{"id":45936,"date":"2024-07-19T06:56:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T06:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essays.homeworkacetutors.com\/2024\/07\/use-of-the-english-language-in-politics-and-education\/"},"modified":"2024-07-19T06:56:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T06:56:07","slug":"use-of-the-english-language-in-politics-and-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/use-of-the-english-language-in-politics-and-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Use of the English Language in Politics and Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

World
\nEnglishes: The adoption and use of English in European politics and education with reference to Brexit; <\/p>\n

What is \u2018World Englishes\u2019?<\/h2>\n
\n

\u201cEnglish is no longer just \u2018one language\u2019, it comes in many different shapes and sizes.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Schneider, 2011, p. 11 <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The term \u2018World Englishes\u2019 was
\ndevised by the sociolinguistic researcher Braj Kachru and is one of the
\nmost influential models in the discussion of the spread of English on a global
\nscale. The word \u2018Englishes\u2019 is a term which means there is more than one type
\nof the English language based on indigenised forms adapted for and from a
\nvariety of reasons which will be discussed
\nthroughout this paper.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The very idea of World Englishes (WE)<\/a> is quite exceptional and one of which has turned into a fixation for current researchers such as Robert Philipson and Edgar W. Schneider. Sociolinguistic and regional variations of WE are being examined vastly by researchers to deepen their understanding of why English as a first, second or foreign language has become one of or if not, the most dominant language in the world. One could say that English has taken the place of languages such as Esperanto which sole purpose was to eventually become the world\u2019s most commonly spoken language or the \u2018lingua franca\u2019. <\/p>\n

With many theorists such as Cogo
\nand Jenkins (2010), believing that English will benefit one of the world\u2019s
\nleading political unification, the European Union (EU), because it serves the
\npurpose of a lingua franca (mutual understanding) for borderless communication,
\nothers such as van Parijs (2011, p. 220)believe that English as a lingua franca serves as a loss of \u2018parity of
\nesteem\u2019. <\/p>\n

In this essay, therefore,
\nI will review areas such as the use and spread of English from nativisation and
\ncolonialism as it is first and foremost important to understand how English
\nbecame the so-called lingua franca\u00ad\u00ad <\/em>in today\u2019s
\nmodern society. It is also crucial to
\ndraw attention to one of the most groundbreaking
\napproaches to the ownership and use of English as discussed by Kachru. The
\nfocus of the essay is the use of English in Europe; politically and socially. I
\nwill endeavour to address how English is used
\nin the context of the European Union, education and the specific context of
\nfounding members; France and Germany with a specific focus on Italy. One of the
\nother key topics that will be reviewed is
\nthe effect of Brexit on English within the context of Europe and any obvious
\neffects this could have on the UK \u2018Brexiting\u2019. <\/p>\n

Historical origins and spread of English<\/h2>\n

The types of colonisation by the British Empire meant
\ndifferent attached connotations in the use
\nand spread of English; these can be defined as; settlement
\nand exploitation. Nations in which explorers settled such as Australia
\nand New Zealand, meant these territories were
\nconquered, and natives were forced
\nby settlers to use English. Other countries
\nwhich were exploited by the British Empire, including many African and Asian nations, were used
\nprimarily as a means of harvesting labourers and obtaining natural
\nresources to benefit Britain in its strive for global dominance. This meant English was used by the elitists and not by the natives of the country. Within
\nthe last century, the indigenisation and nativisation of English from the
\nformer British Empire colonies further expanded the use of English encompassing
\na sense of belonging to a particular region or culture; different types of
\nEnglish, or as discussed, Englishes (Schneider, 2011). The countries which were colonised by the British Empire were not
\npreliminarily exposed and made to use English in some cases; it was in fact only used by settlers and
\nexpatriates. English is now a recognised first language of many former
\ncolonised nations around the world such as Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria (Crystal,
\n2003)which are all territories
\nwhich were previously exploitedby the former British Empire.<\/p>\n

