Тhe context of language teaching

1. the context of language teaching

The teaching of second and foreign languages is a major international enterprise. The current status of English has turned a significant percentage of the world’s population into part-¬time users or learners of English. The widespread need for English as a second or foreign language puts a considerable pressure on the educational resources of many countries. Problems relating to the teaching of English are discussed the world over. These range from practical questions concerning curriculum, meth-odology, and testing to more theoretical questions concerning the nature of second and foreign language learning and the role of cognitive and affective variables in the acquisition process. In this chapter, we will survey the nature and scope of English language teaching and consider the ways in which the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) deals with the practical realities of language teaching.

Uses and functions of English around the world

English as a mother tongue

English can be described as the mother tongue or First language of over 45 percent of the population in 10 countries; ranked according to great» est percentage of speakers of English these are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, jamaica, Trinidad, the United States, Canada, and Guyana (Fishman et al. 1977). In English-speaking countries like these, English is not spoken in an identical manner, how- ever. Different varieties or dialects of English exist, reflecting such factors as a person’s degree of education, ethnic group, social class, or geo- graphicai location. A dialect may be distinguished by differences of vocabulary or grammar, but differences in pronunciation are generally its most recognizable feature and determine the speaker’s accent, that is, the way his or her dialect is pronounced. The variety of English that is recognized by speakers of English as being the “correct” way of speaking, that is used as the basis for written English, and that is the variety generally used to teach English to those learning it as a second or foreign language is referred to as Standard English.

2. English as a second language (ESL)

In many countries a language that is not the mother tongue of the majority of the population may still function as an official language, that is, as the sole or rnajor language of law, government, education, business, and the media. In countries Where English has these functions it is usually referred to as a second language. English is an official (and hence second) language in Botswana, Cameroon, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawai, Malta, Mauritius, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Uganda, Western Samoa, and Zambia.

When English functions as a second language, that is, where it is used alongside other languages but is commonly the most important language of education, government, or business, it is often regarded by its users as a local rather than a foreign language (Richards 1979). Conse- quently, it is spoken in ways that mark its local status. Thus in countries like India, Nigeria, and Singapore people refer to their variety of English as Nigerian English, Indian English, or Singaporean English. These are legitimate varieties of English with a greater total number of users than the varieties of English spoken in countries where English is considered a native language (L. E. Smith 1981; Kachru i982). They often serve as vehicles for the expression of literature and creative writing. in their Written forms they are close to standard British or American English, but their spoken forms may be quite distinctive.

3. English as a foreign language (EFL)

In countries where English is not an official language it may still have a significant role to play. It may be an important school subject and it may be necessary to pass an examination in English to enter a university.

It may be the language of certain courses at a university, or at least of a large percentage of the students’ textbooks. It may be needed for people who Work in tourism, business, and for some sections of the civil service. In countries where English has these functions, such as China, Japan, France, Germany, Mexico, Israel - that is, all those countries where English is not regarded as a second language - English is described as a foreign language.

In EFL countries, as they are sometimes referred to, English is in-creasingly the first foreign language studied at school or college. In China,

English has replaced Russian as the most commonly studied foreign language. In many South American countries, it is replacing French as a foreign language in schools. In addition, over 50 percent of the world’s non-English-speaking foreign students study in English speaking coun-tries. This has led to a greater need for English to be taught at the higher levels of education in EFL countries.

4. The language of the world’s written information

Increasingly English is becoming the major international language of printed information. A great deal of the world’s scientific, commercial, economic, and technological knowledge is written and published in English, though the writers may be Chinese, Swedes, or Italians. Publication in English ensures the widest possible readership for new findings and ideas. English is also an important language for the dissemination of news around the world. International newspapers, such as the Inter-national Herald Tribune - which is published in France, in English are widely read and distributed. International news magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, have the majority of their readers in countries where English is not a mother tongue. In countries like China, japan, and Indonesia, where the national language is not widely known outside the country, English-language newspapers are often used to present the official view of national and international events to the world.

5. A lingua franca

Finally, we must consider the function of English as a common language, or lingua franca, that is, a language that permits people who have no common language to communicate. Because English is widely taught or used as a second or foreign language, Japanese and German businessmen who meet, for example, use English as their business language. When Swedish tourists visit Italy, their travel language is English; when French tourists visit Bali, their hotel language is English. And English is the language that the English-speaking

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