LONG READ: What’s with the hubris of English?
Learning English, and learning through English in education, provides a means of distributing economic and social power in countries such as Malaysia, India and China. This can be seen as a method to ensure or elevate economic prosperity. Although this may be so, there have in the past been tensions where the English language may not have been taught in a suitable and proficient manner by its teachers within Malaysia (Hewings, 2012, p. 101), and that the role of English was of less importance for wider community use. The groups of English learners in Malaysia were motivated to question whether they were receiving a second rate education. Crucially, it was argued that English education in Malaysia can have the potential to threaten the credibility of its non elite groups, who were the groups who generally lived outside urban areas. This is in part be due to “...the unequal access to English-language education in Malaysia between urban and rural areas.” (Martin, 2012, p. 125). The role of English here can be disputed and contended by those who encounter it and live within grasp of its influence, causing an imbalance of the mutual linguistic coexistence.
The economic value of English has been known to Malaysia for decades. This is evident in the way that its geographical neighbour, Singapore, lead the way in brandishing the role and use of English. Singapore used English as a “...unifying medium…” (Crystal, 2003, p. 57) successfully and demonstrated a multilingual coexistence since the 1950s. With that in mind, “...English provides the means for such countries to extend into regional markets.” (Graddol, 2000, p. 61). Significantly, Malaysia’s economic goal is fundamentally bound by the role of English and English language education, although the debatable likelihood for change in opinions towards English has arguably been fuel for tension, as has previously been evident in Malaysia. In the 1980s and 1990s Malaysia saw extraordinary economic growth but there were concerns that without the use of English the growth they had experienced may plateau. To overcome this issue the Malaysian government promoted the use of English as a medium of teaching and allowed foreign and private universities to be set up teaching in English. The aim of this was for English to become a foundation for multinational business enterprises to launch, ensuring the continued economic growth desired. As a result, wealthier families in the communities who could afford private education which incidentally taught in English. The poorer families who could not afford this went to public schooling, where funds were subsidised, which predominantly taught in Malay. This resulted in gaps growing in the Malaysian communities. The controversy behind this is that individuals or groups communicating in English can be contended by others and regarded as elitist or attempting to attain a social prestige. This could arguably be at the risk of losing focus of their social identity in the eyes of the non English speakers, therefore causing a mockery of the individuals or group and the English language as a whole. Moreover, this could ultimately become the root of “...an imbalance in educational opportunities and success.” (Hewings, 2012, p. 99).
In 2002 the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, set an English policy in motion by which primary schools were to use English as the medium for teaching science and mathematics. As a consequence this unfortunately had a detrimental effect on the trust in English as the method of teaching. It was determined that “Malay children’s performance in maths had declined over a three-year period” (Hewings, 2012, p. 100). Although English as a language in itself is of a high status globally and according to Malaysian education entities its advantages are many, it is important to understand that the faults lay with English trained teachers being of an inadequate standard. They were unable to effectively carry out the policy placed upon them and they had little faith that the language policy would remain. As a result of these, the multilingual coexistence became rocky due to the conflicting feelings derived from the observed failings of the role of English and the aforementioned language policy. This saw unrest and protest in the country as the newspaper headline below in Figure 1.0 shows (Hewings, 2012, p. 101). Hence, a cross cultural and national communication tension presented itself.
Figure 1.0 A newspaper headline on the dispute with teaching science and mathematics using English in Malaysian schools
This example of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Malaysia demonstrates some of the political issues surrounding the role of English. These are strong advantages and evident disadvantages, and it is therefore simultaneously valued and distrusted. Looking at the evidence, English cannot be regarded as neutral in Malaysia.
What is significant though is that English is used as a lingua franca in politics, economics and education between the Malays and others in the global setting, and these are supported by language policies that are intrinsically subjected to power relation issues.There is a “...growing perception that English is now the world’s lingua franca…” (Seargeant, 2012, p. 30). The role of English in global communities, and their dissimilar social groups, brings them together via this important form of communication. Said communication in todays electronic era can be effortless and shatters the time and space barriers of the past. Increasingly, people from very different backgrounds and distant geographical locations are communicating instantly via the internet, and English as a lingua franca is an ideal tool to facilitate this. This demonstrates the potential for English as a lingua franca to support the rise of English towards a globalised language.
Globalisation is “...the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale, widely considered to be at the expense of national identity.” (Oxford English Dictionary). By this definition it is feasible to see that there are political benefits and drawbacks to using a global language. In this case the loss of identity by using English as a global language can develop a perceived threat to social and national distinctiveness when allowing it to become of more importance and more practicality than a country’s own vernacular. This highlights again that the role of English is a political issue.
