Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 5; September 02

English as a magic Wand: Socially constructed perceptions and attitudes toward English among learners of English as a foreign language

by Jungkang Kim, South Korea

The global spread of English has raised many issues in the area of English Language Teaching (ELT) with respect to curricula, teaching materials, language policies, and teacher training programs. The issues concerning English as an international language have been discussed within the work of a critical examination of contexts in which English Language Teaching is practiced, in either ESL or EFL contexts. There is a great body of literature questioning the global spread of English, particularly by examining educational practices of English around the world in such a way that it promotes the spread of English in relation to socio-cultural, political, and historical contexts of a given society (e.g. Pennycook, 1994, 1998; Phillipson, 1992).

The global spread of English is manifest in various aspects of lives of those who are in contact with English. One of the pieces of evidence that indicates the global spread of English is the number of its users/speakers in a non-native English context of English as a foreign language (see Crystal, 1997; Kachru, 1986a). For example, in South Korea as in many other Asian countries, there are a growing number of private language institutes that offer English courses to students, not to mention Internet sites for learning English, text materials such as books, magazines, and audio/video tapes, and private tutoring. Anyone can easily find an advertisement for learning materials for English in the newspapers as it appears on a whole section or at least on every other page. There is in fact no need to read the newspapers to look for information on learning English because television and radio advertise or produce programs for English language learners.

Other evidence of the phenomenon can be seen from national language policies and movements that have arisen among the societies, such as Japan and South Korea that are facing controversial issues of English as an official language nationwide. A main issue in the debate concerns the impact of English on a national language and identity with respect to the perception and attitudes of learners toward English. For example, in South Korea such as in Japan, China, and Taiwan, English has been viewed as a main means to access to social and economic upward mobility and those who are knowledgeable or communicatively fluent in English are privileged in academic and career opportunities. Therefore, the English language use or mastery can indicate and define one's position in a society and one's ability to be assimilated to so called more 'civilized' or 'modernized' cultures by speaking the language. The image of English as a language of prosperity at a local level and unity at a global level has been constructed by social, cultural, and educational activities that promote the spread of English and its role in the society.

Kachru (1986b) identifies attitude toward the language among its users as a vital factor for understanding the manifestation of the power of English through its global spread. The attitude, according to Kachru, is determined by perceptions that its users have toward the language - English as a tool to access social and economic power and prestige in the given society - and plays a significant role in identity shifts of its users. Therefore, the attitudinal factor is believed to be vital for "creating 'identity' with the language and contributing to the belief in the 'alchemy' of English" (p. 137). Understanding the role of English as a world dominant language in the construction of views of its learners toward English vis-à-vis their native language leads to the important task of examining social, cultural, and ideological implications that English has behind a superficial myth of English as a language of unity and the global society. The image, view, and attitude toward English constructed among English as a foreign language learners who tend to believe in the magic power of English, are well reflected in national language policies of those countries, as mentioned earlier, that promote English at the cost of their native languages. The belief in English as a 'magic wand' that makes it all happen as we have seen in a fairy tale, seems to produce as well as is produced by institutionalized social and cultural practices, such as school education, mass media, popular culture, business, and political activities through which a government attempts to promote and establish a high status of English in the society. However, there is one very important question that needs to be asked with respect to the role of English as a 'magic wand': that is, "whose magic wand is it?" This is a question of the degree to which each individual has access to English or acquisition of English. When there is unequal access to English, the language becomes a means of suppression and oppression against those who are not speakers of the language of power (Pennycook, 1994).

It would be hard to imagine anyone who does not know of or is aware of the current global status of English in its worldwide spread, dominance, and impact on other social, cultural, and language communities around the world. My argument is not on whether to accept or deny the presence of English in the lives of people in the global community. Rather, I would like to suggest that all of us as teachers, educators, policy makers, and researchers in the field of English Language Teaching carefully examine our practices by questioning these: first, "To what extent do we have a sufficient and appropriate understanding of social and cultural contexts of learners in which English Language Teaching takes place?"; second "how equally can individuals be served in learning English?"; finally, "to what degree can English become a means to meet needs of individual learners and societies?". Reflection on these questions emerging from our daily practices is important in that it assists us to understand the very fundamental nature of (language) education; that is, to enrich the lives of individual learners.

References Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986a). The alchemy of English: The spread, functions and models of non-native Englishes. Oxford; Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986b). The power and politics of English. World Englishes, 5, 121-140.
Pennycook, A. (1994). The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language. London: Longman.
Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of Colonialism. New York: Routledge.
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.