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Historical reasons for the expansion of the Englishlanguage and its implications for the EFL classroom.Alison von Dietze and Hans von Dietze
Abstract.The English language is the international language
 par excellence
(Phillipson 1992, p.6). Although it cannot boast the same number of native speakers as other languages, itis the most widely studied foreign language in the world. Moreover, it has a dominant position in all domains of life, be it business, technology, science or education. Whatare the developments that have led to English assuming the position of “globallanguage” (Crystal 1997) and how does it remain so? This paper will provide a brief summary of these developments from an historical perspective, showing how Englishhas spread across the globe. Then language teaching methodology will be consideredincluding how the different methodologies have subtly removed the First Language(L1) from the classroom. It is argued that this has reinforced the already strong position of English by creating the notion of the English-only approach to EFL.Finally arguments for and against the English-only approach are presented.
 A brief look at historical factors that have influenced the spread of English
The spread of English around the world dates back to the late sixteenth century whenthe first expeditions started leaving the British Isles in search of new areas to settle,namely the New World in North America. Although few in number at first,settlements were established at an increasing rate as new shiploads of immigrants
 
2arrived throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Though thesesettlers came from a variety of countries, “within one or two generations of arrival,most of these immigrant families had come to speak English, through a natural process of assimilation” (Crystal 2003, p. 35).Throughout the same time, British world exploration also established settlements inthe Southern Hemisphere, namely in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.In South Asia, during the years 1765 to 1947 when Britain maintained sovereign rule,“English gradually became the medium of administration and education throughoutthe subcontinent” (Crystal 2003, p. 47). The expansion of British colonial power andthe emergence of the United States as the leading economic power of the 20
th
century,therefore, explain the world position of English today (Crystal 2003, p. 59).
 Developments in Industry and Trade
The 20
th
Century saw unprecedented growth on a global scale in technology, transportand communications. Moreover, following two world wars, the need for greater  political understanding and dialogue between nations was of particular importance.International organizations, such as the United Nations and UNICEF, needed to findsome linguistic common ground to facilitate communication. Whilst it was usual for asmall number of languages to be designated as ‘official languages’, English invariablyheld a prominent place. Today there is debate over the possibility of further reducingthe number of these official languages in multinational organizations (Crystal 2003).Crystal provides data of the 12,500 International organizations in the world in 1995-96 highlighting which languages they use in an official or working capacity. In a
 
3sample of 500 of these organizations, 85% made official use of English (French wasthe next with 49%). Of particular significance in this sample is the fact that “one thirdof this number of organizations use
only
English to carry on their affairs” (Crystal2003, p. 88).“The need for a global language is particularly appreciated by the internationalacademic and business communities and it is here that the adoption of a single linguafranca is most in evidence” (Crystal 2003, p. 13). Many areas of international affairsare in English such as aviation, science, international aid agencies, the World Bank,media and popular culture. These domains rely on technology, led by computers andthe internet, which is also dominated by the English language.
 Developments in Education
 English, therefore, has penetrated all walks of life. And the field of Education is noexception. Not only are more and more courses now using English as the medium of instruction (Crystal 2003), but also English Language Teaching itself has become a booming industry. Phillipson (1992, p. 6) indicates that “The spread of English hasnot been left to chance, and language pedagogy has played a part in this process”. Itis, therefore, relevant to examine how language teaching methodologies havedeveloped and changed over time and to what extent they have influenced the statusof English. Of particular importance is the manner in which the methodologies haveaddressed the role of L1 in the classroom. In the case of EFL teaching this has led tothe notion of the English-only classroom, where the students’ L1 should be more or less absent.
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