The Impact of Globalization and the Internet on

English Language Teaching and Learning

By Professor Wu, Li and Professor Ben-Canaan, Dan
Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies, Harbin, May 2006

Abstract

The spread of English as an international language and the emergence of the Internet
as a fast communication channel that has no boundaries, are mutually enforcing trends
in an age of globalization. Since its conception, the Internet has, so it seems,
revolutionize the ways of human communication as well as English language learning
in a global context. Learners of English language today need a new set of critical and
interpretive skills. Teachers of ESOL therefore, need to understand how the Internet is
revolutionizing English language learning. This paper attempts to discuss the impact of
the Internet on English language learning as well as the need for new frameworks for
teaching English language in computer mediated contexts.

Key Words: globalization; the Internet; English language learning and teaching

I. Introduction

The last few decades have seen a growth in the role of the English language around
the world as the lingua franca for economic, scientific, and political exchange. The term
lingua franca means ‘any language used for communication between groups who have
no other language in common’ (Matthews, 2000:209). According to Crystal (1997),
85% of the world's international organizations use English as their official language in
transnational communication. About 85% of the world’s important film productions and
markets use English as well, and 90% of the published academic articles in several
academic fields, such as linguistics, are written in English. In many cases, the increased
growth in the use of the English language can be attributed to educational, economic, or
cultural globalization.
Giddens (2000) defined globalization as a separation of space and time, emphasizing
that with instantaneous communications, knowledge, and culture could be shared
around the world simultaneously. Globalization has been viewed primarily as an
economic phenomenon, involving the increasing interaction, or integration of national
economic systems through the growth in international trade, investment, and capital
flow. However, the definition has expended to include also cross-border social, cultural,
political, and technological exchanges between nations and in particular, between
people.
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is one of the features of globalization
and as a result, the Internet has become an important linguistic medium. It has been
added to every aspect of human life, including the learning of languages. McLuhan
(1962) even coined the term ‘global village’ in the 1960s of the last century to express
his belief that electronic communication would unite the world because "the medium is
the message". Warschauer and Healey (1998:63) also stated that:
It is the rise of computer-mediated communication and the Internet, more than
anything else, which has reshaped the uses of computers for language learning at
the end of the 20th century. With the advent of the Internet, the computer—both in

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 society and in the classroom—has been transformed from a tool for information
processing and display to a tool for information processing and communication.
For the first time, learners of a language can now communicate inexpensively and
quickly with other learners of speakers of the target language all over the world.
The Internet has also an ever growing impact on the lexical, phonetic, syntactic
standards of language, and the great importance that most teachers place, or should put,
on the use of ‘correct’ language. For example, this global technology has led to the
evolution of an abbreviated English language that emerged in chat groups and in what is
referred to as the virtual world. Examples for this feature include, 2day (today), cu (see
you), b4 (before), RUOK? (Are you OK?), c%l (cool), to mention but a few. Capital
letters are also given syllabic values, as in thN (then), nEd (need) in Internet
communications. In one creation such as ru2cnmel8r? (Are you two seeing me later?),
less than half the characters used in the traditional sentence formation are used. It seems
that sentence length will tend to be short, and that certain types of complex structures
(relative clauses, for instance) will be avoided in Internet communication. In everyday
conversation, terms from the computer technology are given a new application among
people who want their talk to have a "cool" tone (In slang - great, terrific). Such
examples include:
It's my turn to download now (I’ve heard all your gossip, now hear mine)
She's multitasking (She is doing two things at once)
E you later (farewell—see you later)
The Internet seems to have important implications for linguistics or language learning.
In this context, this paper explores the impact of the Internet on today's teaching and
learning of the English language.

II. The Internet: Prescriptive/Descriptive Approaches to Learning

Globalization is a relatively recent term used to describe the changes in societies and
the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and
cultural exchange. It was first used in economics to describe the increase of trade and
investing due to the falling of barriers and the interdependence of countries. In
specifically economic contexts, it is often understood to refer almost exclusively to the
effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or "free trade". However, this term as a
concept is being use now in a wider way to describe all aspects of global human
existence – social, cultural, educational and political. It is a process by which the
experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is
becoming standardized around the world.
Today's definition of the term comprise of factors that have contributed to
globalization including increasingly sophisticated communications (in all levels),
transportation technologies and services, mass migration and the movement of peoples
and languages. It comes to define a level of economic, social and cultural activities that
have outgrown national borders and markets through either industrial combinations and
commercial groupings that cross national frontiers, international agreements that reduce
the cost of doing business in foreign countries, or cultural influences of certain societies
on others. Globalization offers huge potential profits to companies and nations but has
been complicated by widely differing expectations, standards of living, cultures and
values, and legal systems as well as unexpected global cause-and-effect linkages.

