Practice Activities – M&R

SUBJECT PRACTICE ACTIVITIES:

ENGLISH IN THE COMMUNITY

Name and surname(s): Milena Mignossi Ferreira

Date: June 02nd, 2019

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INDEX
SUBJECT PRACTICE ACTIVITIES: ENGLISH IN THE COMMUNITY.........................1
Practice Activities........................................................................................................3
Task 1........................................................................................................................... 3
Task 2........................................................................................................................... 5
Task 3........................................................................................................................... 6
References................................................................................................................... 8

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Practice Activities

Graddol (2006, p.14) states as a key trend to be expected “the rise

and fall of learners”. That is, he claims that “a massive increase in
the number of people learning English has already begun, and is
likely to reach a peak around 2 billion in the next 10-15 years.
Numbers of learners will then decline.” (ibid, p.14)

Bearing in mind this statement, complete the following tasks.

Task 1

More than 10 years have gone by since the original statement. Find updated
figures supporting or refuting the hypothesis. If possible, find sources for the
last five years.

- Justify the validity of your sources. To do so apply the CRAAP test proposed
by California State University, which can be found here.

One of the most powerful incentives for acquiring a new language is the social,
economic and cultural use it can be immediately put. English is considered the
language of Science, technology, information, business, entertainment and diplomacy.
English is the language that has shaped communication all over the world since the
end of the 20th century. Graddol stated that globalisation accelerated English and
English accelerated globalisation (English Next, p.22) but he did not assume that
English learning would keep growing so strong throughout the world for such a long
period of time.

A report from John Bentley, representative of the British Council who attended 2014
TESOL event in Oregon, there were 1.5 billion learners of English worldwide (report
available at https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/blog/bid/205659/report-
from-tesol-2014-1-5-billion-english-learners-worldwide).

A second report from Kenneth Beare in October 2018 based on the British Council
report “The English Effect” from 2013 (report available at
https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-people-learn-english-globally-1210367)
estimated English spoken by 1.75 billion people worldwide – one out of every four

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people. This report also estimates that, by 2020, there will be 2 billion people speaking
English.

Elizabeth Redden presented a report on 2016 (available at

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/14/annual-open-doors-report-
documents-continued-growth-international-students-us-and-us) which presents a
significant increase in the number of international students in American institutions. “In
2015-2016, the number of International students at American colleges and universities
grew 7.1%, to top one million in the 2015-2016 academic years”.

C.R.A.A.P test was applied to the data above and the information is based on
information extracted from websites. The data on the websites has been updated in
2018 which makes it relevant and recent enough for the purpose of this activity. The
information relates to the topic and answers the questions proposed. I would have no
problem sharing this information on a research paper due to the fact that the websites
used have the British Council as one of their main reference source.

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Task 2

Present the updated figures in table form comparing them to Graddol’s

statements and own figures. Analyze the evolution and state whether Graddol’s
hypothesis has been sustained or refuted. Bear in mind:
- How do you define English learners.
- How do your figures count English learners.
- Where do your sources come from (remember Task 1).
- Whether the trend has stop growing or not yet.

COUNTRY/YEAR ENGLISH STUDENTS GRADDOL’S

STATEMENTS
USA / UK 1.5 - 1.75 billion “…no complete data of
2013/2014 comparable data on
international mobility…
[…], between 2-3 million
students each year travel
to another country to
study. The USA and UK
account for over a third of
all international students in
the world”. (Graddol, 2006,
p.76)

“English-speaking
countries have the most
USA 7.1% increase to top 1 entrepreneurial universities
2015/2016 million […] and English itself is
seen as a key educational
investment” (Graddol,
2006, p.76)

“…estimated 1500
Master’s programmes
were offered in English
where English is not the
first language”. (Graddol,
2006, p.76)

Worldwide Estimate of 2 billion “a massive increase in the

2020 number of people learning
English has already begun,
and is likely to reach a
peak around 2 billion in the
next 10-15 years. Numbers
of learners will then
decline.” (ibid, p.14)

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English learners are those who seek formal instruction and those who learn through
informal situations. Therefore, the numbers aforementioned account for those who
learn through the formal learning process – schools. These numbers come from the
websites which are still functioning and the links are mentioned directly after the
numbers.

We can conclude that the figures sustain Graddol’s hypothesis until this moment, but
for future references these numbers may still have to into consideration the student
international mobility which is still growing and still under analysis. There isn’t enough
data or reports on countries in South America, Brazil and Chile for example, which
have an increasing number or English schools and, English learners consequently; the
information regarding the amount of English speakers, and English learners may
change future references on this matter.

Task 3

Based on the figures you had, propose your own claim to the future development
of English as a Foreign Language. Take into account the figures you found, the
materials of the class, the readings available in the campus and other external
sources that you might deem relevant.

Teaching English in order to achieve global communicative competence should be

considered extremely important all over the world. When people look for new jobs or
new opportunities to go beyond in their studies, the development of linguistic
competences and the acquisition of knowledge from other cultures as well as the need
to be competitive in a globalized and connected world, highlight the need of fostering
global communication through the learning of English.

By selecting approaches that integrate structure, functionality and cultural aspects,

teachers may facilitate the learning process enabling students to connect with the
language they are learning considering learners can see it in their own context and
their own culture.

The figures previously presented show that the number of English learners all over the
world will continue to increase. English is the language of choice in many areas –
technology, international travel, business, education, science and communication. It is

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the language required for global communication and economic development, and, as
Graddol states “English seems to have joined this list of basic skills. Quite simply, its
function and place in the curriculum is no longer that of ‘foreign language’ and this is
bringing about profound changes in who is learning English, their motives for learning it
and their needs as learners (Graddol, 2006)”. In some countries, formal education of
English is still a work in progress which means, they are still developing the strategies
and approaches to fully integrate skills and competences for the acquisition of English
as a global language – lingua franca.

Considering that education, research, science and technology (just to mention some
areas) never stop evolving, growing and spreading their wings all over the world, there
will be more people speaking English in the world due to the fact that we need a
language that connects all the people in this areas. The need to communicate,
express ideas, write about ideas and share ideas with others, will possibly make the
numbers of English learners and English speakers increase as the world develops.

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References
Bentley, J. 2014. Report from 2014 TESOL. Available at
https://www.internationalteflacademy.com/blog/bid/205659/report-from-tesol-
2014-1-5-billion-english-learners-worldwide

Beare, K. 2018. How many people learn English? Available at

https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-people-learn-english-globally-1210367

British Council. The English Effect. 2013

https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/english-effect-report-v2.pdf

Gabriel Buosi, January 2018. IMPARCIAL newspaper. Available at:

http://www.imparcial.com.br/noticias/procura-por-cursos-de-ingles-tem-
crescimento,17795

Graddol, D. 2007. English next. British Council. UK.

Redden, E. 2016. International Students top 1 million. Available at:

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/14/annual-open-doors-report-
documents-continued-growth-international-students-us-and-us