Globalisation is a complicated phenomenon that is subject to heavy debate. One could consider that the role of English and globalisation are historically linked to the British Empire’s colonial period. This period fundamentally saw the spread English throughout the world, outwards from the British Isles. Thus, some countries associate this with current states of affairs regarding the use and role of English. This in itself “...has meant that the language can become a very politicised issue in certain contexts.” (Seargeant, 2012, p. 24). This anachronistic view by some groups regarding the role of English can be used to support their case against it. However, that view is a thing of the past, and is in no way adequate when used in a dispute over the use and status of English today in a global, progressive setting. Even more so now, as the continued modern spread of English has been supported in its use by a global superpower, the USA.
Globalisation is commonly linked to economics and political power, but this is not the whole picture. Language within globalisation is a means of communication on an international scale. This can range from corporations to international organisations to popular culture to the use of English for tourism throughout the world. With this, the threat to identity arises again with the spread of English and in particular the status of English in its geographical setting. The people of Finland use English at work and at home as a foreign language and there is evidence in a national survey that Finnish people downgrade their view of English and claim that they are monolingual. They also do not regard English as a threat to the national languages used in Finland, however they then agree that English destroys, or is a threat to other languages in the world. With that, Finnish people believe that English somehow threatens other languages but not their own. This confirms that English is used in various ways and is needed and valued and also that the view of English is a complicated one. It also demonstrates that the role of English is not just political as stated in the title; it also concerns the very identity of a population.
Much in the same way that the role of English can never be neutral in Malaysia, spoken English in a globalisation context can never be fully standardised. The language can be codified in grammars and dictionaries, but it can never cope with new discoveries or inventions. Moreover, subtle diversities develop through language in and around the countries from which spoken English has been established. These diversities cannot effectively be restricted or standardised, as “...English continues to shift and develop within England itself.” (Beal, 2012, p. 49) let alone in that of the global setting. The risk of the English language over diversifying is a threat to its own success in this case. A language must develop a special role, written or otherwise, in its harbouring countries to gain trust and overcome the fears and tensions from its users. Spoken English is characterised by diversity and is not free from linguistic contaminants, such as regional dialects, pidgins and creoles for example, and as such is subsequently open to undergo constant change. It can be seen as a hybrid language very quickly unless measures are taken to regulate this. The concern here is that the language may diversify so much that it may inevitably become unusable with its current global role and position.
Mass entertainment industries add to the strength and role of English in the global setting. They have a worldwide affect and gain support from large audiences. Importantly, the economic dominance of the “...English-language motion picture industry is currently unchallenged.” (Allington, 2012, p. 235) by any other global language. Therefore, what is significant is that these industries, in themselves, further develop and spread English. Consequently, entertainment industries that use English ultimately add to the further global spread of English as a language. The dispute that can arise here is that role of English, on an international scale, is another cause of cultural identity loss, leading to a problematic viewed value of the further spread of English through entertainment industries.
According to Seargeant, “...English has emerged to occupy its current prominent position in global society…” (Seargeant, 2012, p. 6) and Crystal, “the position of English as a global language is going to become stronger.” (Crystal, 2003 p. 27). There runs the risk of English becoming internationally confusing unless standardisation through dictionaries and grammars can become more effective and authoritative. Therefore, other methods need be incorporated to maintain a set standard for English as a language to use in the global context, to ensure its continuation as an important language associated to globalisation. A proven test by the British Council’s International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a method currently in use today with the aim of setting the standard for English language use around the world.
The IELTS essentially supports the steady progression of English as a global language and an important benefit of this is standardising of the English used around the world to reduce the threat of over diversifying. Annually, this test is taken by people from over a hundred countries globally and the total number of tests can exceed a million in one year (IELTS, 2013). This is generally a test taken with the aim of entering education, or higher education in an English speaking environment. According to the British Council, the IELTS is a “...valid and reliable indicator of true to life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation.” (IELTS, 2011). This form of testing supports the use and role of English as a global lingua franca and therefore the continued international merging of English worldwide. Some international universities have eligibility criteria standards set against an IELTS score, and international students wishing to study at these establishments in some cases must undertake this . The University of Melbourne, Australia, for example use IELTS “...to determine what level of English language proficiency is required…” (IELTS, 2011) and base their policy for eligibility criteria on it. As per the university policy, international students must complete the test to become eligible for study at the university. Here one can see that the role of English goes beyond the statement in the title of this article.