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 Globalization is believed by some to lead to an end of a cultural diversity as it
imposes sameness in the countries of the world; where everyone in the world is likely to
drink Coca-Cola, eat American junk food, and watch American movies. Similarly, there
has been a widespread belief that the Internet is bad for the future of many languages
and enables rich (or technology able) countries to take monopoly over the content
generated on the Internet and that it becomes a form of cultural and linguistic
imperialism in which western values dominate. In this scenario, it was also argued that
the Internet must evolve its own principles and standards in order to grow and maintain
as a newly emerging linguistic medium (Crystal, 2001).
Traditionally, the approaches used to study languages have been prescriptive and
descriptive (Fromkin et. al., 2004). Prescriptivism represents the view that one variety
of language has an inherently higher value than others, and that this variety of language
ought to be imposed on the whole of the speech community. It usually prefers a version
of the standard written language, which most closely reflects the literary style of great
classics in a language. Those who speak or write in a standardized variety are termed to
be using the language ‘correctly’; those who do not are termed to be using it
‘incorrectly’. An example for correct usage of grammar in English is ‘Never begin a
sentence with an and’. An example for spelling is that ‘There must always be an ae in
encyclopaedia’, etc. The prescriptive approach ignores the realities of everyday usages
of language, where most people do begin sentences with an and, and do not put the a in
the spelling of encyclopedia.
The descriptive approach, by contrast, does not condemn usages that do not follow
the standardized rules of language set by linguistics. Rather, it describes the variations
in usage found within a language, and explains the reasons for variations in usages. The
American usage favors the spelling ‘encyclopedia’, whereas, traditional British usage
favors the spelling ‘encyclopaedia’. Due to the dominant influence of the USA on the
UK during the twentieth century, the American spelling was increasingly accepted and
found in British publications. Descriptivists do not like the narrow-minded intolerance
and misinformed purism of prescriptivists.
Correspondingly, prescriptivists, do not like the all-inclusiveness and egalitarian
philosophy of descriptivists, which they interpret as a lack of responsibility towards
what is best in a language (Crystal, 2001). Even after 250 years, the controversy over
these linguistic approaches remains with the arguments being passed on by each
generation, and refueled by the new (technological) developments within societies, such
as broadcasting and the Internet. What should be of interest to either teachers or learners,
in the fast-developing Internet literature, is to see the way writers are struggling to
maintain a bent which is naturally descriptive and egalitarian in character while
recognizing a prescriptive argument to impose regularity and consistency on a world
which otherwise might spiral out of control (Crystal, 2001).
For example, according to our anecdotal evidence, short or instant messages such as
good nite (good night), so wot (so what), @home (at home), etc. were commonly-used
daily expressions in England in 2003. In China, there also appeared some new
expressions from a popular TV program Super Girls in 2005, such as PK (play kill),
fensi (fans), or cuall (see you all), gud4u (good for you), etc.
How can anyone say that such short or instant messages are not acceptable or correct
in at least colloquial English and Chinese?
From the above discussion, it appears that in the 21st century, speakers of English
may increasingly diverge from what they have been taught is correct usage of language,

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in order to make themselves understood by people from around the world. Thus, the
Internet is likely to alter the standardized usage of English in a worldwide context.

