Why global English may mean the end of
‘English as a Foreign Language’
This book explores some very recent trends in the use of English
worldwide and its changing relationships with other languages. It
builds on the analysis given in a report David Graddol wrote for the British Council
in 1997 called The Future of English?
CONTENTS:
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION 9
KEY TRENDS 14
PART ONE: A WORLD IN TRANSITION 16
Introduction: From modernity to postmodernity 18
Section 1: Demography 23
The global population 24
Changing age structure 26
People movement 28
Demography trends 30
Section 2: Economy 31
The rise of the BRICs 32
Globalisation, ITO and BPO 34
The knowledge economy 36
The redistribution of poverty 38
Economy trends 40
Section 3: Technology 41
Communications technology 42
Language on the internet 44
News media 46
Technology trends 48
Section 4: Society 49
An urban, middle class future 50
Social cohesion 52
The growing gap 54
Society trends 56
Section 5: Languages 57
The triumph of English 58
The world languages system 60
English challenged 62
Languages trends 64
A transitional stage 65
Part one references 67
PART TWO: EDUCATION 68
Introduction: The educational revolution 70
Section 1: Higher Education 73
The globalisation of universities 74
International student mobility 76
Transnational education 78
Higher education trends 80
Section 2: Learning English 81
Which model? 82
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) 86
English as a lingua franca (ELF) 87
English for young learners (EYL) 88
Overview of models 90
English in Europe 92
English as an Asian language 94
The ‘World English Project’ 96
The rise in demand 98
If the project succeeds. . . 100
Part two references 103
PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS 104
Introduction: Global English as an innovation 106
Who is a native speaker? 110
Section 1: Policy implications 111
A new hegemony of English 112
The native speaker problem 114
Protecting local languages and identities 116
Beyond English 118
Managing the change 120
The economic advantage ebbs away 122
Part three references 124
a note on methodology 125
READING LIST 126
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 127
FIGURES AND TABLES 128
