ENGLISH AS AN INTERNASIONAL LANGUAGE

submitted to fulfill one of the course assignments

that are supervised by

Dr. Dwi Astuti WN, S.S,M.Pd

Dr. Arina Shofia, M.Pd

By :

Nasra Subhi Ahmad Juma (12510204040)

Peni Adytia (12510204015)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION

GRADUATE PROGRAM
FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND TEACHER TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC INSTITUTE (IAIN)
TULUNGAGUNG
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. Background

A language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that
is recognized in every country. This might seem like stating the obvious, but it is not, for
the notion of ‘special role’ has many facets. Such a role will be most evident in countries
where large numbers of the people speak the language as a mother tongue. For better or
worse, by choice or force, English has ‘traveled’ to many parts of the world and has been
used to serve various purposes. This phenomenon has created positive interactions as
well as tensions between global and local forces and has had serious linguistic,
ideological, sociocultural, political and pedagogical implications.

English as an international language refers to paradigm for thinking, practice and

research. This language has spread widely all over the globe. English is the defacto global
lingua franca. It is the language of international diplomacy, global commerce, most of
academic journals and the language of air traffic control. In addition, English is the
language of travelers with different native languages all over the world. Moreover,
English is the most commonly used language on the internet and in most software
programs.

B. Questions
1. What is English as an Internasional Language?

2. How is world englishes?

C. Purpose

Based on the questions above, this paper intends to discuss :

1. The definition of English as an Internasional Language

2. The classification of world englishes
 CHAPTER I
DISCUSSION

A. THE ENGLISH HISTORICAL

No one denies that English is an international language since it is the

language of technology, science, business, academia, politics and art all over
the world. English language is the language of international conferences and
educational webinars. It is also the language of politics, law and trade.
English language gained its popularity since it is spoken and used by so
many countries all over the world. According to Peter W.Roux in his essay
entitled "English as an International Language. The Debate Continues",
which was published in 2014: "The presence of English as a subject, or, at
the very least, as a form of instruction in educational institutions across the
globe is today virtually unquestioned, and it continues to attract and receive
political attention as countries seek to balance the formulation of their
language policies with the requirements and challenges of the global
market."

English as an international language refers to paradigm for thinking,

practice and research. This language has spread widely all over the globe.
English is the defacto global lingua franca. It is the language of international
diplomacy, global commerce, most of academic journals and the language of
air traffic control. In addition, English is the language of travelers with
different native languages all over the world. Moreover, English is the most
commonly used language on the internet and in most software programs.
 English reached this kind of status partly because of the USA's
role as a global super power. In the 16th century, England started to establish
overseas colonies in India, the Caribbeans, Africa, Canada and what was to
become the United States. On the other hand, France was establishing its
own colonies too. Large areas that had been colonized by the French were
lost to the British during the war of the seven years. As for Spain, it
colonized what is now the southern and western Unites States. However,
these areas were taken in wars with Spain and later Mexico. New
Netherlands were also colonized by the Dutch, but was lost to the British in
the late 17th century.

There were also the non-British immigrants to the British colonies from
North America. For example, German speaking immigrants for a long part
of the USA's history. German was the second most widely spoken language,
but its use declined during the First World War, because of the stigma of
being associated with Germany, while there were numerous languages
spoken by settlers, English became the dominant language of the United
States. The British kept on establishing colonies after American
independence including much larger areas of the Indian sub-continent ,
Africa, Australia, Newzeland, and the Middle East after the first world war.

In 1922, the British Empire covered nearly a quarter of the whole

world and about fifth of the world's population. Most of these countries were
populated by English settlers. So the dominant language of these countries
became English, replacing many other languages. Other countries were not
populated by permanent settlers but by administrative military and
commercial personal. Generally, in these countries English didn't become
the single dominant language, but became a prestige language and a
convenient lingua franca that can facilitate communication between the
linguistically diverse populations.

English was not the only colonial language gaining a foothold

throughout the world, but a long with Spanish and French it was one of the
main ones and it was hard to imagine a language other than one of these
becoming the global lingua franca. Through the 19th century, it was French,
but English began to surpass French in the 20th century. By the time of the 1st
world war, the United States became a strong economic power, and its role
in the war increased its political influence in Europe. After the war, the
Treaty of Versailles was written not only in French but also in English. This
signaled the start of English as a language of diplomacy. Nevertheless, it was
after World War II when English really began to develop into the main
global lingua franca as the USA developed more fully into world super
power.

This is partly because after the war, the United States military
maintained a presence in Europe to assist in reconstruction efforts which
greatly increased its international influence. This didn't stop with Europe.
American economic, political, and military influence over much of the world
has been the reality for decades. As the United States grew in power,
advancements in technology gave rise to mass communication and media,
American movies, music and TV spread all over the world, exposing regular
people to English language rather than being just the lingua franca of
international business, people diplomats. English was used largely at that
time because of the mass communication, as well as a second language
classes. Moreover, English became part of the school curriculum in many
countries. This is something that kept increasing as a response to the
growing importance of English as a global language in nearly all fields of
life.