The English language was predicted by Follick (1934)to spread and be used internationally
\nby nations to communicate and cooperate. It
\ncould be said that there was a natural shift in using English as a conventional
\nmeans of communication because of its imperialistic background and because
\nEnglish had already been introduced to a number of British Empire colonies,
\nsuch as India and South Africa. It was also being used by countries with strong
\ninternational political and economic backgrounds, such as the United States and
\nthe UK (Schneider, 2011). English, having been introduced two centuries
\nago, already had a stronghold within African and Asian countries which meant
\nthat English had already been adapted to
\nlocal dialects. This rapid spread and use of English meant that governments, education and the media within these former
\ncolonies were used to communicate and compete with other countries;
\nEnglish is perceived to be a dominant language as it allows for better job
\nopportunities and prosperity (Crystal, 2003). Today through membership, any
\nformer British Empire colonies are known as the \u2018Commonwealth of Nations\u2019 in
\nwhich the Queen is sovereign head of state which could still be impacting on
\nthe relation of English as a dominant language of former settled and colonised
\nnations.\u00a0 Kachrudeveloped \u2018The Three Circles\u2019 model to outline how English is used
\nand continues to be used internationally
\nin countries such as those in the commonwealth. <\/p>\n

Kachru \u2013 The Three Circles<\/h2>\n

The model is presented concentrically; the Inner Circle, The Outer Circle and The Expanding Circle<\/a> (Kachru, 1992). The overlapping circles are conceptualised as; English as a Native Language (ENL) \u2013 \u2018Inner Circle\u2019, English as a Second Language (ESL) being the \u2018Outer Circle and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) presented as the \u2018Expanding Circle\u2019 (Schneider, 2011, p. 31). The Inner Circle includes countries such as the United Kingdom, The United States, New Zealand, Australia and Canada; the Outer Circle comprises of post-colonial nations such as India and Singapore, and the Expanding Circle contains the rest of the world (Crystal, 2003, p. 61).<\/p>\n

Kachru\u2019s socio-political way
\nof thinking plays substantial importance on the Outer and Expanding Circles
\nbecause he is sturdy of the opinion that \u2018English
\nbelongs to all those who use it\u2019 <\/em>so there is no great need for ESL and EFL
\nusers to obsess over developing the perfect Inner Circle accent or way of
\nthinking Kachru (1992). Furthermore, Kachru argues that because users of
\nEnglish in the Outer and Expanding Circles
\nhave as much ownership as those in the Inner Circle,
\nthey are allowed and should continue creating their own set of \u2018norms\u2019 which
\nsubsequently allows for the spread of varying types of English. <\/strong>Kachru\u2019s modal identifies the Inner Circle as \u2018norm-providing\u2019,
\nthe Outer Circle as \u2018norm-developing\u2019 and the Expanding Circle as \u2018norm
\naccepting\u2019. These principles, however, have been questioned by linguists by negatively
\ndepicting aspects such as the Expanding circle (Canagarajah, 2006). The fact
\nthat multilingual speakers in the Expanding circle do not apply the same norms
\nas the Inner circle when speaking English implies that the Expanding circle is
\nnot norm dependent. As the use of English around the world continues to
\nexpand and become deeply rooted in many countries, there is a divergence in the
\nway in which English is utilised. <\/p>\n

English in Europe \u2013 Politics and Education<\/h2>\n

The European Union has a five-level
\nlanguage policy which encourages the use of all twenty-four official languages
\nwithin the EU (Gazzola, 2016).The system ensures fair usage and publication of EU
\nrelated materials to its members. The five-level
\npolicy includes; Non-legally binding documents, official documents from the
\nEuropean Commission, EU studies and reports, EU court documentation and the EU
\nparliament (Wright, 2009)<\/p>\n

One of the recurring myths surrounding the use of English
\nwithin the EU is that English is only one of a selection of official languages
\nused by the EU (Phillipson, 2017). Even though Irish and Maltese were upgraded by the EU in 2007 to have
\nofficial language status, English is still used
\nby these two counties (Phillipson, 2017). An indication perhaps that there is a
\npreference to communicate in English.<\/p>\n