III. The Internet and English Literacy

According to a study conducted by the American Management Association

International (AMAI) in 1998, e-mail was taking over the place of face-to-face and
telephone communication as a means of business communication. It has also been found
to be popular among students with more than 95% of university students in the United
States using the Web to conduct research and stay in touch with friends (Diederich,
1998).
The U.S. has been a world leader in Internet use, and other industrialized countries
are also reported to be using it widely, with the fastest growth on the Internet occurring
in emerging economies of Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
According to one estimate, China will have more Internet users than the U.S. by the
year 2010 (NUA Internet Surveys, 1999).
When the Internet first emerged, the early tendency among the educators of English
for speakers of other languages (ESOL) was to see how it could be employed as a tool
in teaching English (Warschauer, 1995). Computer was then seen as an optional or
supplementary tool, among several others, used for teaching English. Today, however,
the significance of information technology for teaching or learning is widely
acknowledged. To put it simply, information technology has been termed as the
medium of a new, and fourth revolution in human communication and cognition,
matched in significance only by the prior three revolutions of language, writing, and
print (Harnad, 1991). Information technology will impact on how people interact,
access information, and share information akin to the Bi Sheng revolution about 900
years ago in ancient China (Song Dynasty). This impact will also occur much more
quickly than anticipated.
The development of modern information technology is occurring simultaneously
with the development of informationalism and globalization. Thus, it ensures a quicker
impact on literacy and communication practices.
The Internet appears to revolutionize the ways of human communication and
language learning, as languages are being acquired and communication continues to
occur between people. In this context, it appears that learners of English need a new set
of literacy skills for English language acquisition. these are discussed in detail under the
two broad categories of reading and writing below:

Reading

As a result of the IT (Information Technology) revolution, there is a shift in reading

practices from the (paper) page to the screen (Reinking, 1998; Snyder, 1998). This shift
is more likely to occur especially among young people who grow up with computers
(Tapscott, 1998). It will necessitate different psycholinguistic processes related to
decoding information from a screen instead of a page, especially when the screen will
be decoding words for the reader at the click of a mouse. It will also change how we as
educators teach things like skimming, scanning, and guessing words from a context
(Anderson-Inman & Horney, 1998; McKenna, 1998). It will also force educators to
think more about how texts combine together with graphics, images, and audio-visual
content to communicate a message (Bolter, 1998; Kress, 1999; Lemke, 1998).

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 Reading is not just a psycholinguistic act of decoding letters and words. Rather, it is
a social practice that takes place in particular sociocultural contexts (de Castell & Luke,
1986; Gee, 1996). In this sense the shift of reading from the (paper) page to the screen,
and the new socioeconomic circumstances in which it takes place, has an even greater
impact on language learning. Reading from the screen is less a passive act of decoding a
message from a single authoritative author and more a self-conscious act of
accumulating or creating knowledge from a variety of sources (Bolter, 1991; Landow,
1992). Central principals to the ability to read from the screen include the following
skills (Shetzer & Warschauer, 2000):
• Finding the information to read in the first place through Internet searches, etc.
• Rapidly evaluating the source, credibility, and timeliness of information once it
has been located;
• Rapidly making navigational decisions as to whether to read the current page of
information, pursue links internal or external to the page, or revert back to
further searching;
• Making on-the-spot decisions about ways to save or catalogue part of the
information on the page or the complete page and
• Organizing and keeping track of electronic information that has been saved.
These may seem like mysterious skills for a class of beginning English learners who
are still trying to figure out how to decode simple words. But as English expands in the
21st century as a language of international communication, the number of learners who
master basic English skills will grow. An increasing number of learners throughout the
world will find themselves in the situation of secondary students in many English-
speaking countries today, where the challenge is not so much to achieve basic decoding
skills but rather to use English for the types of complex global communication, as well
as mastering an ability to find and use ever growing linked resources.
None of these types of skills are completely new of course. The need for critical,
active, and interpretive reading has been an important part of print literacy before.
Nevertheless, the vast amount of information available on the Internet and its hyper-
textual organization have changed the nature of reading occurring in the age of print,
making these kinds of critical reading skills all highly essential for English language
learning.

Writing

Similar to the changes learners need to make in their reading practices, changes are
expected to be made in writing practices as well in pedagogical contexts involving the
Internet (Bolter, 1996; Faigley, 1997). In much of the world, writing has been given
little emphasis in English language courses, and if emphasized at all, is seen as
synonymous with the putting on paper of grammatically correct sentences (Raimes,
1991). And indeed, this was sufficient for most learners’ needs prior to the information
revolution of the 1970s. However, the rise of informationalism, and the widespread use
of computers and the Internet, dramatically raised the profile of writing and the need for
effective written communication (American Management Association International,
1998). The new types of writing skills which are required in the context of the Internet
include:

