Even when language mandates are implemented with care and forethought, negative emotional and organizational dynamics can still arise. But their power to derail careers and company work can be significantly mitigated by adequately preparing people and systems for the change. Here are steps that companies can take to manage English-only policies.
Before a company introduces a global English policy, leaders should make a persuasive case for why it matters to employees and the organization. Employees must be assured that they will be supported in building their language skills. Companywide cultural-awareness training will help nonnative speakers feel heard and valued. Leaders should rally workers behind using English to accomplish goals, rather than learn it to meet proficiency standards.
English As A Global Language
Nonnative speakers have a responsibility to comply with the global English policy and to refrain from reverting to their mother tongue, even in informal meetings or communications. More-aggressive actions that exclude or ostracize native speakers, such as scheduling meetings at inopportune times, should be strongly discouraged.
Mikitani focused his personal attention on middle managers because he knew that collectively they could influence thousands of employees. He encouraged them to constantly improve their own language skills and even offered to teach them English himself if need be. (Nobody took him up on the offer.) He also encouraged managers to support their subordinates in their efforts to develop their language proficiency.
Because a language transformation is a multiyear process whose complexity far exceeds most other change efforts, it is crucial to maintain employee buy-in over time. At Rakuten, the now-English intranet regularly features employee success stories with emphasis on best practices for increasing language competence. Companywide meetings are also held monthly to discuss the English-language policy.
Founded in 1996, EF English Live has been at the cutting edge of language learning for nearly two decades, having been the first to pioneer a 24-hour teacher-led online English course . Backed by a world-class team of academic and technical experts, plus two thousand certified online English teachers, our mission is to use technology to create a fundamentally better way to learn English.
This book explores authenticity as it relates to second language acquisition with a focus on the instruction of English as a foreign language. It discusses the theoretical issues surrounding authenticity and presents it as a complex dynamic construct that can only be understood by examining it from social, individual and contextual dimensions.
Most people consider English to be a global language because it is the one language that is spoken and understood by the majority of the population in almost every region of the world. What is a global language? While there is no official definition, it refers to a language that is learned and spoken internationally by native and second language speakers (Mastin, 2011). There are approximately 360 million native English speakers and almost twice as many speaking it as a second language, making English one of the topmost spoken languages in the world (Klappenbach, 2019). English is undoubtedly in just about every sector whether it is in education, medicine, business, technology, tourism, communication, and so on. It is perhaps this worldwide acceptance and usage of the English language that propels it as an extremely essential global language.
English is an important and useful language to know when traveling. Speaking English enhances your traveling experience in a multitude of ways. Not only will you be able to speak English with native English speakers, but you will also be able to communicate with travelers from other countries and enjoy a greater sense of independence. This will allow you to learn about new cultures, meet new people, and build everlasting friendships from all around the world. Being able to communicate in English facilitates traveling in many ways possible, whether it is for booking, ordering food, asking for directions, etc. While traveling in India, I took tours in both English and Spanish. I noticed that the English tours offered more than Spanish tours. I recall having to translate for a Spanish speaking tourist while traveling in Egypt and also asking for directions when I got lost in Amsterdam! Regardless of the country, you are traveling into, notice that all flight crew, the majority of cruise line workers, and airport staff speak English. The advantages of being able to communicate in English are endless.
English gives you access to entertainment, media, and the internet world. Most of the top films and music are produced in English while popular books are published also in English. I can relate to this in numerous ways. I have friends in France who speak very little English but can easily recite the lyrics to famous English songs. Similarly, while I was teaching English as part of my volunteer work in Central America, I would often utilize teaching aids such as the radio, movies, and so forth since most of my students had already been exposed to these English sources. Additionally, on all of my visits to movie theaters in foreign countries, I keenly remember that I've always had the option of watching my desired movie in English, which luckily also happened to be the cheaper option. The internet is a valuable tool we use daily and English is the language of the internet, as you may have noticed most websites we visit are often displayed in the English language. English also plays a huge part in the news media. Journalists and writers around the world are now making it a priority to speak good English as they find this to be an indispensable skill to have in their careers. The English language makes it possible for us to stay connected with everything going on in the world around us today.
This is a thought provoking and engaging investigation of English language education in China. It links English language education to important contemporary issues such as globalisation and draws on an impressive array of sources. Jeffrey Gil, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
A fascinating and insightful look at the role of English in modern-day Chinese society, and of the dynamic relationship between globalisation and the politics of language teaching. Philip Seargeant, the Open University, UK
In sociolinguistics, a world language (sometimes global language,[1] rarely international language[2][3]) is a language that is geographically widespread and makes it possible for members of different language communities to communicate. The term may also be used to refer to constructed international auxiliary languages such as Esperanto.[4]
One definition proffered by Congolese linguist Salikoko Mufwene is "languages spoken as vernaculars or as lingua francas outside their homelands and by populations other than those ethnically or nationally associated with them".[7] Linguist Mohamed Benrabah equates the term world language with what Dutch sociologist Abram de Swaan refers to as "supercentral languages" in his global language system.[8] Spanish sociolinguist Clare Mar-Molinero proposes a series of tests that a language needs to pass, relating to demographics, attitudes towards the language, and political, legal, economic, scientific, technological, academic, educational, and cultural domains.[9]
Academic consensus is that English is a world language, with some authors such as British linguists David Crystal and David Graddol going so far as to consider it the only one. Authors who take a pluralist approach nevertheless consider English to inhabit a unique position as the foremost world language; for instance, in Abram de Swaan's global language system, English is the sole occupant of the highest position in the hierarchy: the hypercentral language.[8] According to German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon [de], "[t]here is virtually no descriptive parameter or indicator for the international or global rank of a language which, if applied to today's languages worldwide, does not place English at the top".[13] Ammon and Mufwene both posit that what sets English apart as the foremost world language is its use as a lingua franca,[14][15] whereas Crystal focuses on its geographical distribution.[16]
French has been described as a world language due to its status as a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system,[8] and Salikoko Mufwene characterizes it as such based on it being spoken as a lingua franca or vernacular by people neither ethnically nor nationally associated with it outside of France.[7]
Russian has been categorized as a world language on the grounds of being a supercentral language in de Swaan's global language system,[8] and is characterised as a world language by Salikoko Mufwene on the grounds that it is used as a vernacular or lingua franca outside of Russia by non-Russians.[7]
How far has English already spread? How much further can we expect it to go? In response to the first question, this chapter tries to identify the areas of life where English already serves as a lingua franca in the world (more or less) and those where the language faces sharp competition and does not threaten to marginalize the other major languages. The former areas of life are international safety, the internal business of international organizations, internal communication within the international news industry, international sports and science. The latter areas are the press, television, the internet, publishing and international trade. As to the second question, about the future prospects of English, the chapter argues that the advance of English will depend heavily on the motives to learn the other major languages in the world as well. Based on the empirical evidence, the same model applies to the incentives to learn English and these other languages. On the important topic of welfare, the cultural market is the single one where it is arguable that the progress of English has gone too far. English dominance in the song, the cinema and the best-seller is indeed extraordinary and difficult to reconcile with the evidence of strong popular attachments to home languages, which is otherwise apparent. 2ff7e9595c
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