English teaching was slowly
\nintroduced to western European and Scandinavian schools throughout the
\n1950\u2019s and 1960\u2019s (Council of Europe, 2002);central and eastern European countries including Russia and Italy
\nstarted\u00a0 English in the late 1980\u2019s in
\nthe post-Stalinist period. This early
\nintroduction could perhaps be related to the growth of the UK and US economies
\nand seen as an integral part of western European and Scandinavian countries
\ngrowth and inclusion. Furthermore, all members of the EU made it compulsory \u00a0to learn another language at varying school
\nage levels and at varying times up to 2001 (Eurydice, 2001). The teaching of
\nEnglish in European schools is evidence that perhaps suggests national
\ngovernments recognised the importance of English as a means to better their
\nsocio-political stance on the world stage. <\/p>\n

Focusing on Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Finland, it is
\nclear that the then government of 1995 valued English as both countries made it
\ntheir national policies to diversify their language teaching in schools to two
\nlanguages instead of one, which was predominantly English (Bergman,\u00a01995<\/em>, p.178)<\/p>\n

The context of EU language policy for learning is connected to socioeconomic achievement and
\nobjectives set out by the EU in the Lisbon agenda 2000-2010 and Europe 2020 (Krzyzanowski
\n& Wodak, 2011).The goals the EU discuss are related to higher social cohesion as well as \u2018smart,
\nsustainable and inclusive growth\u2019. <\/p>\n

The policy by the EU was designed to encourage \u2018mother
\ntongue\u2019 speakers to learn another two languages which would increase the EU\u2019s
\nchance of more significant socioeconomic
\nand political cohesion as well as better social mobility (Gazzola, 2016). That
\nsaid, the European Commission (2016) published a report that the one language
\nmost likely to have an impact on inclusive growth within the EU is English
\nsince more people than not have ESL or EFL skills than any other of the
\ntwenty-found official EU languages. Although this is what the European
\nCommission state, others disagree as it is
\nestimated that between 45-80% of adults in the EU have no or very little
\nknowledge of English (Gazzola, 2016). By contrast, 90% of secondary school
\nstudents throughout the European Union studied English in 2012 (Eurydice, 2012)
\nsuggesting that perhaps adults of the future in Europe will have a better
\nknowledge of English than their elders.\u00a0 The
\npreponderance of English <\/p>\n

The evidence here indicates
\nthat even though the EU would like better social mobility and sustainable
\ngrowth, perhaps the continued teaching and learning of English would be more
\nbeneficial in aiding their Europe 2020 agenda. Still, we are yet to see if
\nthere is any impact caused by Brexit. There will be a more detailed discussion
\nand assessment of Brexit later in the essay.<\/p>\n

The European Union, founded by
\nFrance, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in 1957 (European
\nUnion, 2018),made French one of its
\nofficial language for a number of aspects. French was spoken as an official language
\nin Brussels and Luxembourg which is where the EU institutions are located. For
\nthis reason, the decision to use French for all internal communications was
\nmade. It seems natural to explore the use of English in three of the founding
\nsix members; France, Germany and Italy as a united Europe outline its values
\nand aspirations, so do the governments from each country. <\/p>\n

In what we know as modern
\nEurope, it has been a haven of multilingualism for over 2.5 millennia (Wilton
\n& De Houwer, 2011) so it should be no surprise that the growing use of
\nlanguages continues today, most notably English. There are controversies,
\nhowever, surrounding the use and adoption and adaptation of English in some
\nEuropean countries (De Houwer et al., 2011, p. 2).<\/p>\n

Europe is the perfect example
\nof the Expanding, and the Outer circle\u2019s as discussed by Kachru (1992) and with
\nthat comes varying national and local needs within each country, and consequently,
\nproblems can manifest within a local, regional pr national context. An example
\nof this is linguistic borrowing which is seen as a threat on the one hand and
\nas a step towards greater acceptance of neighbouring or global cultures on the
\nother. <\/p>\n