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 • Development of shared skills for abstraction of words, sentences and paragraphs
so that they may become mind-vivid - critical interpreters, and put in logical
context and order (B-CD);
• Integrating texts, graphics, and audio-visual material into a multimedia
presentation;
• Writing effectively in hypertext genres;
• Using internal and external links to communicate a message well;
• Writing for a particular audience when the audience are comprised of unknown
readers on the World Wide Web and
• Using effective pragmatic strategies in various circumstances of computer-
mediated communication (including one-to-one and discussion lists e-mail, and
various forms of synchronous real-time communication, Shetzer & Warschauer,
2000).
The shifts in reading and writing practices necessitate the need for new curriculum
frameworks/approaches for teaching of English in Internet medium. The following
section briefly explores the significance of multiliteracies (multi-literacy) as a
framework for the teaching of English in an era of fast growing, fast changing
information technology dominance.

IV. The Internet and English Pedagogy: New Curriculum Approaches and
Practices

The spread of the English language and the emergence of new technological literacy
are mutually enforcing new trends of the global informational economy. In response, it
is believed that some common approaches should be adopted.
A key pedagogical concept that answers, replies, or react to them (trends of…) is
‘multiliteracies’. It has been put forth by a group of specialists in education, critical
literacy, and discourse analysis (New London Group, 1996; Cope & Kalantzis, 2000).
The multiliteracies concept recognizes the inadequacy of educational approaches,
which limit themselves to ‘page-bound, official, standard forms of the national
language’ (New London Group, 1996, p. 61), instead, it suggests that students should
learn to negotiate a multiplicity of media and discourses. Any pedagogical approach that
can meet this challenge (multiplicity of…) should include the following such elements,
which are discussed in more depth by the New London Group (1996). Among them are:
• Immersion in situated practice: Practice in authentic communicative situations is
required for students to learn how to collaborate with partners, negotiate
complex points, and critically evaluate information as it applies to particular
meaningful contexts. At the same time, such authentic situations can give
students the opportunity to develop new technological literacies in meaningful
contexts;
• Overt instruction: The kinds of sophisticated communication skills required in
the 21st century will seldom develop through practice alone. Students need the
opportunity to step back under the guidance of a teacher to critically analyze the
content, coherence, organization, pragmatics, syntax, and lexis of
communication (which is necessary, for example, in the analysis and critique of
texts, and other media forms. [B-CD]);

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 • Critical framing: Effective cross-cultural communication and collaboration,
including making effective use of information found in online networks,
necessitates a high degree of critical interpretation. The instructor’s overt role
thus should extend beyond narrow language items to also help students learn to
critically interpret information and communication in a given social context and
• Transformed practice: Transformed practice allows students to improve their
communication skills by raising their practice to new levels based on prior
practice, instruction, and critical framing. This involves working toward higher-
quality outcomes within particular contexts and also to transfer what has been
learned for application in new social and cultural contexts.
Such a framework goes far beyond the (traditional) linguistic syllabi that are most
common today, based on collections of syntactic or functional items. It also goes far
beyond the notion of task-based learning, at least when task-based learning is
interpreted as consisting of a progression of narrow tasks designed principally to assist
learners in grasping particular grammatical forms. Akin to the multiliteracies framework,
project-based learning is a new pedagogical tool that would be useful in English
teaching/learning contexts (Stoller, 1997). Projects themselves may include many
individual tasks, but the umbrella of the project allows opportunities to criticize and
transform their practice in ways that individual tasks do not.
Projects can take many forms and should be based mostly on students’ backgrounds,
needs, and interests. When possible, they may involve electronic communication and
collaboration to increase students’ online literacy skills. They may also provide students
with opportunities to deal with cultural and identity issues emerging in the new global
era. These might include long-distance exchange projects in which students debate and
discuss issues related to cultural identity (Kern, 1996), service learning projects in
which students use their knowledge of English and technology to assist their local
communities (Warschauer & Cook, 1999), or the creation and publishing of multimedia
projects in which students collaboratively experiment with new genres (Sokolik, 1999).
Project-based work of this type of course will not be suitable in all educational
contexts. Holliday (1992; 1994) has written expressively about the mismatch between
the pedagogical values of ‘BANA’ educators (from British, Australasian, or North
American settings, often working with highly motivated adult learners in small classes)
and the actual contexts of ‘TESEP’ (in tertiary, secondary, and primary) English
teaching in the rest of the world, which frequently feature poorly motivated students in
large classes. Most BANA TESOL programs favor student-centered group work and
‘learning festivals’ (p. 36), whereas most TESEP institutions value educators with
strong disciplinary knowledge (e.g., of linguistics or literature), firm control of the
classroom, and the ability to deliver captivating lectures (‘teaching spectacles’, p. 36).
E-mail, for instance, is a convenient medium which gives students the experience of
authentic writing tasks, in relation to fellow students, teachers, and native speaker
contacts (Kelm 1995, Tella 1992). It is now widely incorporated into English language
teaching—in those parts of the world where Internet access is routine—for a broad
range of purposes. Additional textual and graphic material can be sent through the use
of attachments. This is a useful and feasible tool that can be included in teaching
English in Chinese universities where many of the college students enrolled may have
an access to the Internet. It also enables students who know some English to make a
pen-friend (a native English speaker), and to exchange emails on a regular basis. The
usage of 'smileys' is also very common among—and popular with the Chinese youth and