On the other hand, one of the obstacles to English becoming the world
language was the USSR during the cold war. Russian was the lingua franca
in the USSR's member states. At that time, scientific articles used to be
written in both Russian and English, but the collapse of the USSR made the
Russian language decline as a lingua franca and language of science and
technology. These days, we can see that more than 96% of scientific articles
are written in English.

To sum up, The position of English in the world today is thus a join
outcome of Britain’s colonial expansion and the more recent activity of the
US. Any substantial shift in the role of the US in the world is likely to have
an impact on the use and attractiveness of the English language amongst
those for whom it is not a first language. Crystal (1997) says there are a little
over 377 million speakers of English as a L1 but the aggregated population
of all countries in which English has any special status represents one third
of the world's population. These data seem to show that many people have
used English for professional purposes but do they speak it? There are three
types of English speakers in the world today, each one with a different
relationship with the language. First language (L1) speakers are those for
whom English is a first-and often only- language. These native speakers live
in countries in which the dominant culture is based on English. These
countries, however, are experiencing increasing linguistic diversity as a
result of immigration. Second language speakers (L2) have English as a
second or additional language. Speakers here might use a local form of
English, but many also can be fluent in international varieties. The third
group of English speakers is the growing number of people learning English
as a Foreign Language (EFL).

Globalization supported and served English language to be a global

language for people all over the world. For Crystal (1997) "the users of the
English language besides being influenced by the whole process of
globalization are involved in power structures that legitimize the process to
validate a language and, as an example of this legitimation, there is the
influence of the US on Europe, basically, after the Marshall Plan, right after
The Second World War. The injection of the US capital indeed had the
effect to integrate European economics into patterns determined by US
global economics interests." This point of view reflects the influence of
globalization on areas like finance, technology and entertainment worldwide
and it somehow took the form of Americanization for the rest of the world
since these influences stemmed from America.

Another main reason that made English language a langua franca is the
internet and the use of modern technology and social media. That made
English the dominant language these days since there is a revolution in this
technology and the use of websites and applications which are all in English.
English became the dominant language online and for people from all over
the world. As a proof of what is said, if we enter any of the websites we will
find English the used language. In addition, all the google search stuff is
mainly in English. So English became the language of communication and
this affected the cultures which use it. McKay’s characterization of English
as an international language is framed in terms of its use for communication
and the expression of culture. She maintains that in a global sense, one of the
primary functions of English “is to enable speakers to share with others their
ideas and culture” (McKay, 2002, p. 12). She adds that “in a local sense,
English becomes embedded in the culture of the country in which it is used”.
This view of an international language is an advanced one, in that it
acknowledges the dynamics of the “enculturation” of theinternational
language in local contexts, as it is used for the expression of local cultures.
This cultural effect of English has been noticed by many researches and
some reached a point to consider it as Americanization of many cultures
around the Globe that started obtaining the American style in many fields
such as trade, food and drinks, arts and means of communications.
There are nearly 400 million native speakers of English. Moreover,
there are over a billion second English language speakers. The question is
that "Is English going to be the international language for a long time? If you
want to be an international communicator, you have to use English language.
Otherwise, you will not be able to interact with others expressing yourself
and clarifying your ideas. Your words and ideas will be buried, so if you
want your point of view, opinions and thoughts to reach the whole world you
have to use English language to express yourself.
Any language fulfills two main functions: It is the main medium of
human communication, but it is also a symbol of identity (Clyne, 1994, p. 1;
Kirkpatrick, 2007). Through language, group boundaries are marked
between “us” and “them” and group relations are expressed. A national
language defines a nation, hence the formation and differentiation of
national languages among aspiring or newly independent nations, for
example Bosnian, Montenegrin. For a large number of countries all over the
world English is not only an international language but a national language
as well. Through an international language we try to communicate across
cultures within and across national boundaries. A national language has, of
 course, important communicative functions but also carries symbolic ones;
these may not be relevant for second language users, unless they learn the
second language in order to project a particular identity. For example,
English may be learned and used because it is associated with certain
identities such as a “modern” or a “social elite” identity.
Nowadays, the study in many fields has been diverted to English such
as science, medicine, economics, law and engineering. So English has
become an essential language worldwide for most people to interact and
manage their lives. This is another factor clarifying the importance and even
dominance of English language all over the world not because of the
language itself, but because of English speaking countries like USA who
have demographic, political and economic power.
As a conclusion we can reach a more comprehensive and substantial
understanding of English being the most dominant language in the whole
world without any other competing language. Moreover, there are no signs
for a future change of this status of English language for at least 50 years to
come. Still, we have to teach our students the language as a separate entity
from the culture it represents keeping our culture intact. This will ensure our
independence along with holding on to our traditions and morals. Learning
the language mustn't lead to the death of any culture to obtain another
culture from where the language came.

B. ENGLISH AS AN INTERNASIONAL LANGUAGE

In general, we can say that English as an International Language refers to a
paradigm for thinking, research and practice. This language has spread widely all over
the globe. English is the defacto global lingua franca. It is the language of international
diplomacy, global commerce, most of academic journals In addition, English is the
 language of travelers with different native languages all over the world. Moreover,
English is the most commonly used language on the internet and in most software
programs.

