INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

MIDTERM EXAMINATION
GLOBAL ENGLISHES
Semester 2, 2019 – 2020
Date: April 22, 2020
Duration: 90 minutes
Name: Phạm Đường Minh Nhật
Student ID: ENENIU17023

Instructions:
1. STUDENTS CAN CHOOSE ONE OF THE OPTIONS FOR THE EXAM.
2. Only textbooks are allowed.
3. All electronic devices, reference materials, discussion and material transfer are strictly prohibited.

OPTION A: There are two parts. You can combine them in one answer, or structure the answer accordingly in
two parts. (100 pts)

(1)

The three concentric circles model of Kachru, despite some limitations, can still be used to categorize different groups

of English speakers based geography and history. The Inner Circle present countries who use English as their native

language, such as the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, etc. These countries used to be the norm providers when it’s

come to language standards. The Outer Circle is comprised of countries/regions like Hong Kong, India, South Africa

where English is the result of colonialism. Consequently, people often grows up bilingual, which is different from the

past when English is considered as a language for the upper class members. This reality, in today context, makes it

hard to classify English as the L2 in these areas. English in the Inner Circle appears to be used mainly in certain fields,

namely business, education, aviation or tourism. In conclusion, since the model does not address the grey area

between each circles, it only benefits researchers in locating the geographical origin of the speakers without taking

into account their language competence.

(2)

1
In my opinion, whether English standards is still determined by has led to the situation of English becoming

increasingly complicated. This is due to two reasons: the numbers of NNSs and technological advancement. First,

along with the fact that English in Outer and Expanding circle is widely used as a lingua franca, NNSs also outnumber

NSs. Therefore, some may argue that we cannot use native standards to judge English-medium communication with

little to no participation of NSs because it is unnecessary. Second, thanks to the internet, people now can communicate

with others from around the globe, which challenge the major view that English in Outer Circle is a foreign language.

To conclude, the complex nature of this situation seemingly gives rise to a different way of categorization in which

English speakers are classified as single-function users or multiple-function users depending on how they use English

and whom they communicate with.

Good luck!