Why learn English ? Why can't Esperanto be the langua franca?
What next for English?
English is in for a turbulent future, the author of a book tells HARIATI AZIZAN.
QUEEN’S English faces pressure from complex international economic, technological and cultural changes, says language researcher David Graddol in his new book English Next.
As the global market opens up, the growing economic importance of languages such as Mandarin and Spanish is causing English to lose its place as the market's main lingua franca.
English is even losing its place as the main technological language as other less popular languages become more widespread on the Internet.
Present at the book launch were (from left) Liston, Graddol and British High Commissioner to Malaysia William Boyd McCleary.The landmark report, commissioned by the British Council, was launched at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre recently.
Speaking at a presentation for Malaysian educationists and English language officers from the Education Ministry, Graddol expounds how the language is under threat despite the growth in the number of English speakers around the world.
“The current enthusiasm for English in the world is closely tied to the complex process of globalism. Global English is still not a ‘done deal.’
“It is already possible to see another story unfolding in which present forms of globalisation give way to greater regionalism and more complex patterns of linguistic, economic and cultural power,” he says.
The rise of non English-speaking countries as economic powers such as India, China and South America and the widespread reach of the Internet are among the reasons English will be losing its place.
Statistics show that nearly 60% of primary schoolchildren now learn English in China while the total number of English speakers in China and India total up to 500 million people, exceeding the number of speakers from other parts of the world.
“The competitive advantage, which English has historically provided its acquirers (personally, organisationally, and nationally), will ebb away as English becomes a near-universal basic skill. The need to maintain the advantage by moving beyond English will be felt more acutely,” he adds.
As the book demonstrates, its changing role – as a universal basic skill instead of a foreign language – will keep English popular but only for a limited time.
British Council Malaysia director Gerry Liston concurs.
“English is, as ever, an important tool for operating on the world stage.
“But Graddol's research highlights that once everyone speaks English, companies will naturally look for employees who speak other major languages such as Mandarin or Spanish as well.”
Impact on methodology
This poses various implications for the teaching of English around the world.
The expansion of the international education market has put the English language as an important commodity under threat.
English Next attempts to describe this new phenomenon and explain the context in which it has emerged.
The English language teaching sector directly earns nearly £1.3bil (RM9.06bil) for the United Kingdom in invisible exports, and other education-related exports earn up to £10bil (RM 69.7bil) year.
The book identifies some of the challenges that will be created for the stakeholders in the global business of English.
As mentioned, one is the increasing demand for other international languages such as Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin.
However, the anticipation of possible shifts in demand provided by this study provides a basis for planning for stakeholders to meet the eventualities of a changing operating environment.
A review of education policies, for instance, is needed to meet this challenge.
“For Malaysia, the challenge for the younger generation is to acquire a higher level of English at earlier ages during the schooling system,” says Liston.
Many countries are introducing English into the primary curriculum as the demand for adult language learning classes decreases.
Consequently, retraining will be needed for English specialists as conventional teaching methodology will need to be reviewed to meet these changing needs of learners and new market conditions.
Graddol also suggests that although recent developments would impact native speakers most, everyone should be concerned, as the future development of English in the world is now a global issue.
He concludes that native English speakers, especially those in the UK, face a bleak economic future as they lose their competitive edge in the global market.
“Multilingual UK graduates are needed to compete with qualified multilingual young people from other countries who will have a bigger competitive edge over their British counterparts in global companies and organisations.
“Their best defence is in fact to learn other languages,” Graddol notes.
English Next can be downloaded (free of charge) at www.britishcouncil.org.my
What next for English?
English is in for a turbulent future, the author of a book tells HARIATI AZIZAN.
QUEEN’S English faces pressure from complex international economic, technological and cultural changes, says language researcher David Graddol in his new book English Next.
As the global market opens up, the growing economic importance of languages such as Mandarin and Spanish is causing English to lose its place as the market's main lingua franca.
English is even losing its place as the main technological language as other less popular languages become more widespread on the Internet.
Present at the book launch were (from left) Liston, Graddol and British High Commissioner to Malaysia William Boyd McCleary.The landmark report, commissioned by the British Council, was launched at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre recently.
Speaking at a presentation for Malaysian educationists and English language officers from the Education Ministry, Graddol expounds how the language is under threat despite the growth in the number of English speakers around the world.
“The current enthusiasm for English in the world is closely tied to the complex process of globalism. Global English is still not a ‘done deal.’
“It is already possible to see another story unfolding in which present forms of globalisation give way to greater regionalism and more complex patterns of linguistic, economic and cultural power,” he says.
The rise of non English-speaking countries as economic powers such as India, China and South America and the widespread reach of the Internet are among the reasons English will be losing its place.
Statistics show that nearly 60% of primary schoolchildren now learn English in China while the total number of English speakers in China and India total up to 500 million people, exceeding the number of speakers from other parts of the world.
“The competitive advantage, which English has historically provided its acquirers (personally, organisationally, and nationally), will ebb away as English becomes a near-universal basic skill. The need to maintain the advantage by moving beyond English will be felt more acutely,” he adds.
As the book demonstrates, its changing role – as a universal basic skill instead of a foreign language – will keep English popular but only for a limited time.
British Council Malaysia director Gerry Liston concurs.
“English is, as ever, an important tool for operating on the world stage.
“But Graddol's research highlights that once everyone speaks English, companies will naturally look for employees who speak other major languages such as Mandarin or Spanish as well.”
Impact on methodology
This poses various implications for the teaching of English around the world.
The expansion of the international education market has put the English language as an important commodity under threat.
English Next attempts to describe this new phenomenon and explain the context in which it has emerged.
The English language teaching sector directly earns nearly £1.3bil (RM9.06bil) for the United Kingdom in invisible exports, and other education-related exports earn up to £10bil (RM 69.7bil) year.
The book identifies some of the challenges that will be created for the stakeholders in the global business of English.
As mentioned, one is the increasing demand for other international languages such as Spanish, Arabic or Mandarin.
However, the anticipation of possible shifts in demand provided by this study provides a basis for planning for stakeholders to meet the eventualities of a changing operating environment.
A review of education policies, for instance, is needed to meet this challenge.
“For Malaysia, the challenge for the younger generation is to acquire a higher level of English at earlier ages during the schooling system,” says Liston.
Many countries are introducing English into the primary curriculum as the demand for adult language learning classes decreases.
Consequently, retraining will be needed for English specialists as conventional teaching methodology will need to be reviewed to meet these changing needs of learners and new market conditions.
Graddol also suggests that although recent developments would impact native speakers most, everyone should be concerned, as the future development of English in the world is now a global issue.
He concludes that native English speakers, especially those in the UK, face a bleak economic future as they lose their competitive edge in the global market.
“Multilingual UK graduates are needed to compete with qualified multilingual young people from other countries who will have a bigger competitive edge over their British counterparts in global companies and organisations.
“Their best defence is in fact to learn other languages,” Graddol notes.
English Next can be downloaded (free of charge) at www.britishcouncil.org.my
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