Facing The Globalisation Challenge
Facing the Globalisation Challenge in the
Realm of English Language Teaching1
Nicos C. Sifakis
Hellenic Open University, Greece
Areti-Maria Sougari
Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, School of English,
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
The paper addresses the commonly acknowledged challenge of globalisation with
respect to the area of English language teaching and, more particularly, teaching
English to speakers of foreign languages. It is argued that some of the primary issues
involved concernthe increasingrole of technology and communication inmodernsocieties
and the looming conflict between local communities and the decision-making
bodies. It is further suggestedthat the global English language teaching(ELT) community
has already gone a long way towards researching and, in certain cases, resolving
such conflicts and has much insightful material to offer. The paper incorporates a
discussion of the notion of English as an international language and the question of
‘ownership’ of such a language. The roles and defining characteristicsof the native and
non-native speaker of English are then considered and the various occasions when
communication and learning take place are briefly reviewed, with frequent reference
to the authors’ own teaching situation, i.e. English language teaching in Greece. The
paper culminates with an appreciation of the pedagogical, ethical and methodological
considerations that are suggested as a means of sensitising TESOL teacher education
vis à vis the global status of English (also with the Greek context in mind).
Introduction
Globalisation is, without doubt, one of the major defining characteristics of
modern society. It constitutes both a threat and a challenge, depending on the
point of view and the predisposition of the observer. This paper looks at the
effects of globalisation in the area of English language teaching (ELT), concentrating
on the teaching of English to speakers of...
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