The varieties of modern English and how does this range affect teaching English as a foreign language

Introduction

It is obvious that English plays an important role in today’s’ world, according to and researchers such as Droeschel(2011), Crystal, (2003), Kachru and Nelson (2001) English is the most widely taught, read and spoken language in the world today. Kachru’s (1985) described a model of three circles of speakers of English: the Inner Circle (English as native language-UK, the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand); the Outer Circle (English as a second language- countries where English is part of the institution, including Singapore, India, and Malawi); and the Expanding Circle (English as a foreign language-countries like China, Japan, Greece, and Poland).  According to Crystal (2003), English is used by between 1.2 and 1.5 billion of people around the world. Not only English is taught in all these countries, but also it has become the key communication tool among the countries/people who do not share a first language. Such phenomenon has gained English the term of lingua franca- ‘English used as a contact language among speakers of different first languages’ (Jenkins, 2011, p104).  This article will briefly discuss how and why there are verities of modern English in the world and how it affects language teaching in different contexts.

Why there are varieties of modern Englishes in the world today?

Regarding how and why English has become a global language today, Crystal (2003) believed that there are geographical-historical, and socio-cultural reasons. A Geographical-historical reason is that the countries where British settlers settled (e.g. some parts of North America, Australia) or colonized (e.g. India, south Africa) in the 19th centuries. In a similar vine with Crystal’s reasons Droeschel (2011) explained that some other key factors that pushed English as a global language are the science and technology development in Britain during the 20th century; the USA as the leading world power in politics and science in 20th  and 21st centuries; development and globalization of economics, communication, business, entertainment, media and education around the world. In addition to the reason from the geographical-historical factor that English language has developed differences which distinguish it from the language of England, as Baugh and Cable (2013, p311) explained ‘in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, South Asia, and Canada, peculiarities of pronunciation and vocabulary have grown up that mark off national and areal varieties from the dialect of the mother country and from one another’. The majority of English language users today (both outer and the expanding circle of Kachru’s model of three circles) are none native English speakers who use English in multilingual contexts for varieties of purposes such as education, business, ‘reading knowledge for science and technical purposes’ (Kachru & Nelson, 2001, p13). Many words are borrowed from other languages and English language is became localized in many countries. According to Kachru and Nelson (2001) English language in some regions such as Africa and Asia where the local languages and cultures are ‘widely divergent’ from the native speakers have ‘their unique grammar innovations and tolerances, lexis, pronunciations, idioms, and discourse’ (p10) although their general usage of English language have much in common. Besides these cultural factors, English language itself is also changing by new inventions of technologies, internet, mass media and any kind of new products with their new names and functions as well (Crystal, 2003, Galloway & Rose, 2015).

The affects of varieties of English language on teaching

As English has become more localized in different communities around the world the varieties of English languages have taken ground (Matsuda & Friedrich, 2012), English language is no longer a communication tool only between NS (native English speakers) or between NNS (non-native English speakers) and NS, English is also used between NNS as a lingua franca for various purposes. Therefore, English language learners today need be prepared for the varieties Englishes in the international context. Mckay(2002) claimed that it has become the responsibilities of English language teachers for preparing students for such context(in Galloway &Rose, 2015, p 204). Nonetheless, in the pedagogical practices in most countries, the teaching materials and textbooks are based on the culture and norms of native English speaking countries and the native English speakers are prioritized for teaching. (Mckay2002). For example in countries like Japan, native speakers are highly required and hired in many English language teaching sectors (Galloway &Rose, 2015), and Ali (2009) explained that countries in middle east such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman ‘the English language classrooms/institutions/program can be seen as the locked office where only certain ‘privileged’ teachers can gain entry’ (p35) meaning native English teachers. However, as educationalists (Mckay2002, 2004, Holiday, 2009, Matsuda & Friedrich, 2012, Galloway &Rose, 2015) questioned the relevance of native-like proficiency for language learners in many parts of the world, because as discussed above majority of the language users do not necessarily need to use English with native speakers or share culture like native speakers. Some of the users may only need to learn English for business and use among the NNS, while some others learn English for passing a national English test for getting their science or medical degrees (which they studied and will use in their own languages for their works), or some learners especially young learners might not familiar with the content that is more native culture centered content in the textbooks. Therefore, the current English language teaching requires more relevant, appropriate to the needs of the learners, contextualized teaching approaches and materials yet allowing the learners to have opportunities to exposure to other cultures and language uses based on their needs (Galloway & Rose, 2015, Matsuda & Friedrich, 2012).

References：

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【作者簡介】仁增吉(1986-)，女，藏族，青海尖扎人，英语教学硕士(英国)，儿童教育硕士(菲律宾)。