7
this could be used, with as many variations as needed, as a pedagogical tool in teaching
English in Chinese universities.
Chat groups are other means to teaching English to ESOL. Crystal (2001) identified
two types of chat group interaction—asynchronous (delayed-time) situation and
synchronous (real-time) situation, both of which can be used in English language
teaching.
Asynchronous situation, such as mailing lists and newsgroups, have facilitated
discussion of issues, student-student contact, and teacher-student interaction which soon
takes on the characteristics of a virtual classroom. But synchronous interaction is also
being used, both as a straightforward chat group and as a virtual world.
The Web can put learners in contact with up-to-date information about the English
language, especially through the use of online dictionaries, usage guide, etc. though at
present these are in limited supply due to access fees and copyright. Websites can
provide a great variety of materials attractively packaged, such as newspaper articles,
exercises, quizzes, and self-assessments, etc.
The use of the Internet in English-language teaching may be in its early stages, but it
is going to grow continuously. In this regard, Eastment (1999) suggests, that teachers
need to learn search-engine skills, ways of evaluating Web pages, techniques for
manipulating and creating their own Web materials, and methods of integrating Web
activities with the rest of their language teaching. We suggest that this should be a basic
package among tools given to teachers in all universities.

VI. Conclusions

With the rapid changes brought about by globalization and technological

development, teachers of ESOL need to understand that they are entering, or have
already entered the biggest language/linguistic revolution ever. Many people have
learned to meet the demands of the new Internet conditions, such as e-mails, chat
groups, Web pages, etc. The e-prefix must have been used in hundreds of expressions of
people on a daily basis. The Oxford Dictionary of New Words (Knowles, 1997) had
already noted e-text, e-cash, e-books, e-conferences, e-voting, e-loan, e-newsletters, e-
cards, e-shop, etc.
However, it is impossible to know how many of these e-expressions which originated
with the Internet will remain in long-term use in the English language. We can only
recognize and describe language change once it has occurred.
Linguists have begun to investigate the linguistic properties of the so-called
‘electronic revolution’. Whether the way in which the English language is being used on
the Internet is so different from previous linguistic behavior, and should it be described
as revolutionary.
As Paolillo (1999: 1) puts it, in his introduction to a paper on the virtual speech
community: ‘If we are to understand truly how the Internet might shape our language,
then it is essential that we seek to understand how different varieties of language are
used on the Internet.’
Eastment (1999) estimated that there were 1,000 ELT (English Language Teaching)
sites devoted to language learning activities, resources, and materials (on the Internet).
From his survey on English-language teaching (ELT) in relation to the Internet,
Eastment (1999:1) notes that ‘no doubt that the Internet…will eventually transform the

8
way that the teaching and learning of English, and the business of ELT is conducted’ (In
the seven years that have passed since then, the number of ELT sites has grown
dramatically).
The continuing changes in the spread, reception, interaction, sharing, and
understanding of global information have altered the process of human and
technological communication. It has created a necessity for linguists, especially
language teachers, to fully understand the factors and their Internet influence on the way
the English language should now be taught.
Therefore, there is an immediate need to clarify whether or not the Internet is a
communication and a linguistic revolution that alter linguistic behavior. And, would the
Internet transform the way in which teaching and learning of English, and the business
of ELT should be conducted.

