Check out tefl tesol about Fee TESOL International and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad.
You could also be interested in:
This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
english as a Global LanguageAs years have passed english has become even more popular in countries throughout the world. Thanks to how history played out in the settling of nations and trade and commerce routes english has taken root and is growing like an insistent weed. Think about it, if the British had not been looking for gold, glory and God they might never have colonized in Africa and english might never have been introduced to the continent. Each major continent (save Antarctica) is home to at least one official english-speaking nation (“english-Speaking Countries.”), would this have happened had not these places been colonized and established by english-speaking traders?
It saddens some to think about the harsh realities of this world and how they have come to be. The english language has spread thanks to the conquistadors who came and not only killed men, women and children but also cultures and languages. While this reality could harden a heart one must not dwell on it because history is history and even though languages were lost, others were spread. The point is that this is reality and english is one of the most popular languages in the world thanks to the path that history has laid down (Crystal, 59). And while we mourn the loss of old cultured languages we should also rejoice in the ability to communicate internationally, which is a product of these tragedies.
In a global perspective learning english, or becoming bilingual, is an automatic status booster. Those who learn languages have more opportunities for capital gain especially in the business world. In the united states, Hispanic men who speak english on average earn more than those who do not partly due to the increase in education availability to immigrants as well as the availability of promotions (Greenberg). Since the spread of english is so great because of its rank upper abilities, the demand for english teachers is great as well. This demand proves that english is a global language because as according to David Crystal a global language must be made a priority in a country’s foreign-language teaching programs, as well as it becoming popular as an official language (4). Programs such as TEFL (Teaching english as a Foreign Language) and CELTA (Certificate in english Language Teaching to Adults) were invented with this purpose in mind, to provide a way to teach teachers to teach in order to spread the english language. Thanks to programs such as these, the english language has spread at an even greater pace than ever before and countries are slowly accepting it as an official language.
The english language is spreading because the people who speak it are powerful both politically and militarily (Crystal 9). American english is spreading as well in part due to the American domination of the entertainment world. The ease in the accessibility of American movies and the internet with American blogs, videos, and cultural information has sided and in fact been a driving influence in the spread of American english (Mydans). Is this a good thing? Why not? There will inevitably be a loss of dialects and accents of english, however, as some are lost, more are developed. A native japanese speaker who learns english from a native American english speaker will develop a japanese American english accent. The same can be said about a native speaker of any other language who learns australian english. In a global perspective the spread of American english is wide and thorough, however the key is that globally, english is spreading.
english is a global language however, many nations do not pronounce english as its official language instead they practice english in facto, meaning in practice but not necessarily by law. english is not the most widely spoken language in the world, but it is making its way to the top by being one of the most widely and quickly spreading languages. Statistics vary widely when trying to place a number on the amount of english Speakers in the world. What is obvious is that a lot of people speak it and it is spreading like wild fire because of the amount of people who teach it. english is a global language.
