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

One of the defining features of teaching English as a second language is

that it recognises the role of English as a second language in the society

in which it is taught. There have been two major strands of development

in ESL, both dating from the 19th century:

The first kind of ESL arose from the needs of the British Empire to

o teach local people sufficient English to allow the administration of

large areas of the world with a relatively small number of British civil

servants and troops. The imperial strategy typically involved the

identification of an existing social elite who would be offered a

curriculum designed to cultivate language skills and a taste for

British culture and values. Literature became an important strand in

such a curriculum and literary canon was created which taught Christian

values through English poetry and prose.

In postcolonial context today, the use of English is

 proving surprisingly difficult to broaden the social base of

English speaking even where English is used as the language

of the educated middle classes.

In colonial times many local varieties of English emerged

 from contact with local languages and have developed

literatures and grammar books and dictionaries.

In ESL countries the ecology of English is a multilingual one

 where English is associated with particular domains, functions

and social elites. Knowledge of code-switching norms is an

essential part of communicative competence in such

societies.

A different approach to ESL arose in the USA, Canada, Australia

o and New Zealand. In the UK, ESL didn't become fully instutionalised until

the 1960s. ESL is often nowadays referred to as ESOL (English for

Speakers of Other Languages). In such communities standard English is

only one of the varieties of English (such as Indian or Jamaican English)

which learners need to command. There the communicative competence

required by an ESL learner includes a knowledge of the community norms

of code-switching. Translation and interpreting are important skills for ESL

users. Where ESL is taught to immigrants entering English-speaking

countries it isn't surprising that a key component in the curriculum is

often "citizenship".

GLOBAL ENGLISH NEW APPROACHES

EFL and ESL represent the twin traditions in ELT, both with roots in the 19th

century. In the last few years pedagogic practises have rapidly evolved to

meet the needs of the rather different world in which global English is learned

and used.

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

CLIL is an approach to bilingual education in which both curriculum

content and English are taught together. It differs from the simple English-

medium education because it is a means of teaching curriculum subjects

through the medium of a language still being learned, providing the

necessary language support alongside the subject specialism. CLIL can

also be as a means of teaching English through study of a specialist

content. CLIL arose from curriculum innovations in Finland (in the mid

1990s) and it has adopted in many European countries, connected with

English. CLIL is compatible with the idea of JIT education ('just in time'

learning) and is regarded as the ultimate communicative methodology.

CLIL, in secondary schools, relies on basic skills in English being already

taught at primary level. English teachers have to work closely with subject

teachers to ensure that language development is appropriately catered for

and this implies making sufficient non-contact time available for planning

and review. English teachers may largely lose their 'subject' and may take

on a wider support and remedial role. When English is developed within a

CLIL programme, assessment of English proficiency is made partly

through subject assessment.

English as a lingua franca (ELF)

Proponents of teaching English as a lingua franca (ELF) suggest that the

way English is taught and assessed should reflect the needs and

aspirations of the ever-growing number of non-native speakers who use

English to communicate with other non-natives. Proponents of ELF have

already given some indications of how they think conventional approaches

to EFL should be changed. Within ELF, intelligibility is of primary

importance. Such an approach is allowing researchers to identify a 'Lingua

Franca Core' (LFC) which provides guiding principles in creating syllabuses

and assessment materials. ELF focuses also on pragmatic strategies

required in intercultural communication. It may be that elements of an ELF

syllabus could usefully be taught within a mother tongue curriculum.

English for young learners (EYL)

Across the world (Chile, Mongolia, China and Portugal) English is being

introduced in primary schools. A global survey of English for young

learners (undertaken the British Council in 1999) showed that the majority

of countries in which English was taught in primary schools had introduced

the innovation in the 1990s. Often there is considerable pressure from

parents, who may also supplement school provision with private lessons.

Young children find learning languages easier than older students. They

are still developing physically and intellectually; their emotional needs

may be higher; they are less able take responsibility for their own

learning. One of the practical reasons for introducing English to younger

learners is to ensure that they have longer in their school careers to

master the language and because the timetables in secondary schools

now have too many competing demands. There are many hazards

attached to EYL, but the main one is that it requires teachers who are

proficient in English and who are able to motivate young children.

ASPIRING TO BILINGUALISM

A remarkable number of governments talk about the need to learn a

foreign language and of an ambition to make their country bilingual. The

European project is to create plurilingual citizens. Colombia's 'Social

Programme for Foreign Languages without Borders' is a government

initiative to make the country bilingual in 10 years. Many countries which

have declared bilingualism as their goal look to Singapore, Finland or the

Netherlands. They are increasingly likely to look to English teachers from

bilingual countries to help them in their task.