France <\/h2>\n

The elitist language of the 19th<\/sup> and early 20th<\/sup>
\ncenturies was French. It dominated Europe and was
\nseen as a \u2018superpower\u2019 in
\ndiplomacy and education; this, however, is no longer the case because France
\nhas transitioned from the superior global
\npower to a minor power (Oakes, 2001, p. 154).This dramatic shift in power and use of language changed as one
\ncountry surpassed France\u2019s status as the most sort after language to show
\nprosperity and wealth; The United States of America (US) (Oakes, 2001). Due to
\nthe US\u2019 growth in aspects such as
\neconomics, culture and politics, this, in turn, helped a natural step towards
\nthe use of English (Oakes, 2001)<\/p>\n

This increased use of English has led France to discuss the
\nidea that the French language is under threat by the Anglicisation of their language.
\nFrench was recognised as an official language when the United Nations formed in
\n1945 but has since taken a less prominent
\nrole and is currently not used as heavily as
\nEnglish. Whatsmore, France has taken action against the use of English by
\nintroducing laws which protect and encourage French nationals to use French
\nrather than English. The French government placed restrictions on five key
\ndomains; commerce, media, education, work and government. This shows that
\nsociopolitically, the use of English in France could be regarded as harmful
\nsince the laws and restricted use of English were introduced (Adamson, 2007).<\/p>\n

Conversely, a survey
\nconducted by French nationals revealed that
\ntheir attitudes towards learning and using English are much more favourable
\nthan that of the governments (Adamson, 2007).The studied concluded that 98%
\nthought it necessary to know English and 86% agreed that English should be
\ntaught from a young age which the French government advocated against (Adamson,
\n2007). That said, they did unanimously agree that where anglicisms exist in
\nFrance, there are more often than not French equivalents but are not used. <\/p>\n

When the UK joined the EU in
\n1973, French was still widely used within the EU; this began to change
\ngradually. Between 1986 and 2000, the use of French dropped from 56% to 35% and
\nthe use of English rose from 26% to 52% English gained in popularity due to the
\nEU\u2019s interested in the UK\u2019s science and economic outputs as well as more users
\nof EFL and ESL. Learning English has been supported by the UK and US
\ngovernments through a plethora of internationally established businesses such
\nas the British Council, Cambridge English and International House (Bermel,
\nFergurson & Linn, 2015, p. 7).<\/p>\n

It should be noted however
\nthat countries such as France where the fear of losing their mother tongue is
\nconsidered a threat by natives because of the impact English are having in
\neveryday life, usually means that their control of the language is far superior
\nto other nations in Europe (De Houwer et al., 2011, p. 3). Since France have
\nsuch strict regulations on the use of French as outlined above, it is therefore
\nnot surprising that France could be considered as more proficient than its
\nother European counterparts. <\/p>\n

Germany <\/h2>\n

German is the most spoken
\nlanguage out of the twenty-four officially recognised languages of the European
\nUnion (European Commision, 2018)with
\nover ninety million native speakers within the European Union. So, why is it
\nthe most powerful economy in the European Union chooses to use English as a
\nmeans of sustainability? <\/p>\n

First and foremost, Germany
\nhas widely accepted the use of English as an ever-expanding source to maintain
\nand improve its alliances with countries such as the US and UK as well as
\nincrease its scientific, technological and mass media output; thus rapidly improving
\nand maintaining the country\u2019s importance in a globalised world (<\/strong>Knapp, 2011).Conversely, the EU struggles to address the importance in using
\nEnglish within Europe and is acknowledged to a certain degree but is \u2018sometimes
\neven considered a taboo topic\u2019 (Seidlhofer, 2006, p. 134)This is somewhat
\ndisparaging as the EU should perhaps be acknowledging the inevitable spread and
\nincreased use of English in Europe. Although, their Europe 2020 agenda, which
\nin part was initiated to encourage EU citizens to learn two languages in line
\nwith the CEFR equivalent B2 level, is yet to be concluded meaning the results
\nof could display signs of increased use of English plus another language. This
\ncould have an impact on better cohesion between cross-border communication as
\ndesired by the EU. <\/p>\n

