Week 13: Multilingualism and World Englishes

The readings for this week related to the impact of globalization on English, resulting in multilingualism and World Englishes. Of course the spread of English across the globe has led to much more linguistic diversity, such as a variation in pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and rhetorical styles. This is not limited to the diversity in other countries, but also the linguistic variations within the United States. There are many different dialects within America (even spanning across Illinois) and it is important to be aware of the linguistic and cultural diversity of English speakers, rather then hold one type of English to a higher standard. This reminded me of my experience studying abroad in Spain and how it was not until those five months that I began to realize the different forms of English. My 13-year-old host sister was learning British English and there were times when I could not even help her with her homework because I was completely unfamiliar with the vocabulary. My host sister was shocked that I couldn't even help her with my own native language! The dialogue in her textbook was also very formal, so I tried to explain that the way I used English in America was actually different from what she was learning. I think this definitely sparked our awareness about the differences in English in other parts of the world. My classes in Spain were also with students from all around the United States and it was not until then that I realized how many "Englishes" there were in my own country. People from the West and East coast always commented on my Chicago accent, which I thought was the "standard" until I was being teased for it.  Kubota and Ward's article explained the implications for teachers to prepare the younger generations to be tolerating, respecting, and knowledgeable of this diversity that they will face in the community. I believe it is a great idea to incorporate teaching diversity into all content areas so that it is a concept that stays with students for their entire lives, rather than turning it into a one-unit lesson.

Chapter 3 by McKay and Bokhorst-Heng discussed multilingualism in societies with and without diglossia. In diglossic bilingual societies, the linguistic differences are functionally distinguished and one language (the H-language) is typically used in the formal domain while the other language (the L-language) is only used for more informal situations. In this type of multilingualism, the main incentive to learn English is its status as an H-language and the ability to communicate in these important domains, such as higher education or the government. Once again, English is seen as bringing power but this is not always true and it may actually keep the poor and disadvantaged students from ever fully learning the language. This chapter along with Farr and Song's article explained how language policy is a reflection of language ideology. The beliefs and values of a culture are always embedded in the approach to language learning, which is essential to remember if we will be teaching in a foreign country.