English in Europe

The Council of Europe's language policies with the new European model

provides more than a means of standardising approaches to language

education through mechanisms such as the Common European

Framework (CEF). It represents a wider ideological project to improve

citizens' awareness of the multilingual nature of Europe, to encourage a

positive attitude towards linguistic diversity, and to promote the learning

of several languages. With this project, European citizens should ideally

learn 2 languages in addition to their mother tongue. The expected

benefits of such a programme are more, but the main one is an enhanced

sense of a shared European identity.

ENGLISH AS EUROPEAN LINGUA FRANCA

Within many large companies, and even in parts of the European

governmental institutions, English has become a common working

language.

SEVERAL TRENDS

Across Europe English has become the 'first foreign' language in education

systems. In Switzerland, some German-speaking cantons have decided

that English will be introduced at an earlier age than French, the second

national language of this Country. In the Baltic states and post-soviet

countries, English has now replaced Russian as the main foreign language.

English is also being introduced to ever lower ages in primary schools and

there is a steady growth of CLIL in most European countries.

English as an Asian language

English has been spoken in India from colonial days and has featured

prominently in Indian education. However, it has always been

exceptionally difficult to estimate exactly how many people in India speak

English. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and

the Philippines all now exploit their Anglophone heritage to attract

offshore contracts.

ENGLISH IN CHINA

India has demonstrated the huge economic benefits of speaking English,

but it is China which is now setting the pace of change in the region. In

20012, China decided to make English compulsory in primary schools from

Grade 3. In 1995 there were in China 200 million Chinese English users. As

a result of the new policy, China now produces over 20 million new users

of English each year. It seems possible that within a few years, there could

be more English speakers in China than in India. But until countries in the

region are able to develop their national proficiency in Mandarin, English

will provide their main means of communicating with China.

BEIJING SPEAKS ENGLISH

Beijing has prepared for the 2008 Olympics by setting targets for each

category of citizen and providing opportunities for learning.

A new hegemony of English

THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN VALUES

One problem is that the current rapid diffusion of English is occurring at

the same time as the USA is losing international prestige.

CHANGING CULTURAL FLOWS

Only a few years ago it was assumed that the world's media and

entertainment would continue to be filled with US-originated audio-visual

material projecting American cultural values around the world. Already

that phase of globalisation is fading. Now are developing soap opera from

Korea in Asia, Japanese Manga in Europe, 'Bollywood' influence and

Spanish 'telenovelas'.

IN WHOSE INTEREST?

The economic rise of India and China has been fuelled largely by TNCs

who set up factories, transfer technology to reduce costs and increase

profits, facilitated also by using English. Maintaining a unique cultural

identity is a key part of the globalisation strategy. In each of the world

regions, English is growing as an Asian lingua franca. In the Americas,

Spanish is its key partner. In Europe French and German. In the central

Asian States, Russian. In North Africa and West Asia, Arabic. And in sub-

Saharan Africa, Swahili.

The native speaker problem

By the end of the 20th century as learning English became seen as an

urgent economic need. Native speakers were regarded as the gold

standard; as final arbiters of quality and authority. Native speakers

accents may seem to remote from the people that learners expect to

communicate with; and as teachers, they may not possess some the skills

required by bilingual speakers (such as translation and interpreting).

NATIVE SPEAKER MODELS ARE LESS USEFUL

Native-speaker reference books may be developing as better to native-

speaker usage, but are less useful as models for learners. At the height of

modernity, many social mechanisms helped produce a standard language.

The myth of a standard language becomes more difficult to maintain.

NATIVE SPEAKERS MAY BE A HINDRANCE

Global English is often compared to Latin, a rare historical parallel to

English in the way that it flourished as an international language after the

decline of the empire which introduced it. The use of Latin was helped by

the demise of its native speakers when it became a shared international

resource. The problem may be that few native speakers belong to the

community of practice which is developing amongst lingua franca users.

Their presence hinders communication.

ALTERNATIVES ARE BECOMING AVAILABLE

Riassunto per l'esame di lingua e traduzione inglese 1, basato su appunti personali e studio autonomo del testo consigliato dal docente Christiansen Thomas: libro consigliato English Next, David Graddol. Gli argomenti trattati sono i seguenti: The educational revolution (introduction), The globalisation of universities, International student mobility, Transnational education, Which model?, Content and language integrated learning (CLIL), English as a lingua franca (ELF), English for young learners (EYL), English in Europe, English as an Asian language, A new hegemony of English, The native speaker problem, Protecting local languages and identities, Beyond English, Managing the change, The economic advantage ebbs away.