Secondly, English Medium
\nInstruction (EMI) is a specific rationale that the German government introduced
\nin the 1990\u2019s (Knapp, 2011, p. 52). The introduction of EMI within Germany\u2019s
\nhigher education sector meant they could compete for the ever-increasing numbers
\nof international students flocking to the US and UK for EMI undergraduate and
\npostgraduate taught degrees (Coleman, 2006:4ff in Knapp, 2011, p. 52). The
\nGerman universities, such as the University of Seigan which was a pioneer of
\nEMI, have since seen the rewards by Germany now taking 10% of the international
\nstudent market, <\/strong>third only to
\nthe US and UK (Wachter & Maiworm, 2008). <\/p>\n

However, attitudes towards the use of English on EMI courses
\nby German students are evident and can be summarised by saying they see English as a
\nway to better their careers and a means to communicate with others (Gnutzmann,
\nJakisch and Rabe, 2014). That said, students from the University of Braunschweig in Germany were asked whether or not they felt their identity was influenced by
\nthe EMI course they attended. The result of the question overwhelmingly
\nconcluded that 52% of students felt that their character
\nwas \u2018greatly affected\u2019because topics were often Anglo-American which meant they
\nbegan to identify with these topics more than German (Gnutzmann et al., 2014).<\/p>\n

Italy<\/h2>\n

During the
\nfascist regime in Italy between 1921 and 1945, it was national policy, applied
\nthrough authoritarianism, that there be linguistic purism meaning only Italian
\ncould be spoken. For this reason, not only were local dialects and minority
\nlanguages restricted, but the use of any foreign language was banned, including
\nEnglish (Pulcini, 1994, p. 78). <\/p>\n

As previously mentioned, when
\nthe US became the worlds economic and political supremacy, post World War II,
\nItalians began to slowly embrace English through Americanisation by introducing
\nItalian- English phrasebooks and dictionaries after the fascist regime
\ncollapsed (Pulcini, 1994).<\/p>\n

The borrowing of English words
\nin Italy has somewhat exploded in the past fifty years due to their
\nsimilarities in origin from Latin (Pulcini, 1997, p. 79). Coined as \u2018Itangliano\u2019,
\nmeaning the use of English in Italy. However, the use of English in Italy was
\nnot supported by all, including the Italian delegator to the European Union in
\nthe 1980\u2019s, Chiti Batelli, campaigned against the use of English in Italy due
\nto its phonetic difficulty (as English has forty-four phonemes and Italian has
\nonly twenty-six).<\/p>\n

There is a plethora of
\nevidence that suggests that the Italian education system is adopting a more globalized
\nteaching policy by offering English only courses at universities on masters
\n(MA) and PhD programs (Santulli, 2015, in Dimova, 2015). For instance, a
\nuniversity in Milan steadily introduced MA and PhD curricula from 2004 to 2007,
\noffering thirteen MA\u2019s to students by the academic year 2007 (CRUI.it) and by
\n2011 the number of programs offered to prospective students was forty-two.
\nPerhaps a visible link here is that this could be to entice international
\nstudents in order to compete with Germany, the US and the UK as mentioned
\nearlier but also it is evident that the move by PoliMilano could be step
\ntowards greater social mobility which is something the EU setout in their
\nEurope 2020 agenda. It seems the move to introduce English only taught courses
\nmay be to ensure Italian students wanting to study abroad, in fact can now study
\nthe same course in English in their own country. However, this move was met
\nwith criticism by Italy\u2019s Academia della Crusca which is Europe\u2019s longest
\nrunning linguistic society (Santulli 2015, in Dimova 2015, p. 273). The board
\nof members campaigned against the sole use of English policy at PoliMilano by
\ngaining support from Italy\u2019s Ministry of Education and in fact, the resolution
\nwas to run parallel courses in English and Italian. <\/p>\n

