Some of the important points covered in this piece of work by M, O Hamid are rise of English language through colonization and its superiority over the other non-native speakers. The growing power of the English-speaking nations such as UK and the USA need common language for ecno-cultural system. There is more non-native speaker of English now due to adoption of English as a medium of instruction. (Hamid 2009). According to Ammon (2001) English was a source of knowledge, information, science and technology which was seen as a better choice over other languages.
Proficiency in dominant language (English) is necessary for migrants overall well beings (Kim et al 2012) but it’s actually for the political and social tool for managing global flow of people hiding the profit-making tools. (Templer 2004)
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The main issue here is about disappearance of almost 6000 endangered languages will die a natural death in next century as there is no passing down of their own language to the younger generations. Viewing language as a capital, English as hard currency, commercialization of language, English buying and English selling is undeniable feature of global economy. In many parts of Asia, a lot of money is being spent in learning English. English mobility is political and ideological.
It is an academic piece of work and the author intends to address the issue to the world at large and to the native English-speaking countries and the non-native English speakers. Many times, in the text the author refers to governments, education policy makers and elite private English selling companies. Global dominance of English is contemporary reality. I personally feel that the writing style suits the intended audience because he has brought out how English is vital in globalization, influencing the world at large through various means of discourses and non-native speakers eventually falling prey to it.
The author brings out what is real and true about English language in the world and what it can or is doing. The author also has used more than enough resources which are of various sources and great information, there are lot more resources which are recent updates and some old with history to refer. The example of International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are some of the very strong evidences of how English is important for non-native speakers to get higher in life. From my personal experience indigenous languages are disappearing as there is no passing down to the younger generation because the parents feel proud of their children speaking English. They identify themselves as so called “high class” society.
The author intends to address the major discourses that influences the macro level language policy decisions and their implications in the contemporary world, English becoming the medium of instruction. He also brings out how English became a dominance over the other languages eventually becoming “hard currency” through privatization and commercialization of English buying and English selling. I think the author has almost achieved what he intends to convey to the readers, and he has brought out the reality of English ruling the world. From my personal experience IELTS is one such example of how important English is to determine my higher studies. Back in my home country Bhutan, IELTS is conducted four times a month and every week there many Bhutanese who pay a huge amount just to pass the test and there are lot more who fail and still have to reappear as its mandatory but it hardly can test the real ability of a person.
According to Jhonson (2009) proficiency in English is like something of a goods and its utility which is a basic skill to survive in the modern world that can be compared with the skill of driving a car or using a computer. Proficiency in English is a passport to better paid jobs and the salaries of non-English speaking workers can lag as much as 25%-35% behind their English speaking counterparts (Jhonson,2009). The practical reasons for the growth of English as a medium of instruction are that most academic research are published in English. The another reason is that more universities students who are proficient in English choose to take up courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (Galloway,2017). However the author mention that some studies show better understanding of the content when it is taught through their first language rather than English. But with more than 1.1 billion Mandarin speakers and China being the economic giant there is a probability of utmost rising of Mandarin in future.
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