Week 11

This week's reading took an in depth look at globalization and how it effects the world of languages. I found this reading particularly interesting because I was never really aware of what globalization does in regards to internationalization, liberalization, modernization and deterritorialization. As far as these terms go, they have been around for years and years and the most recent and popular one is deterritorialization. What does this have to do with English? There is a strong relation between globalization and the English language in that there is a wide global spread of the language and its influences on teaching it. With this aspect of globalization, we're presented with this idea of homogenization. People see this as a negative aspect of globalization which leads to the loss of languages. I agree with this to the point that languages are dying more and more with the wide spread of English in the world of culture, but it's also the decision of the members of a particular language or culture to fight this from happening. If people cared so much about losing their language or culture, you'd think they'd fight harder to preserve and save them.

Braj Kachru brings up the perspective of heterogeny. With this the features of World Englishes is described as "a sign of the pluricentricism that has been brought about by globalization". This paradigm offers the idea that with the way that English has been localized, varieties of English around the world exist. I agree with Pennycook when he says that the globalization of the use of the English language is a mix between the homogeny and heterogeny perspectives. There isn't so much a loss of various cultures and traditions, but a mixture of them, a change and crossing borders.

The reading then took an even deeper look into the different factors that have contributed to the wide spread and popularity of the English language. The necessity to know the English language in terms of economic and academic status, along with media incentives. While these seem to good aspects of the spread of English throughout the world, it also poses a threat of leading to monolingualism. I believe that monolingualism is something that we as future educators of English need to help fight. As future TESOL educators, it is important that we don't let the popular and widespread use/need of English engulf the other languages and cultures out there. It is important that we emphasize the importance to our students of keeping their cultural and linguistic identities close to them.

What can we as future educators do to help supplement the positive aspects of globalization of English while not negatively affecting the other languages and cultures of the world?