In 1985, the Italian government
\nimplemented a national education policy which meant that Italian school
\nstudents had to learn at least one foreign language to promote diversity and to
\nencourage better communication with European countries (Pulcini, 1997, p 82).
\nIt also meant that Italy had followed other European countries like Sweden in
\nthe promotion of learning another language. The introduction of the national
\npolicy saw 60% of Italian school students learn English and since then, the use
\nof English has steadily increased; until recent years where its use had rapidly
\nincreased due to the implementation of the Content and Language Integrated
\nLearning (CLIL) educational policy in Italy.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s CLIL revolution, was
\nmade law and rolled out in the national curriculum in 2012 (Martino &
\nSabato, 2012, p. 1). In order to train to teach a CLIL course in English in
\nItaly, teachers are required to have a knowledge of B1 (four-year course) or B2
\n(two-year course). Not only is CLIL now seen by the Ministry of Education in
\nItaly as an integral part of students learning for better economic prospects
\nfor their future, but also English teaching in primary schools to better
\nprepare students for their learning of English in the future (Burns,
\nCopland & Garton, 2013).When CLIL was intrduced in 2012, Eurydice published
\nstatistics that showed 98.9% of Italian primary school students were learning
\nEnglish with that figure far greater than the average figure of 73% across
\ncountries within the EU (<\/strong>Burns et
\nal., 2013)Perhaps one reason the
\nItalian government decided to set a minimum CEFR level of English for teaching
\nCLIL is because 70% of Italian teachers reported an intermediate (B1) use of
\nEnglish(Burns et al., 2013).That said, Italy currently has one of
\nthe highest numbers of exposure to teaching English per student hour than other
\nEU members, such as Latvia and Spain (Burnst
\nal., 2013).Consequently, it is not
\nsurprising that Italy continues to value the importance of English teaching and
\ncontinues to flourish even more so in the Southern regions, such as Sicily,
\nwhere there are fewer job opportunities
\nin comparison with the north of Italy.<\/p>\n

Sicily\u00a0 <\/h2>\n

A fascinating island off the coast of the mainland of Italy,
\nhistorically, Sicily has been conquered and ruled by some different countries spanning more than two millennia (Dunbabin,
\n1968). Sicily was ruled by the Greeks,
\nRomans, Arabic kingdoms, the Normans, the British and the Spanish. More
\nrecently, the US has had a heavy presence
\npost-WWII as the co-military liberators
\nof the island (Dunbabin, 1968).In Catania on the east coast of Sicily, it is
\nconsidered to be much more cosmopolitan than the capital of the island,
\nPalermo, due to the strong presence of Americans (Paglia, 2003).Since the liberation, American
\nsoldiers have resided in Catania at the army base, Sigonella. \u00a0<\/strong>Sicily
\nhas therefore also been an island with a high number of different cultures and
\nlanguages and especially in Catania where exposure to English has often been
\nhigher than other parts of Italy. Perhaps then, this is why Sicilian attitudes
\ntowards learning English are mostly positive. This
\ncould be because there has always been fierce competition for jobs at the
\nSigonella army base in Catania and more often than not, a certain level of
\nEnglish is required for most positions (NAS
\nSigonella, 2018) <\/p>\n

There are a
\nnumber of English language centres across Catania including, Wall Street
\nEnglish, Yes! English, JM English, The London School, TuttoLingue and Giga
\nInternational House, all of which are privately run businesses. First and
\nforemost, this is an indication that there is a demand to learn English which
\ncan be coupled with the every growing number of students attending
\nprivate language courses for a number of
\nreasons. For example, studying abroad, travelling, working abroad, a local job opportunity with tourism or Sigonella
\njobs. The number of students increased by almost 25% at Giga International
\nhouse from September 2016 to the new
\nacademic intake of September 2017 (P. La Rosa, personal communication, January
\n24, 2018). This increase could be owed to
\nthe fact that the government introduced the \u2018Carta Del Docente\u2019 to 16 to 18-year-olds. The Carta Del Docente was
\npreviously only available to teachers and can be
\nspent on educational activities such as museums and teaching (Carta Del
\nDocente, 2018).GIGA International
\nHouse is the only private English language centre authorised to receive the
\n\u2018Carta Del Docente\u2019 so this could also be a factor in the number of students
\nenrolling at the school. <\/p>\n

