Fea s and Hopes: Globaliza ion and The Teaching o The
In e na ional Auxilia y Language
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
While i is
a
amilia phenomenon o one language o se e
as a lingua anca o e a la ge á ea o many languages, o
example, Sansk i , G eek, La ín, A able, and F ench, wha is
unusual, howe e , Is ha ne e be o e has a single language
sp ead o such pu poses o e mos o he wo ld as English has
done in his cen u y. This a icle examines
he
ea s and hopes
associa ed wi h he globaliza ion o he o emos In e na ional
auxilia y language, namely English, and ecoun s i s main
implica ions o language eache s and he class oom.
As we nea he yea 2000, poli ical scien is s speak o a "New Wo ld
O de ". Many d ama ic changes ha e happened in ema ionally. Who would
ha e d eam ha he I on Cu ain would come down so quickly? The end o
he Cold Wa and he elaxa ion o Eas -Wes ensions a e unse ling na ional
s abili ies in se e al coun ies. E en he Uni ed Na ions is inally gaining
p ominence in wo ld e en s. I may be obse ed ha wi h he Ea h Summi
in Rio de Janei o in B azil in 1992, he wo ld mo ed owa ds a s onge
acknowledgemen o i global ini ude. A his poin o ime, i is ob ious
ha globalism has no as ye assume anscendency since na ionalism is s ill
he banne which e e y coun y s ill asc ibe o. Howe e , while global
hinking is ce ainly no new, i is gaining ecogni ion and accep ance. And
while na ionalism has adi ionally been a dominan o cé in social iden i y, i
is losing s eng h. Jus as en i onmen alis s encou age people o hink
globally and ac locally, coun ies a e beginning o juggle global concems
wi h na ional issues.
Suddenly, he ise o he big blue ma ble as he backd op o ele isión
news,
as he logo o in ema ional con e ences, spo s e en s and comme cial
en e p ise is discemible in e e y come . Whe he we ealise i o no , i has
become he icón o he age. This wo ld icón has come o ep esen a sign o
symbol ha no only deno es a se o ideas pe aining o globalism bu also
conno es, a one p ecise s ike, such emo ions as e e ence, con ic ion and
inspi a ion.
Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos
N^
4
(1997) 81
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
Un il he second wo ld wa , he alles buildings in any ci y o own
p o ided s a k wi ness o he leading belie sys ems. Fo many yea s,
chu ches we e p obably he alles buildings in any own. Only in he las
ew decade, ha e banks and o ice buildings come o domína e he u ban
landscape. The wes e n wo ld has mo ed h ough a a ie y o eligious,
emo ional and social mindse . In he wes e n wo ld, Ch is iani y has long
been he dominan mind se . Fo many cen u ies, he e was a pe asi e
use o c osses and o he eligious symbols. The e a e, o cou se, people
who s ill con inué o make he sign o he c oss and wea c osses ound
hei necks bu his is no longe ashionable. A mo e p edominan symbol
since he 1950's has been he igh ening and a alis ic image o he
mush oom-shaped cloud o he a omic bomb. An a omic mush oom has
consis en ly, i no consciously, uled In e na ional ela ions and
s imula ed pe sonal ea s. Foliowing his and pe haps as a esul o he
e o , o an e o o coun e mand ha deep ea , we ha e jus comple ed
an e a whe e he coca-cola sign was iden i ied as he mos widely
ecognised adema k. This image o consume ism, wi h i s swi ls and
bubbled le e s, has been su eyed as he mos eadily ecognised symbol
h oughou he wo ld.
La ely, howe e , a new symbol has en e ed ou coUec i e consciousness.
