English: British, American, or should we now change our mindset and consider the term “World English”
This opinión piece was written by David White in 2014 for an online publication. David is an English teacher, teacher trainer and the owner of an English institute in Northern Peru. The purpose of this piece is not necessarily to express a personal opinión, but to put forward a subject that is often discussed between teachers, but never in a way as to créate a wave of change thoughout the language teaching profession. It is designed to entice intellegent debate about a subject which often stirs nationalistic pride and historic prejudices. We welcome any, and all respectful opinions and comments that any teaching profesional may wish to share in this fórum.
If you’re a native speaker of English, no matter which country you come from, your English is either British, or a derivative versión that has been manipulated, and altered, to suit the needs, culture and historical development that has evolved within your country. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, South Africa, the West Indies and many others have over time developed unique versions of English, that whilst based upon the original British version, have been altered to such a degree as to establish their own unique characteristics and identities. Combine that with the relevance that most of these countries have in our new globalized world, then how is it that the English that we teach is relegated to just the two versions which are diseminated internationally through series of books that pay scant, if any regard for the alternate, yet internationally pertinent versions.
Today, when we teach English as a second language, we seem to have pigeon holed ourselves into believing that there are only two versions of the language worth teaching, that being either the mother versión, British English, or the latter adaptation, American English. This mindset has been based upon, and nurtured by the closeminded, unimaginative attitude of book publishing companies and governmental organizations such as the British Council and the American State Department who support the teaching of their versión of English through sponsored bi-national language centers and various other supported programmes.
Countries such as Australia, which have developed a versión of English that is so unique that it warranted the creation of it’s own universally recognized dictionary, are internationally important countries in innumerous ways, yet it is virtually imposible for people from other countries to find professionally written and printed material that allows them to study the individual quirks and characteristics of their versión of English in order to prepare for business, tourism or educational opportunities.
Also, from another perspective, taking into consideration that English today is an international language, and the fact that the two countries with the highest percentage of population studying English in the world are China and India, two countries which combined have close to one third of the world’s entire population, should English be relegated to being that which is relevant to just two countries? Should a new versión, an international versión be the choice for second language teaching, or, should we now learn Chinese or Indian English as they may well soon become the worlds dominant English speaking countries? What would the world say if at sometime in the future, China and / or India developed, printed and flooded the world with cheap books that were based around the teaching of their own versions of English as a way to spread their influence in the world?
To catagorize English as being just British or American from an educational perspective is by no-doubt demeaning to the many other countries that use English as their mother tongue, and whos versions add body, context and relevance to what is the worlds most important international language. This is an archaic concept that many believe is best relegated to the annuls of educational history.
But, in conclusión, is it posible to créate a single international versión of English that would meet the entire educational needs of the world? Is it feasible to condense such a complex, multi-variant language down into a simple, pure form under the old expression “One size fits all”, or, is it just a fancifull perception that we could somehow miraculously simplify it down to such a singular entity? Is this imaginative thought more a subject for debate, or is it a posible reality? From a personal perspective, and without any form of bias either way, if the worlds governments, and global education industry were unwilling, or unable to decide upon the development and use of just one prevelent versión of English for educational purposes, one that was deemed suitable for this purpose by all English speaking countries, then the only logical choice would be to revert back to the origins of the language, back to where it all began, back to British English, the foundation of all modern versions of the English language.
David White
Managing Director English For You Language Institute Trujillo Peru.
Headmaster American School (Bilingual ib school) Trujillo Peru
International conference presenter
International academic consultant.
dwenglishforyou@outlook.com
This opinión piece was written by David White in 2014 for an online publication. David is an English teacher, teacher trainer and the owner of an English institute in Northern Peru. The purpose of this piece is not necessarily to express a personal opinión, but to put forward a subject that is often discussed between teachers, but never in a way as to créate a wave of change thoughout the language teaching profession. It is designed to entice intellegent debate about a subject which often stirs nationalistic pride and historic prejudices. We welcome any, and all respectful opinions and comments that any teaching profesional may wish to share in this fórum.
If you’re a native speaker of English, no matter which country you come from, your English is either British, or a derivative versión that has been manipulated, and altered, to suit the needs, culture and historical development that has evolved within your country. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, South Africa, the West Indies and many others have over time developed unique versions of English, that whilst based upon the original British version, have been altered to such a degree as to establish their own unique characteristics and identities. Combine that with the relevance that most of these countries have in our new globalized world, then how is it that the English that we teach is relegated to just the two versions which are diseminated internationally through series of books that pay scant, if any regard for the alternate, yet internationally pertinent versions.
Today, when we teach English as a second language, we seem to have pigeon holed ourselves into believing that there are only two versions of the language worth teaching, that being either the mother versión, British English, or the latter adaptation, American English. This mindset has been based upon, and nurtured by the closeminded, unimaginative attitude of book publishing companies and governmental organizations such as the British Council and the American State Department who support the teaching of their versión of English through sponsored bi-national language centers and various other supported programmes.
Countries such as Australia, which have developed a versión of English that is so unique that it warranted the creation of it’s own universally recognized dictionary, are internationally important countries in innumerous ways, yet it is virtually imposible for people from other countries to find professionally written and printed material that allows them to study the individual quirks and characteristics of their versión of English in order to prepare for business, tourism or educational opportunities.
Also, from another perspective, taking into consideration that English today is an international language, and the fact that the two countries with the highest percentage of population studying English in the world are China and India, two countries which combined have close to one third of the world’s entire population, should English be relegated to being that which is relevant to just two countries? Should a new versión, an international versión be the choice for second language teaching, or, should we now learn Chinese or Indian English as they may well soon become the worlds dominant English speaking countries? What would the world say if at sometime in the future, China and / or India developed, printed and flooded the world with cheap books that were based around the teaching of their own versions of English as a way to spread their influence in the world?
To catagorize English as being just British or American from an educational perspective is by no-doubt demeaning to the many other countries that use English as their mother tongue, and whos versions add body, context and relevance to what is the worlds most important international language. This is an archaic concept that many believe is best relegated to the annuls of educational history.
But, in conclusión, is it posible to créate a single international versión of English that would meet the entire educational needs of the world? Is it feasible to condense such a complex, multi-variant language down into a simple, pure form under the old expression “One size fits all”, or, is it just a fancifull perception that we could somehow miraculously simplify it down to such a singular entity? Is this imaginative thought more a subject for debate, or is it a posible reality? From a personal perspective, and without any form of bias either way, if the worlds governments, and global education industry were unwilling, or unable to decide upon the development and use of just one prevelent versión of English for educational purposes, one that was deemed suitable for this purpose by all English speaking countries, then the only logical choice would be to revert back to the origins of the language, back to where it all began, back to British English, the foundation of all modern versions of the English language.
David White
Managing Director English For You Language Institute Trujillo Peru.
Headmaster American School (Bilingual ib school) Trujillo Peru
International conference presenter
International academic consultant.
dwenglishforyou@outlook.com
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