The increase in the number of
\nenrolments to learn English at Giga International House in Catania is perhaps a
\ntelling sign that attitudes towards learning English are on the rise by enlarging in Sicily. The desire to learn
\nEnglish by people in Catania can also be
\nevidenced by the number of contracts Giga International House has for
\nlocal schools and universities. This
\ncould be owing to the need to achieve certain levels of English related to
\neither CLIL, to study abroad or for local jobs. The school is also an approved
\nassessment centre for Cambridge English Language Assessment exams and
\nInternational English Language Testing System (IELTS). The school has also seen
\nan increased number of students taking exams to prove test their level of
\nEnglish as students at the school express interests in studying at an EMI abroad
\nin countries such as Denmark, Germany and the UK. <\/p>\n

The Brexit effect<\/h1>\n

The invocation of Article 50
\nin the UK means it is due to leave at 11 pm on March 29th,<\/sup> 2019. The
\nquestion that perhaps seems eminently unanswerable for the time being at least
\nis what role English will play not only within the European Economic Area or
\nthe European Union but also the role with Europe as an entirety. Some
\ntheorists have made predictions about what impact, if any, the role of English has in the EU.<\/p>\n

Certain members of the
\nEU have predicted that the role of English will diminish and other languages
\nwill take on the role that English
\ncurrently has within the EU. <\/p>\n

\n

Although Britain has only just started the process [Brexit], reports from Europe indicate that some member states are already positioning themselves to take advantage of the withdrawal of the UK. In France and elsewhere, for example, some want to believe that, with the British gone, English will no longer be an official language.<\/em> <\/p>\n

Modiano, 2017, p. 315 <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The result of the EU
\nreferendum in the UK, 48% remain, 52% leave, had an immediate impact on EU
\nmembers such as France who argued that without the UK as a member of the EU,
\nthere would be no need for the English language to be used since Ireland have
\nrecently opted to use the Irish language and Malta for Maltese (<\/strong>Modiano, 2017; European Commision,
\n2017). Since English is a working language of the EU, other members have since
\nsuggested that English should lose its status since it will not be recognised as an official language of the
\nEU.<\/p>\n

The role of English in the EU remains unclear; whether it will be used officially or unofficially, however, the European Commision clear on their current stance regarding the use of English in the EU:<\/p>\n

\n

We note the media reports stating that in the event of a UK withdrawal from the EU, English would cease to be an official language of the EU [. . .] This is incorrect. The Council of Ministers, acting unanimously, decide on the rules governing the use of languages by the European institutions. In other words, any change to the EU Institutions\u2019 language regime is subject to a unanimous vote of the Council. Including Ireland.<\/em> <\/p>\n

European Commission, 2016 in Modiano, 2017:316<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the time being it seems
\nthat the Council of Ministers support the use of English within the EU,
\nhowever, it could be interpreted as there is to be no immediate change, but
\nshould there be a unanimous vote amongst the Council of Ministers against the
\nuse of English for official politics, then\u00a0
\nit could change. It could also be worth noting that this idea in
\nsupporting the removal of English perhaps has further contributed to the people
\nwho voted to leave the EU (Modiano, 2017, p. 316).<\/p>\n

It is believed that
\nEnglish will become embedded in the EU post-Brexit as it\u2019s the language that
\nhas had the most investments and it is predicted to strengthen as there is no
\nother common language like it in Europe,
\nfor the time being. <\/p>\n

In terms of any impact
\nthat Brexit may have on the use of English as a means to communicate with other
\nspeakers of different L1\u2019s, it is still too soon to establish any concrete
\nideas. That said, from the context of Catania, it seems that there has been the
\nopposite effect of what was previously described
\nregarding the decline and use of English.\n<\/p>\n

Italy as a whole has never seemed too interested in pressing
\nthe use of the Italian language in the EU, but
\nperhaps this is something that is about to change as some ministers in the
\nItalian government have taken a keen interest in helping Italy rise as a
\nco-piolet in the reform of official languages in the EU. <\/p>\n

The impact of Brexit is predicted to affect the number of international students studying in the UK;
\nmainly those coming from mainland European Union countries (Anderson, 2017). Brexit
\ncould have a grave impact on ESL instruction and assessment not only in Europe
\nbut around the globe. Cambridge English Language Assessment has forecast a loss
\nof \u00a310 million per year from 2019 (Anderson, 2017). This is coupled with the fall
\nin number of students needing English to
\nstudying at a university in the UK as international
\nstudent number decrease and the fact that a visa style entry system to the UK
\nwill deter people from learning English to move or work there. <\/p>\n

