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Response to Gil: The double danger of English as a global language

In ET 101, Jeffrey Gil suggested Australians needed to learn Asian languages – because not everyone speaks English. Meredith Stephens responds from Japan.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

Meredith Stephens
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Extract

Gil (2010) argues that Australia needs to develop proficiency in Asian languages and cultures in order to ‘pursue its interests’ (p. 54) in the region. One of the reasons is that although English is widely studied in Asia few speakers achieve proficiency. However this view is contrary to the way the status of English is perceived in at least one Asian society that will be discussed here, Japan.

Type
Original Article
Information
English Today , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 35 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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