Jundong Ma
Just as Lee (2016) described in the paper “Everywhere You Go, You See English!”: Elderly Women’s Perspectives on Globalization and English, as an Asian country, China also faces the same dilemma as Korea. In the 1990s, globalization began to sweep the whole world. Here is a short video that explains the procedure.
Countries started collaborating with one another during the globalization movement in both the technical and commercial spheres. Language also began to expand at the same time. English became a lingua franca since the United States and Great Britain dominated the global economy and English is their native tongue. English has been made a required course in Chinese classrooms in order to keep up with the globalization trend, and those who speak the language fluently may be considered “well-educated” individuals. Although globalization and the English learning boom brought many advantages, they also gave rise to numerous social issues.
On the one hand, Chinese people accept that globalization is necessary and that it can benefit China in many ways (job possibilities, technological advancement, capital inflow, etc.); on the other hand, many underprivileged Chinese people are left behind during the process. Elderly persons, members of the working class with low incomes, and youngsters with limited access to English instruction may find it difficult to keep up with the changes in the world because they are unable to grasp anything written in English. Sometimes they can even question why they are required to study a foreign language in their own nation. When I worked as an intern teacher during my undergraduate program, I saw that some students lacked the drive to learn English, but due to globalization’s quick expansion, they were forced to do so in order to keep up with the times and enrol in a reputable university. Therefore, to some extent, globalization disrupted the social ecology of several developing nations, and the English language started to cause problems for the locals.
In the end, I want to say that this is of great educational significance to us for it reminds us that, as a researcher, you cannot only pay attention to privileged groups, you have to think of those underprivileged people at the same time.
Questions:
What can we do to strike a balance between English learning boom and the safeguarding of local languages in developing nations?
References:
Lee, J. S. (2016). “Everywhere you go, you see English!”: Elderly women’s perspectives on globalization and English. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 13(4), 1–32. https://doi-org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/10.1080/15427587.2016.1190654
Explainitychannel. (2013, July 11). Globalization explained (explainity® explainer video) [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ0nFD19eT8
Hi Jundong!
I think with the rise in social media, more and more people worldwide are faced with this English predominance. Because globalisation is still quite recent many middled-age and elderly people, as well as those who live outside the cities, have not had the chance to learn English growing up. Also, even though it is useful to have a common language across the world, English was never elected as lingua franca but was rather imposed as a result of colonisation. And this is why places like Quebec are trying to limit the discrimation against workers who do not speak English by making French the only official language.
-Marina Koutsis
Thanks for your comment Marina, it really inspires me! Now I understand why the Quebec government encourages people to speak French because it works as a protection mechanism for local culture and local language. I think other countries can learn this strategy from the Quebec government and try to strengthen their own language advantage as well.
Jundong Ma
Hi Marina!
Thanks for your comment. It really inspires me! Now I understand why the Quebec government encourages people to speak French because it works as a protection mechanism for local culture and local language. I think other countries can learn this strategy from the Quebec government and try to strengthen their own language advantage as well.
Jundong Ma
Hello Jundong,
In my capacity as a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) assessor, I have been assessing the language proficiency of refugees and newcomers to Canada, including Chinese elderly people. More often than not, a lot of Chinese elderly, score Pre-benchmark in the four communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Their desire to learn English for settlement and integration is highly commendable. I have also noticed that educated test-takers from China excel more in reading and writing.
Regards,
Albert
Hi Albert,
Your observation is very accurate. Educated test-takers from China excelling more in reading and writing is closely associated with China’s education policy. When teaching English, Chinese L2 teachers tend to pay most attention towards reading and writing aspects, and they usually ignore the importance of English oral speaking. Frankly speaking, I also paid little attention to English speaking when I was in China until I came to Montreal to take my MA program. Here I made many foreign friends and practised English every day and my English speaking gradually improved.
Jundong Ma