Page 252 - Beyond Methods

240 Ensuring social relevance
planning, learning, and teaching. Given the depth and breadth of the subject, I shall restrict my discussion in this chapter to the learn- ing and teaching of English as a national and international language. Within such a setting, I shall briefly focus on issues related to (a) the status of English as a global language, (b) the role of the home lan- guage in the learning and teaching of English, and (c) the use of ap- propriate teaching materials. As we discuss these issues, it will be- come fairly apparent that language pedagogy is closely tied up with power politics.
The Status of English as a Global Language
“A language achieves a genuinely global status,” observes David Crystal (1997), the author of English as a Global Language, “when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country.” En- glish has developed such a role. In the international arena, it has in- creasingly become the language of war and peace, science and tech- nology, commerce and communication. The advent of the Internet has only accelerated its spread, with more than 80 percent of home pages on the World Wide Web using English. At present, up to 380 million people speak English as their native language, up to 300 mil- lion speak it as their second language, and up to 1 billion speak it as a foreign language (Crystal, 1997). Thus, in its spread and use the English language is unrivaled in human history.
It is inevitable that a language of such spread and use will de- velop a large number of local varieties. There are several varieties of English even among those who speak it as native language: Ameri- can English, Australian English, British English, etc. And, within these, there are domestic variations. In the United States alone, for instance, there are regional variations found in areas such as Boston, New York, Texas, and the southern states, and ethnic variations such as African-American Vernacular English.
The non-native varieties of English include Indian English, Kenyan English, Nigerian English, Singaporean English, etc. All these varieties are rule-governed, that is, they are conditioned by phonological, syntactic, semantic, and rhetorical rules. They are used for intranational as well as international communication; more for the former than for the latter. Even when used outside their countries, they are used to communicate more with other non- native speakers than with native speakers. Besides, a number of non-native varieties have developed a rich body of literature and