English from a Global Perspective

           Why must globalization be homogenous?  This is perhaps the most interesting question to me after reading the article.  With the technology to share ideas, music, movies, and culture, why are cultures becoming more homogenous rather than diverse?  The Kubota articles describes the heavy influence that American culture and the English language has on Japanese society, and more specifically education in Japan.  Although Western culture can have positive impacts, the growing presence of American culture throughout the world can be seen as an unofficial form of imperialism.  Japanese values are not shared with Americans so that ideas are reciprocated; this sharing of values is one-sided. 

            Resistance to Western influences has resulted in an increased sense of nationalism.  Nationalism refers to a citizens’ pride for his country or promotion of his country’s ideals or superiority.  In my opinion, this is not a positive development.  In school settings, nationalistic attitudes can lead to fights, discrimination, and the development of racist attitudes.  Outside of the educational realm, the effects of increased nationalism can be even more dangerous.  Nationalism and emphasizing the differences between nations is what has led to two world wars and a variety of other conflicts.  As teachers, I feel it is necessary to promote diversity but to ensure that we are not highlighting differences in a confrontational manner.

            The discourse of Kokusaika or internationalization refers to educating Japanese students about world cultures, languages, and viewpoints.  The concept of producing students that are competent in international contexts is a great educational aim.  However, Kokusaika views English as the international language of the world and is said to be extremely biased toward western culture and values.  Learning English does not make one internationally competent though (6).  Neither does having a broad knowledge of Western culture. 

            The most interesting point of the World Englishes article was the contention that second-language users should be held to the same English writing standards as native speakers.  As noted on page 371, this controversy could provide a moral dilemma for teachers.  Second language English users are not punished for having accents or using incorrect idiomatic expressions when speaking; however, many teachers expect them to be perfect writers.  I do not believe that L2 speakers should be held to this higher standard in writing.  Although errors should be identified through corrective feedback, they should not be downgraded for not using perfect “Standard English” when writing.  Many ESL students are incapable of using “Standard English” because they never learned this standard; they most likely learned a World English.  This is not a lower class of English, simply a different variety spoken in different regions around the world.  Page 373 discusses the idea of discourse negotiation and the appropriate use of different variations of English based on the context.  Appropriate English for a job interview and for a pick-up basketball game are completely different.  It is important that as teachers that we do not value the so-called “Standard” variety more than World Englishes though.  If our opinions reflect this bias, then our students will likely develop these attitudes our well.  The way we teach will impact how our students view language and culture.