Riassunto esame Lingua e traduzione inglese 1, docente Christiansen, libro consigliato English Next, Graddol

The educational revolution

Introduction

In many countries, extensive curriculum reforms are taking place as economies build the capacity required to operate in a globalised world. Improving national proficiency in English now forms a key part of the educational strategy in most countries. Almost everywhere, education systems are in a state of rapid change. Globalisation has led to a desperate race in many countries to upgrade the skills of their workforce faster than their economies are being forced up the value chain. Building human capacity has become a process of chasing an ever-moving target. It is now about institutionalising flexibility, creativity and innovation, and the management skills required to generate and cope with constant change.

Education in modernity

An important component in the modernity project was the provision of universal education. In the 19th century, there were many critics who feared that allowing working-class children to acquire literacy would give them ambitions above their social station and might even give them access to knowledge which might subvert the social order. On the other hand, literacy had become a key requirement for an industrialising, urbanising economy. Citizens could not be governed by the complex unless they could read and take responsibility for their behaviour. The display of foreign language skills remained a marker of social class.

Education in a globalised world

An individual to participate fully in the new economy needs to be better informed and needs higher-order and more flexible skills. The state desires to maintain social order, to act as guardian of national identity, whilst improving the quality of life for citizens and increasing national wealth. Creating a workforce with knowledge, creativity and critical thinking skills might threaten social cohesion and political stability. Education is now seen as something which will occur throughout someone's life. In a changing world, the nature of work and the skills and knowledge required are constantly shifting.

English as a basic skill

The role of education in school is now seen as to provide the generic skills needed to acquire new knowledge and specialist skills in the future. Literacy in the national language remains a basic skill, but also information technology and English have become important in basic education.

The nature of knowledge has changed

The wider frameworks and disciplinary knowledge are being swept aside in favour of more pragmatic and fragmentary approaches to knowledge. The new knowledges are seen as transitory affairs distributed unevenly in society.

End of lock step education

In relation to language learning, the expectation that all learners in a class will be at the same level of proficiency is giving way to approaches which allow more personalised learning.

The globalisation of universities

One of the most important drivers of global English has been the globalisation of universities, which compete at a global level. The ranking of the world's university shows a domination by American and other English-speaking universities. Around two-thirds of the world's top 100 universities are in English-speaking countries. This is one reason why English is used increasingly as the medium of education in university across the world. Academics desire to gain international experience early in their careers. English as the global academic language facilitates the international mobility of young researchers.

The Bologna process

The "Bologna Process" was an agreement signed originally in 1999, now involving 45 countries, that is intended to facilitate greater movement of students within Europe and to make European higher education more attractive to students from other countries.

The wrong kind of graduates

Universities play a key role in developing knowledge economies; international surveys of the attractiveness of a country as an outsourcing destination routinely assess the quality and number of local graduates.

International student mobility

Between 2 and 3 million students each year travel to another country to study, mostly to only a few destinations. The USA and the UK together account for over a third of all international students in the world. MESDCs (major English-speaking countries) attract so many students (around 46%) because their universities dominate the international league tables; English-speaking countries have the most entrepreneurial universities, who seek income by marketing their courses to overseas students; and English itself is seen as a key educational investment. The global total of international students may be growing more slowly than expected and competition for those students is increasing faster.

New competitors

• In some key source countries, there has been rapid expansion of universities, coupled with educational reform, which has improved quality.
• These countries (like China) improve their education systems and economies, they make their local and regional options available to attract those students who might otherwise have travelled to MESDCs.
• More countries in Europe (like Germany) and in Asia are attracting international students by offering courses taught through the medium of English.

Transnational education

In the 1990s, technology was expected to solve the world's education problems and allow English-speaking universities to extend their influence throughout the world. Virtual universities became flavour of the day. Many ambitious projects were established involving prestigious brands on both the commercial and academic sides: Harcourt, New Corporation, Disney and Dow Jones etc. In the UK many universities, like the UK eUniversity, conceived as a marketplace and technology platform for online degrees accredited by individual institutions. It was only one of several such investments and failures in English-speaking countries.

The great elearning fiasco

Those seeking an international education want a prestigious source which will serve them well in the job market. Promoters of the new initiatives were widely optimistic, but their business plans required huge initial investment and would work only on a massive scale. The success of eLearning depends more on how human relationships are managed and more on learning how traditional pedagogical values can be adapted in the new context.

Foreign campuses and joint ventures

American, Australian and British universities now compete for international students in their home countries. The UK's University of Nottingham opened two Asian campuses in September 2005. The new overseas campuses are likely to attract students from elsewhere in the region, thus helping to provide an international intellectual environment.

Which model?

"English as a Foreign Language" has been a dominant one in the second half of the 20th century. The proliferation of acronyms in ELT reflects this drive.