The g aphic po ai s o he Ea h could only be imagined un il he 1960's. A
sa elli e pho o o he Ea h i s gained p ominence a Expo 67. This image o
he ea h has since hen pene a ed e e y aspec o cul u e and media. The big
blue ma ble icón is now pe asi e. As wi h p e ious icons, he sa elli e
pic u e o ea h is now inc easingly used as a mo i on clo hing and
accesso ies, pos e s and in ad e isemen s. This icón, symbolic o a new
consciousness, p oposes he impo an economic, poli ical and social
concems ha mus be add essed in wo ld shi s om he dominan pa adigms
o capi alis economies o a global (named in his case "en i onmen ")
mindse ha supe sedes global limi s in ela ion o con en ional capi alis
guidelines o economic de elopmen .
In he pas , i was possible o people o be bom in o a amily, o emain
wi hin he clan, li e in a small communi y, wo k in a p e-assigned
82 Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos N° 4 (1997)
Fea s and
Hopes:
Globaliza ion and The Teaching o The In e na ional
Auxilian/
Language
occupa ion, and die wi hou much accomplishmen beyond ha ing su i ed
ha sh condi ions. E en oday, masses o humani y a e s ill li ing unde such
ci cums ances. Ne e heless, he e is ampie e idence ha he si ua ion is
changing. The echnological ad ances ha ha e g ea ly acili a ed he
mo emen o people and ideas ha e emo ed he ba ie s ha ha e kep
people apa and igno an . Whe he we hke i o no , he e a o isola ion has
come o an end. The global illage he alds he dawn o associa ion and
in eg a ion.
Whene e he e is change, he e is esis ance. The e o e, i is no
su p ising ha we a e also wi nessing a huge wo ld-wide inc ease in
na ionalis ic and e hnic e ou in he wo ld. These de elopmen s a e he
inal e o s o a ious segmen s o humani y o es ablish and a i m hei
espec i e iden i ies. F om a psychological pe spec i e, his is an essen ial
aspec o he de elopmen o human socie ies, as well as human indi iduáis.
By some s oke o i s own shee good o une, he English language seems
o be bound up in he phenomenon o globalism. One o he essen ial ene s
o globalism is he eme gence o an In e na ional auxilia y language. Each
wo ld wa and echnological de elopmen seem o p opel i o wa d. Today,
English is he indispu able language o In e na ional communica ion. I has
o icial s a us in 60 coun ies and a p ominen place in 20 mo e (Johnson
1996).
I is he main language o books, academic joumals, he media and
In e na ional spo s and en e ainmen . I does no appea o ha e any cióse
i al and seems posi ioned o g ow e en s onge . While i is a amilia
phenomenon o one language o se e as a lingua anca o e a la ge á ea o
many languages, o example, Sansk i , G eek, La in, A able, and F ench,
wha is unusual, howe e , is ha ne e be o e has a single language sp ead
o such pu poses o e mos o he wo ld as English as done in his cen u y.
No su p isingly, i was only a ma e o ime be o e he mo al and cul u al
implica ions o he phenomenal sp ead o English a e he Second Wo ld
Wa began o be ques ioned no jus by philosophe s o poli icians bu by
language p o essionals hemsel es. By he eigh ies, mo e and mo e concems
began o su ace ega ding he heo e ical, me hodological, e hical and
p o essional issues ela ed o global sp ead and use o English' Resea che s
Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos
N° 4
(1997) 83
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
began o ques ion he sp ead o English as being "na u al" and "neu al" and
a emp ed o decons uc "English" and "EIL".
1.
The "Wo ldliness" o English
In 1991, Tolle son (1991), a gued ha language educa ion had become
inc easingly ideological wi h he sp ead o English. He showed how language
is one c i e ia o de e mining which people would comple e di e en le éis
o educa ion. In o he wo ds, whene e people had o leam a new language o
ha e access o educa ion o o unde s and class oom ins uc ion, language
became a ac o in c ea ing and sus aining economic di isión..