The advantage to this is that international universities can use the world’s proven English language test to support decisions on accepting students. The IELTS can be regarded as authoritative and suitable and with the sheer numbers of not only the organisations who trust the outcome, but also the entrants who use it on an international scale. The test attempts to negate the threat of international students having too diverse a language ability levels which can cause inter-classroom disputes or confusion, inevitably adding to tension on the role of English. What is of importance though is that there can be “...serious flaws in the interpretation and use of test scores…” (Crikey, 2011). Considering the influential nature of the outcome of this test, these observed flaws can cast doubt over the credibility of the IELTS and it has been argued that it does not entirely cover the full factors in other contexts. This is brought to light in the IELTS Handbook, which encourages organisations to take into account “...age and motivation, educational and cultural background, first language and language learning history.” in their own interpretation of the test results. Therefore the actual assessment performance becomes subjective and open for debate and as such, so does the University of Melbourne’s entrance policy. It is then arguable that the IELTS can be considered less valid, less reliable and less secure on their suggestion of proficiency in the English language.
Language skills and intercultural understanding amongst not just pupils but also teachers in the European Union (EU) can be enhanced, thus an attempt to facilitate this has been met by the EU with the creation of the European action scheme for mobility of university students (ERASMUS). ERASMUS and COMENIUS, who focus on schools and local authorities cooperation across Europe, are both programmes which aim to further enhance teaching and promote learning. Additionally, content and language integrated learning (CLIL) promotes targeted learning of a second or third language to “...improve overall oral communication skills and language awareness…” (Hewings, 2012, p. 106) in Europe. CLIL is regarded “...as a means of teaching English through study of a specialist content.” (Graddol, 2006, p. 86), such as geography. All of these programmes share a commonality whereby they each use English as the most common lingua franca. This adds further apprehension and heat to the argument that other languages are assuming negative value and losing out at the expense of English on an international scale. All three of these programmes are in use in Finland today and all three programmes have the benefit of reducing the threat of diversity in the English used.
A published online journal (Latomaa, 2002) discusses how English in Finland has taken an increasing foothold alongside the national languages. Although “The national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish.” (Ministry of Justice, 2003), and English is regarded here as a foreign language, it is progressively looking more like a second language. Furthermore “...English is also the foreign language Finns think they know best.” (Statistics Finland, 1999, in Latomaa, 2002, p.161). The effects of globalisation is now developing within Finnish society and the role of English is pushing Finland towards internationalisation. With that, CLIL has rapidly developed in Finnish education and this aligns with the future need of English in Finland. Business, media and science relations depend on the role of English within Europe and internationally, and as such “Foreign-language teaching has been a priority area of Finnish educational policy for a long time” (Latomaa, 2002). The need for foreign languages is evident with all small countries, such as Finland, with a focus on English in a globalising world. Some could argue that English is only one language associated with prosperity internationally, that Spanish & Chinese in other parts of the world, for example, are of value. Having said that, English is developing in a more accentuated manner than that of any other in Finland in its linguistic history.
Another drawback to allowing English to take hold, or in the case of Finland continue to develop, is domain loss. In particular in the field of science, for example, with some science researchers writing only in English and not Finnish for their findings. Finnish will become of less value to the scientific world at the expense of English should this continue. According to Latomaa “...the language of instruction in basic education at the beginning of the 1990s was the starting point for a gradual language shift.” (Latomaa, 2002) which adds to the criticism over the rapid growth of CLIL in Finland. Here, the risk of English diversifying is still present. In CLIL, the opportunity for subtle changes starts with how it is labelled by educationalists, for example ‘international class’, ‘bilingual education’, and ‘language shower’. Labelling CLIL variously is only the beginning. Considering how long students are exposed to CLIL, teacher competency levels, subject choice and the materials used can all vary, a non standard outcome is possible.
The role of English is a political issue, interconnected with globalisation, which is highlighted by learning English and learning through English. Looking at the evidence, both the status and form of English can continuously change. This is producing a great deal of debate about the role of English, creating an uncertain future. English serves as a useful tool for global communication, with politically important outcomes, such as a globalised language. With globalisation comes the risk of killing off languages, as well as allowing one language to occupy a growing number of language domains and having adverse effects on cultural identities. Only time can tell whether the hubris of English can defend itself against extinction, especially when being viewed sceptically by those who's security is at risk from its successes.
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