English is used by an enormous speech community, probably of 600 million

people, of whom about 300 million are speakers of English as their mother tongue, while
a further 300 million have learned it in addition to their mother tongue.
McKay (2002), for example, making use of Kachru’s three circles of world
Englishes, draws the following conclusions regarding the relationship of an international
language and culture:

1. As an international language, English is used both in a global sense for

international communication between countries and in a local sense as a language
of wider communication within multilingual societies.

2. As it is an international language, the use of English is no longer connected to

the culture of Inner Circle countries.

3. As an international language in a local sense, English becomes imbedded in the

culture of the country in which it is used.

4. As English is an international language in a global sense, one of its primary

functions is to enable speakers to share with others their ideas and culture.

3. THREE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF THE LANGUAGE

In recent years, English as an International Language (EIL) has been attracting much
attention in applied linguistics, and is claimed to have brought about “a paradigm shift in
TESOL and SLA” according to (Marlina, 2014). As a new “paradigm for thinking, research
and practice” (Sharifian, 2009, p. 2), it represents a linguistic or epistemological “tool” for
researchers, scholars and educators to reconsider the concept of English, reevaluate
approaches in TESOL, and reexamine pedagogical strategies for English language teaching
(ELT) (Marlina, 2014). In this respect, research on EIL challenges the very models, values
and ideology on which the TESOL profession is premised McKay, 2002).
 Theoretical considerations about EIL have shed light on the status of English, the nature
of the language, and the fact that English is more widely used in multilingual contexts for
communication among non-native speakers (NNS) than among its native-speakers (NS)
(McKay, 2012).
Kachru (1997) proposed three circles (Figure-1) to divide English-using world. While
doing this, he focused on the historical context of English, the status of the language and the
functions in various regions. According to Kachru, the Inner Circle includes the Native
English-speaking countries such as England, USA and Canada). The Outer Circle consists of
the former colonies such as India, Africa and Nigeria and finally Expanding Circle includes
countries such as China, Japan and Turkey, which are affected by Western and where
English is becoming an important language in business, science, technology and education.
Kachru’s main arguments are more related to Outer Circle and against IL theory. According
to IL theory, (Selinker, 1972, 1992), second languge learners’ competence is based on an
interlanguage continuum between their first (L1) and their second (L2) language. If their
output is different from Standard English (American or British), it is regarded as an error
(interference of L1 mainly) and if they continue producing errors (fixing), this is known as
fossilization. In 1992, Selinker reproduced his IL theory and particularly applied fossilization
to World Englishes context, which renewed the challenge to the theory by scholars such as
Kachru and Quirk.
 More detail about Kachru's Three Circles of English :

The most influential model of the spread of English is Braj Kachru's model of World
Englishes. In this model the diffusion of English is captured in terms of three Concentric
Circles of the language: The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle.

1. The Inner Circle refers to English as it originally took shape and was spread across the
world in the first diaspora. In this transplantation of English, speakers from England
carried the language to Australia, New Zealand and North America. The Inner Circle thus
represents the traditional historical and sociolinguistic bases of English in regions where
it is now used as a primary language: the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia,
New Zealand, Ireland, anglophone Canada and South Africa, and some of
the Caribbean territories. English is the native language or mother tongue of most people
in these countries. The total number of English speakers in the inner circle is as high as
380 million, of whom some 120 million are outside the United States.

2. The Outer Circle of English was produced by the second diaspora of English, which

spread the language through imperial expansion by Great Britain in Asia and Africa. In
these regions, English is not the native tongue, but serves as a useful lingua
franca between ethnic and language groups. Higher education,
the legislature and judiciary, national commerce and so on may all be carried out
predominantly in English. This circle includes India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia,
Tanzania, Kenya, non-Anglophone South Africa, the philipines and others. The total
number of English speakers in the outer circle is estimated to range from 150 million to
300 million. Singapore, while in the outer circle, may be drifting into the inner circle as
English becomes more often used as a home language muchas Ireland did earlier.
Countries where most people speak an English-based creole and retain standard English
for official purposes, such as Jamaica and Papua New Guinea, are also in the Outer
Circle.
3. Expanding Circle” (EC), is reserved for counties in which English is learned as a foreign
language (EFL), such as in China, Japan, Korea, and Egypt.

CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION

In this paper, we have presented about how is English as an Internasional

language. English as an international language refers to paradigm for thinking, practice
and research. This language has spread widely all over the globe. And then about historicl
English in every country have different way.

REFERENCES

Kachru, B. (1992). The Other Tongue: English across cultures. University of

Illinois Press.

Ferit K.(2009) . World Englishes, English as an International Language and

Applied Linguistics.vol2.no.3.ccsejournal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Englishes#Kachru's_Three_Circles_of_
English

Kachru, B (2006). The Handbook of World Englishes. Graphicraft Limited,

Hong Kong