In 1992, Phillipson's (1992) book Linguis ic Impe ialism, an ex ensi e
s udy o "No h-Sou h inequali ies and exploi a ion", ecei ed a lo o
a en ion when i i s appea ed.^ Quo ing an English language en ep eneu
who said ha "once we used o send gunboa s and diploma s ab oad; now we
a e sending English eache s," Phillipson ad anced he idea o "linguis ic
impe ialism", ha is, ha he sp ead o English was a pos -colonial plo on
he pa o he co e-English-speaking coun ies, which hoped o main ain
hei dominance o e "pe iphe y" (mos ly de eloping) coun ies. Ano he
e m in oduced by Phillipson was "linguicism", a si ua ion whe e he
imposi ion o a language, in his case, English, was equa ed o he imposi ion
o he cul u al, social, emo ional and linguis ic no ms o he domina ing
socie y on o he domina ed socie y o main ain an unequal alloca ion o
powe and esou ces.
O he esea che s wo ied ha he dominance o English, i allowed o
oUow a na u al cou se, would no only diminish he use o mino i y
languages bu eplace hem en i ely (c . .Shannon 1995, Sonn ag 1995).
The s udy o "languages in con ac " became inc easingly o be iewed as
"languages in compe i ion" (Fishman 1991, Pool 1991). Sku nabb-Kangas
and Cummins (1988) desc ibed he phenomenon o linguis ic hegemony
' Fo example, a he 26* Annual Con en ion o TESOL held on Ma ch 3-7, 1992 a Vancou e , Canadá,
he e was a colloquium on Pa ne ship and pa onage in ELT De elopmen o explo e he me hods,
mo i es and e ec s o ELT in he coun ies o he Commonweal h and Eas em Eu ope.
^
The book was immedia ely e iewed by i e p o essionals in Wo ld Englishes, 1992, 12, 3, pp.335-373.
84 Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos N^ 4 (1997)

Fea s and
Hopes:
Globaliza ion and The Teaching o The In e na ional
Auxilian/
Language
in he case o languages achie ing he s a us o "dominan " o
"p es igious" o "in e io " as a esul o compe i ion wi h o he
languages. Once a language achie e hegemonic s a us, domina ed
languages became mo e easily pe cei ed as in e io and hei speake s
in e nalise hei lowly s a us. Consequen ly use s abandon hei language
o he domina ed one. Th oughou he wo ld, simila scena ios ha e been
played ou be ween dominan and domina ed languages, some examples
being F ench s. B e ón, Tu kish s. Ku dish and neo-na ional s.
indigenous language.
Pennycook (1994) akes he a gumen o linguis ic impe ialism a ew s ep
u he . He uses heo ies o pos -modemism o decons uc he discou se o
English as an In e na ional Language (EIL), English, and indeed language,
i sel .
His a gumen is ha one can ne e jus " each a language" since i is
bound up wi h i s own wo ldly ideology. Pennycook de elops he no ion o
he "wo ldliness o English" and de o es wo cen al chap e s o case s udies
o his phenomenon in Malaysia and Singapo e. Fo Pennycook, English is a
emnan o wes e n impe ialism, ope a ing globally in conjunc ion wi h
capi alis o ces, especially in he ope a ions o mul ina ional co po a ions.
Besides being he language o science and economic ad ancemen , i is also
he language o unequal dis ibu ion o weal h.
2.
A Case S udy
I is my iew, howe e , ha he ea s o "linguis ic hegemony", "linguis ic
impe ialism", and "wo ldliness o English" asc ibes oo much powe o he
language, as opposed o he language policy make s and he language use s. I
will use he epublic o Singapo e as a case in poin o illus a e how he
dominance o English ea ly in i s his o y has come abou no so much as a
esul o linguis ic impe ialism bu h ough a conscious decisión on he pa
o i s leade s and populace, a e he ca e ul conside a ion o wo ld ends
and local condi ions. The implemen a ion o a na ional educa ion sys em wi h
English as he médium o ins uc ion ca ne abou h ough a "bo om-up"
a he han a " op-down" p ocess and was a ained ela i ely easily— wi hou
s ong con o e sy o bloodshed.
Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos N-
4
(1997) 85
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
Like he wo ld a la ge, Singapo e has many dis inc aces and cul u es
and is a mul i-cul u al communi y possessing ex eme mul ilingualism, bo h
indi idual and socie al. I is also a unique coun y in he sense ha is a place
whe e he e m "bilingualism" is no associa ed simply wi h mino i y g oups,
o wi h mig an s, bu one in which knowing and using se e al languages is
expec ed. I s uniqueness lies in he ac ha while many coun ies y o each
hei child en o be li e a e in mo e han one language, Singapo e ies o do i
in e e se — i ies o edúca e an en i e popula ion so ha e e yone is
li e a u e in English and a he same ime has a easonable knowledge o his
mo he ongue (Paki 1994). A s udy o Singapo e is he e o e a s udy o how
English has edged i s way o become he p incipal school language, a majo
wo kplace language, he language o go emmen , an e hnic link language, as
well as a na i e language o an inc easing numbe o child en.
I mus be ijo ed, i s ly, ha i was a conscious cholee on he pa o he
Singapo e go emmen no o indulge in he linguis ic na ionalism o many pos -
colonial coun ies bu a he o concén a e on economic su i al, which was
in a iably linked wi h poli ical su i al. hi 1959, a he poin o independence,
Singapo e was segmen ed by deep e hnic and linguis ic segmen a ion. I was
poo , had a apidly ising bi h- a e and possessed ew p ospec s o economic
su i al. Poli ical iden i y was con es ed e ain and i was dependen laigely on
ex emal ade. To ensu e i s su i al, i was deemed impe a i e ha i should
ha e a dominan language which would enable i o su i e poli ically, socially
and cul u ally. English was seen as he language which would a ac o eign
in es men , and gi e he socie y he leading edge in educa ion, academic
achie emen , In e na ional ade and business. The policy o economic
na ionalism, which had cha ac e ised many pos -colonial s a es, was he e o e
eschewed o one o p agma ic iabili y in a changing wo ld.
The possession o "linguis ic capi al" (Bou dieu and Passe on 1977), o
example, owne ship o he wo ld's o emos auxilia y language, was widely
iewed as easily con e ible in o o he o ms o capi al, such as educa ional
quali ica ions and highe incomes. This belie was appa en in he la ge sums
o money pa en s we e willing o spend on language ui ion o hei child en
and in hei pe sonal cholee o en oUing hei child en in English-medium
86 Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos N- 4 (1997)
Fea s
and
Hopes:
Globaliza ion and The
Teaching
o The In e na ional Auxilian/ Language
schools
so as o
gi e hem
a
"heads a ".'
No
su p isingly, en olmen s
in
Chínese, Tamil
and
Malay-medium schools began
o
decline sha ply
in he
4
six ies and se en ies.
In
he se en ies, p e e ence
o
en olmen in o P ima y
One English-medium schools
had
isen
o a
a io
o
8:1.
By
1978,
he
hen
P ime Minis e Lee Kuan Yew
had o
specially in e ene h ough
a
se ies
o
ex emal measu es
o
sa e
he
bes Chínese schools
as
well
as he
Chinese-
medium Nanyang Uni e si y.
To
ensu e hei exis ence,
13
Chínese schools
we e selec ed
by
he Minis y
o
Educa ion
o
con inué eaching Chínese
as a
i s language, bu hei s uden s also had
o
leam English
as a
i s language.
Simila ly,
o
ensu e
i s
su i al, Nanyang Uni e si y was amalgama ed wi h
he Na ional Uni e si y
o
Singapo e h ough wha
was
known
as he
Join
Campus scheme
o
1978/1979.
