EPIC: English for purposes of international communication

Perhaps the most dramatic development that has taken place in the field of English language teaching in my lifetime has been the shift in its primary function: from being mainly the language of nations such as the UK or USA or an intra-national means of communication in countries that were formerly colonies of English-speaking countries, such as India or the Philippines, to being mainly a means of international communication. English today is primarily used worldwide in a variety of spheres of activity: professional or business interactions, study and research, travel and tourism, entertainment, personal relationships, and more. The number of speakers of English whose first language (L1) is another language already vastly exceeds that of those whose L1 is English, and the gap will only widen in the foreseeable future. For most of its learners, English is therefore no longer a foreign language (i.e., one that is owned by a particular ‘other’ nation or community) but first and foremost an international language: one that has no particular national owner. This development has brought with it a number of changes in the principles and practice of English language teaching.

Pause for thought

How many of the people you have spoken or written to in English recently spoke the language as their L1, and how many were speakers of other languages, using English as a means of communication?

Comment

The answer to this will depend of course on where you are living as you read this; but unless you live in an English-speaking country, it is likely that most people you interact with in English are bi- or multilingual speakers using it as an additional language.

There are several implications of this development.

The variety of English to be taught

A question which many teachers used to ask was: ‘Which English should I teach: British or American?’ This is no longer a relevant question, unless the students are learning the language specifically in order to study, work or live within one of the (American or British) English-speaking communities. In the vast majority of situations, this is not so: English is being taught instead for purposes of international communication.