlement. It naturally became the first lan-
guage of Australasia as its countries are members of the British Commonwealth.
Variants of English have grown up across the Pacific Ocean and in South East Asia
due to coloni zation, and the type of English which is taking shape over time in this
area is likely to be the one spoken by the most people in future decades. Further
north, in Japan and the Philippines, American influence led to English becoming a
common second language.
Britain's presence in the countries of southern Asia, an area which has hun-
dreds of native languages of its own, led to English becoming the common sec-
ond language throughout the subcontinent. English is probably the most commonly
taught second language in European schools, and so, as the European Union has
taken shape, although debates are translated into all members' languages, English
has become the most commonly shared language.
4 While the above geographical spread was taking place, in certai n areas of
study, English has become accepted as the common language of choice. In all areas
of medicine for example, our local doctors, dentists, surgeons and other special-
ists in France, all understand English and most medical journals are published in
English. In the skies, air traffic controllers speak English to each other. In many
major international sports, English is the common language of choice. And that is
the important phrase to use in this context-language of choice.
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s No international body has made a decision that English should become the
global language, but that is what seems to be developing. In France, where the
native language is protected like an endangered species, teenagers are learning
English as hard as they can, as they know it will be hard for them to find work, even
in their home country, without an ability to communicate in English.
s Some people may consider the global use of English is a bad thing for their
own languages. However, there is a feeling in many areas now that local languages
and native dialects should not be allowed to die out. A global use of English does
not imply that other languages are going to be lost.
7 What people speak in their own homes will not necessarily be the national
language of the country in which they live, and is certainly unlikely to be English,
except in particular parts of the world. Many children are growing up to be bilin-
gual, and their ability to learn languages, which is most easy at an early age, is
an enviable thing to many adults. Perhaps the children will have parents of mixed
languages-if so, being bilingual will become natural to them. They will learn at
school the national language of the country in which they live, and they will prob-
ably learn English as well.
a And so English is gradually becoming a global language, not because of deci-
sions to that effect, but because of choice. This is probably a good thing overall, as
it means that people of different races, religions and ethnic groups should be able
to understand each other more easily. That has got to be good for the future of the
world.
THINKING CRITICALLY
1. After reading Redfern's essay, what bit of information regarding the spread of
English surprised you the most, and why?
2. According to the author, why are so many people the world over choosing to
learn English?
3. Redfern notes that the spread of English is likely due to exportation of English-
language movies and television programs. What other media might also be
contributing to the widespread adoption of English?
4. Redfern concludes that the global spread of English "has got to be good for the
future of the world." Respond to his statement with your own viewpoint.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
1. Redfern shares some of the factors that contributed to the spread of English
and its influence around the world. Research how the English language has
evolved over time, and write an essay describing this evolution, connecting it to
the trends we are now seeing as a result of globalization. You may wish to refer
to the essays in the first chapter as you prepare your essay.
2. Write a brief essay in which you discuss why some countries are not as open-
minded about English or its advance.
3. Jitka Prikrylova, director of a Prague English-language school, said, "The world
has opened up for us, and English is its language." Brainstorm a list of the dif-
ferent ways that learning a foreign language can open up the world.
Mcuray 1 Lost m Amenca D'l
4. Redfern is a writer for Helium-an online writing site that propels good writing
to the top of lists and supports the exchange of ideas in a wide area of subjects.
Look up the discussions on the English language and language globalization
and write your own blog-style essay in which you answer the question posed by
Redfern's title: "English as a Global Language: A Good Thing or a Bad Thing?"
Lost in America
Douglas McGray
Speak two languages and you are bilingual. Speak only one? You must be
American. So goes the old joke. But globalization means that students can no
longer remain blissfully unaware of the world and cultures around them. Can
Americans open the classroom door, or will today's youth be unprepared to lead
tomorrow's world? And with the prominence of English, do we still need to learn
foreign languages anyway?
Douglas McGray is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy magazine and a
fellow at the New America Foundation, a think tank that examines political and
cultural issues. This essay appeared in the May-June 2006 issue of Foreign
Policy.
, Christina is a modern, multitasking, American 15-year-old-fiddling with her new
iPod, sassing the tall boy slouched beside her, and getting an impromptu lesson in
Filipino culture at an after-school program in Oakland, California. "I speak Tagalog
and Filipino," says the group's counselor, Michelle Ferrer, "two languages from the
Island where my family comes from." Christina is puzzled. "The Philippines is an
island?" she asks skeptically. Ferrer nods and Christina frowns. I thought it was in
China, she says. Ferrer tries not to laugh. "Girl, you thought I was Chinese?" she
teases gently. "No," Christina clarifies, "I thought the Philippines was a country in
China."
2 In California, where Christina lives, more than 1 in 4 of the state's residents
were born outside the United States. Schoolchildren speak more than 60 languages
at home. Globalization is everywhere you look. Here in Oakland, an 11-year-old
African-American boy has impressed international audiences with his uncanny
Chinese arias. In nearby Fruitvale, nearly 100,000 locals turned out last fall for
a Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebration. To the south, in Silicon Valley, a
Bollywood cineplex effortlessly sells out its Hindi screenings. A few blocks from
my San Francisco apartment, a shop that specializes in goods from Brazil (the area
around Goiania specifically) shares its block with a Vietnamese restaurant and
a yoga studio, where yuppies chant in Sanskrit as they bend and sweat; outside,
Caribbean reggaeton blares from the windows of Japanese tuner coupes.
3 But for all the changes globalization has brought to the average American kid's
cultural and commercial ecosystem, the average classroom has lagged far behind,
even in cosmopolitan California. Take foreign languages. In the late 1940s, more
than 90 percent of kids who studied a foreign language learned French, Spanish,
or Latin. At the end of the century, a radically different era, that figure remained