The cholee
o
English o e ha
o
Manda ín, Tamil
and
Malay
as he
médium
o
ins uc ion
in
schools
was
he e o e
a
"bo oms-up" decisión
by
he populace,
he
de ac o
bu
"in isible" planne . While he e
has
always
been ea s ha
he
widesp ead adop ion
o
English would lead
o a
loss
o
e hnic iden i y
and
mo e impo an ly,
a
loss
o
"Asian alúes",
ye he
populace o ed wi h hei ee whe e cholee
o
language-s eam schools
o
hei child en's educa ion we e concemed. When
i
came
o he
c unch, hey
alued
a
si ua ion
o an
e hnic cul u e open
o
isks
and
changes
bu
wi h
inc easing ma e ial e ums
as one
p e e able
o he
ull e en ion
o
e hnic
cul u e
and
his o y
bu
wi h diminishing ma e ial e u ns. The e
was a
p agma ic ealisa ion ha hei lack
o
a command
in
English would mean
he
con inued ma ginaliza ion
o
hei descendan s
in a
wo ld ha would
con inué
o use he
language
in
g ea e
and
g ea e amoun s.
I
would also
deny hem access
o he
ex ensi e esou ces a ailable
in
English, esou ces
which ha e de eloped as
a
consequence
o
globaliza ion.
While
i has
been a gued ha linguicism iola es
he
human igh s
o
speake s
o
domina ed languages, howe e , pa adoxically, he aim
o
ensu ing
'
The
Census
o 1980
showed English
as a
clea indica o
o
socio-economic s a us. Homes which
decla ed English
as a
p edominan household language had highe income le éis.
"•
Wi h independence
in
1959, Singapo e decided
o
e ain
he
sys em
o
ou language-medium schools
(English, Manda ín, Tamil and Malay)
o
ca e o he needs
o
he di e en e hnic g oups.
Re is a
de
Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos
N- 4
(1997)
87
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
human igh s is o en used o pe suade speake s o languages o he han
English, ha hey should adop English as hei dominan language because
English is he key o modemisa ion and hus poli ical and economic powe and
con ol. Whe e mino i y languages a e concemed, esea ch has also shown ha
i is no so much nume ical domina ion which is esponsible o mino i y s a us
bu linguis ic di e si y. Coun ies wi h he mos linguis ic di e si ies o en ha e
se ious acial p oblems and a poo economy (Robinson 1993:52-70). In
addi ion, Fasold (1984) and Pool (1991) has shown how mul ilingualism leads
o slowe economic de elopmen . Recen ly, a e yea s o economic
na ionalism, Malaysia (Singapo e's closes neighbou ), has also been
oliowing in Singapo e's oo s ep by enewing an emphasis in he leaming o
English in he hope o accele a ing economic de elopmen o
i sel .'
Bilingualism and bicul u alism a e also no seemed as necessa ily linked.
In Singapo e, he posi ion is s a ed e y clea ly "yes" o English and "no" o
wes em cul u al alúes. Singapo eans like o hink o hei ci y as "modem"
bu no "wes e n". Simila ly, while English is he o icial language o
ASEAN, ASEAN has no shown i sel o be ei he p o-B i ish o p o-
Ame ican. In Hong Kong, s uden s and hei pa en s s a e hei p e e ence in
English bu show e y li le in e es in suppo ing he weigh o B i ish,
Eu opean, Wes em cul u e and ci ilisa ion. So al hough English is he wo ld
language, nei he B i ish and Ame ican seems able o use English o
domína e In e na ional o ganisa ion o hei policies as hey migh wish o.
Pe haps he e is a lesson o he es o he wo ld g appling wi h he issue
o cul u al iden i y and language main enance. One o he un o una e aspec s
o he wo ld deba e on cul u e is he emphasis which some people place on
he p ese a ion o cul u e, almos wi h he same a i ude ha one has
owa ds he p ese a ion o museum pieces. A "p agma ic mul ilingualism"
(Paki 1991), such as ha obse ed in Singapo e, iew he s udy o cul u es
as impo an human endea ou s as long as he p o i and p es ige in ol ed in
hese ac i i ies do no become mo i a ing o ces blocking he p og ess o a
whole people. P ese ing one's cul u e does no mean clinging on o he pas
' This e umed a en ion o English is also happening in S i Lanka.
Re is a de Lenguas pa a Fines Especí icos N- 4 (1997)