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Warschauer, M. (1995). E-Mail for English teaching. Alexandria, VA: TESOL
Publications.
Warschauer, M., & Cook, J. (1999). Service learning and technology in TESOL.
Prospect, 14(3), 32-39.
Warschauer, M., & Deborah Healey. (1998). Computers and language learning: an
overview. Language Teaching 31(2), 57-71.

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 The Impact of Globalization and the Internet on
English Language Teaching and Learning
论全球化与互联网对英语教学的影响
全球化与互联网对英语教学的影响

第一作者
姓名：吴莉
工作单位：黑龙江大学西语学院
职称：副教授
联络方式
黑龙江大学西语学院英语系
中国黑龙江省哈尔滨市南岗区学府路 74 号（150080）
电话：0451－86609398（宅）13936627769（手机）
电子邮件：wuli668@yahoo.com.cn
第二作者
姓名：丹 · 本-卡南
工作单位：黑龙江大学西语学院
职称：教授
联络方式
黑龙江大学西语学院英语系
中国黑龙江省哈尔滨市南岗区学府路 74 号（150080）
电话：0451－86608652（办公室）13845184401（手机）
电子邮件：canaan@inter.net.il

个人简介
吴莉 1988 年毕业于黑龙江大学英语系，获英语语言文学学士学位，同年留校任教。1999
年从黑龙江大学英语系获英语语言文学硕士学位。2000 年晋升为副教授。2003 年 1 月至
2004 年 1 月，获教育部留学基金委资助，赴英国诺丁汉大学英文研究学院做访问学者。
至今已出版 5 本编著，在《外语学刊》、《中国英语教学》、《江苏外语研究》等学术
期刊上公开发表论文 15 篇。获各类教学和科研奖励 8 项。目前承担 3 项科研项目（资助
机构为黑龙江省教育厅、黑龙江大学）。主要给英语专业本科生讲授《语言学概论》、
《英语国家概况》课程。学术研究领域为普通语言学、认知语言学、应用语言学，同时
也致力于《英国概况》网络多媒体课件的设计与开发。
First author
Name: Wu, Li
Workplace: Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies
Academic Title: Associate Professor
Contact details
Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies, English Department

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No. 74 Xuefu Road, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, P. R. China
150080
Home Tel: 0451-86609398 Mobile: 13936627769
E-mail: wuli668@yahoo.com.cn

Personal Profile

Wu Li graduated from Heilongjiang University's English Department, receiving her

BA degree in July 1988. She stayed on as English teacher at the University. She
received her MA degree in July 1999, from Heilongjiang University's English
Department.
In 2000, she was promoted to a position of Associate Professor. Prof. Wu obtained a
grant from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) of Education Commission, and held a
post of Visiting Scholar at the University of Nottingham, UK, School of English Studies
from January 2003 to January 2004.
Prof. Wu has edited five books and published fifteen articles in academic journals
such as Foreign Languages Research, English Teaching in China, and Jiangsu Foreign
Languages Research. She has obtained eight teaching and academic achievements
awards.
Currently Prof. Wu is working on three-funded research projects (Funding bodies
include the Heilongjiang Education Commission and Heilongjiang University). Her
courses and lectures focus mainly on subjects such as An Introduction to Linguistics，
and A Survey of English-speaking Countries, both designed for English major students.
Prof. Wu's research interests are in the fields of general linguistics, cognitive
linguistics, and applied linguistics. She also contributes to the development and design
of a CAI courseware of A Survey of Great Britain.

第二作者
第二作者
姓名：丹 · 本-卡南
工作单位：黑龙江大学西语学院
职称：教授
联络方式
黑龙江大学西语学院英语系
中国黑龙江省哈尔滨市南岗区学府路 74 号（150080）
电话：0451－86608652（办公室）13845184401（手机）
电子邮件：canaan@inter.net.il
个人简介
Second Author
Name: Ben-Canaan, Dan
Workplace: Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies, English Department
Academic title: Professor

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Contact details
Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies, English Department
No. 74 Xuefu Road, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, P. R. China
150080
Office Telephone: 0451－86608652 * Mobile: 13845184401
Email: canaan@inter.net.il

