Welcome Back to School!

Hi, my students,

Hope you're fine. Let's get started! I'm sure this school year will be full of new interesting and useful things for you.

Best wishes, L.A

Don't Be Shy in Improving Your English

 

I speak English too.

In this post we have invited a colleague of ours, Hyejeong Ahn from Monash University to share her thoughts about English as an international language.

In this era of globalization, English plays a central role in linking people who do not have a common language and enabling them to share their ideas and cultures. Traditionally, a good deal of emphasis in English language education has been placed on ESL/EFL students achieving native speaker standards of English.

However, native English teachers’ English as an ideal target for students to learn inevitably promotes the knowledge of the forms and functions of English that must be oriented to the usage from particular English speaking countries. It also reinforces the perception that all second-language speakers are incomplete or deficient in their communicative competence while striving for the target competence of idealized ``native speakers.” It is also misleading to view other, non-native speakers as deficient rather than different and show disrespect to such varieties and users.

Consequently, billions of bilingual speakers of English are always measured against the standard of a native English speaker and found to be ``incomplete” and ``deficient.” In addition, the imposition of an impossible target ― speaking like a native English speaker ― often leads to resentment and frustration in learners, instead of significantly improving their English proficiency.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban, KiMoon, a Korean English speaker, does not speak like a native English speaker. However, his intercultural communicative competency in English is greatly appreciated and recognized worldwide. According to the British Council’s statistics in 2007, nearly 80 percent of today’s communication in English takes place between billions of proficient bi- and multilingual speakers of the language. Many forms of English languages collectively called "Englishes," which have naturally arisen from the different linguistic and cultural needs of diverse groups of speakers, are used for international communication around the world.

English learners, therefore, also need to be exposed to and develop an awareness of a variety of English speakers in order to get the real sense of English speaking situations. If the goal of English language education is to help students convey their ideas and culture in English comfortably and effectively, it is vital for English teachers to promote nationwide intercultural communicative competence in English rather than aiming students to speak like ‘native English speakers’. English language educators and policy makers should stop insisting on monolingual and chauvinistic views which idealize ‘native speakers.’

Hyejeong Ahn is currently working as an Instructor in English as an International Language at the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She is also a Research Assistant at the Language and Society Centre School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and a PhD candidate.

We would love to hear your comments and experiences in learning English. Do you agree with Hyejeong's controversial view or not?

To get you started here is a clip found on You Tube which highlights the use of English as an international language - enjoy! 

 

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Bookmark | Email to Friend | Reply I am looking for collaborative opportunities for my high school students. I teach an English/Language Arts 9th grade class. We are from Louisiana, USA and will be back in session in August. # of Students: I am currently unsure of my schedule but on average I am assigned approximately 90 students per semester. Dates available: mid September to December and January to April. My class will be working with the following themes: We will be working on self-discovery themes Who we are? Where do we come from? Where are we going? Special request: I would like to participate on a collaborative wiki/blog and share online sites. Working with others on an online magazine is a great chance for collaboration. iEARN Collaboration Centre

The new school year is here, why not try something new this year?

This guide will get you started on 11 techy things all teachers can do.
This is a free guide written by Richard Byrne. This guide is intended to be a quick-start guide for teachers who would like to try using more technology in their classrooms, but just aren’t sure how or where to start.
For ideas on how the tools outlined in this guide can be used, please visit.