Fears and hopes: globalization and teaching of the international auxiliary language

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)