Personal Profile

Prof. Ben-Canaan, Dan has been with the English Department at Heilongjiang
University’s School of Western Studies since 2002, where he serves as Professor of
Research and Creative Writing, Text Critique and Analysis, Journalism and Public and
Social Media Studies. He holds a position of Hon. Research Fellow at the Heilongjiang
Academy of Social Sciences, and serves as the Senior Editor of the Heilongjiang
Television China English News Service, and an institutional advisor.
Prof. Ben-Canaan holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Mass Communication from
the City University of New York at Hunter College USA; Advance studies Ph.D. degree
in Information and Political Propaganda from the American University in Washington
D.C. USA; Professional Diploma from the R.C.A Institutes, New York, USA in
Television Directing and Production; And a Journalism Diploma from the Tel Aviv
School of Journalism, Israel.
Prof. Ben-Canaan specializes in text criticism and analysis, the applications of creative
writing, mass communication, and journalism, as well as in advanced information
theories. Before joining the faculty of the English Department at the Heilongjiang
University he served, among other things, as a media specialist, lecturer and researcher,
and as journalist specializing in East-Asian affairs, human, social, and political agendas.
He was the Press secretary and Spokesman of the Council of Local Governments and
the municipal lobby of the Israeli Parliament for almost ten years.
Among civic and academic accomplishments awards are The International Lions
Organization 1987 Civic Participation Award; The Israel Journalists & Editors
Association's 1989 Best Public Campaign Award; 1998 Best Interview Series Award for
magazines on the issue of the Labor High Court; 2004 best news programs – HLJTV
China, English News, Outstanding Teaching Contribution Award – Heilongjiang
University, School of Western Studies; Outstanding Teaching Contribution Award –
Heilongjiang University, Literature and Communication College.
Some Publications
Nostalgia vs. Historical Reality. Paper for the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences,
"International Forum on the History and Culture of Harbin Jews". China 2006
The Jewish People as the Classic Diaspora: A Concise Historical and Political View.
Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, China 2003
Political Communication - Guide for Political Candidates Strategy Publications 1990, Israel
Changing Media – Changing Times. IAPP Publications 1992, Israel
A Diary of the 20th Century - The Story of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. IFHUJ
Publications 2000, Israel
A Man of All Seasons - General Yohai Ben-Nun. IFHUJ Publications 2002, Israel

14
The Jews in Harbin – A Pictorial History. English & Hebrew versions - HAOSS 2003/2006,
China
A New Dawn. Documentary film for HLJTV – Harbin 2003, China
Journalism & writing. 13 one-hour weekly Radio Programs, Harbin 2003, China
The Jews in Harbin. Website. Northeast Network 2004, China
Mama, China, and Me. HLJTV documentary English writing and narration. China 2004
Where Are You Mom. HLJTV documentary. English version. China 2005
Phoenix Mountain. HLJTV documentary. English version
Waitress. Documentary. Script and direction. Heilongjiang University, School of Western
Studies. Literary Images Seminar. 2006, China
In Progress
Globalizing China's News. A Comprehensive Guide to English News Writing, Editing and
Reporting for Chinese students. Heilongjiang University, School of Western Studies. China
2006
China My Darling. Novel

The Impact of Globalization and the Internet on

English Language Teaching and Learning
论全球化与互联网对英语教学的影响
论全球化与互联网对英语教学的影响

Abstract

The spread of English as an international language and the emergence of the

Internet as a fast communication channel that has no boundaries, are mutually enforcing
trends in an age of globalization. Since its conception, the Internet has, so it seems,
revolutionize the ways of human communication as well as English language learning
in a global context. Learners of English language today need a new set of critical and
interpretive skills. Teachers of ESOL therefore, need to understand how the Internet is
revolutionizing English language learning. This paper attempts to discuss the impact of
the Internet on English language learning as well as the need for new frameworks for
teaching English language in computer mediated contexts.

Key Words: globalization; the Internet; English language teaching

摘要

在当今全球化时代，英语语言的发展和互联网的兴起是两股相互促进的强劲
势头。在全球化环境下，互联网改革了英语的教学方法以及人类的交际模式。今
天的英语学习者需要掌握一系列关键性的、阐释性的技能。因此，英语教师需要
了解互联网是如何改革英语的学习过程的。本文探讨了互联网对英语教学所产生
的影响，以及在以计算机为媒介的环境下，英语教学所需要的全新教学体系。
主题词：
主题词：全球化；互联网；英语语言教学

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