Conclusion <\/h2>\n

Throughout history there has always been a more dominant and
\ninfluential language which was used as a lingua
\nfranca<\/em> whether it was Latin, Greek or French, the idea was to better
\ncommunicate with other humans for a number of
\nreasons. English is the acting \u2018common language\u2019 for people in today\u2019s globalized modern society due to the rise of
\neconomic powerhouses where English in the main
\nlanguage, scientific research and breakthroughs and the influence of anglicised
\nand Americanised culture through mass media. It is also important to remember
\nthat English is often associated with
\nbetter job prospects, so unless this ideology changes and another language
\nbecomes of more importance, perhaps English will continue being the most
\ndesired language by people.<\/p>\n

The instruction of English of English around the globe seems
\nto be a continuing trend amongst schools and universities. If government policies on English education, like that
\nof Italy\u2019s through CLIL, continue to favour the language by making it mandatory
\nto have\u00a0 a certain level related the CEFR
\nand by having almost 100% of school students learn English at school, then at
\npresent it would seem there is no reason why English will not continue being
\nthe \u2018required\u2019 language.<\/p>\n

The impact of Brexit, however, is still quite unclear and perhaps there will be no
\nclarity in the short-term. The EU, for the time being, will continue using English
\nas an official language since there have been so many investments in the language and it seems to be the EU\u2019s unofficial
\nlingua franca<\/em>. In years to come the
\neffect of Brexit will become apparent but for now,
\nthere are only predictions, so nothing is certain.
\nOne thing is clear; the use of English across Europe seems to be growing, even
\nif some governments are not content with the idea. <\/p>\n

Countries such as France, Germany and Italy seemingly
\ncontinue to invest in English even if the future of the language is unclear in
\nEurope. One element is clear however, English is the language du jour<\/em> and does not seem have had an
\nimmediate effect because of Brexit.<\/p>\n

The ever-expanding
\nnumber of students and language centres in Sicily certainly is an indication that popularity of the language is emerging. It is likely that this is linked to
\nstudy, job opportunities and more recently for Catania, tourism. The popularity, desire and need to take exams to
\nprove their level of English run companies such as IELTS and Cambridge English
\nLanguage assessment also adds to the increasing popularity
\nto learn English. The future of English in Sicily, perhaps for the near future,
\nseems to be clear; it is in demand and gaining popularity.<\/p>\n

One thing that cannot be
\nignored about English are the achievemnts and global success it has had,
\ncontinues to have and perhaps will continue to have in the future. Arguments
\nfor and against the use of English wihtin Europe, beit at universities or in
\nthe EU, perhaps comes down to one unanswrable question; is the dominance of
\nEnglish a modern form of imperalism? <\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Adamson, R. (2007). The defence of French<\/em>. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.<\/li>\n
  • Anderson, R. (2017). Brexit Means Brexit \u2013 But What Does Brexit Mean?. Political Insight<\/em>, 8<\/em>(1), 3. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1177\/2041905817702740<\/li>\n
  • Bergman, K. (1995). Let\u2019s speak<\/em>. Hong Kong: Longman.<\/li>\n
  • Bermel, N., Ferguson, G., & Linn, A. (2015). Attitudes towards English in Europe<\/em> (2nd ed.). Berlin: De Gruyter.<\/li>\n
  • Canagarajah, A. (2006). TESOL at Forty: What Are the Issues?. TESOL Quarterly<\/em>, 40<\/em>(1), 9. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.2307\/40264509<\/li>\n
  • Carta del Docente<\/em>. (2018). Cartadeldocente.istruzione.it<\/em>. Retrieved 8 February 2018, from https:\/\/cartadeldocente.istruzione.it\/DocenteWeb\/<\/li>\n
  • Cogo, A., & Jenkins, J. (2010). English as a lingua franca in Europe: A mismatch between policy and practice. European Journal Of Language Policy<\/em>, 2<\/em>(2), 271-293. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.3828\/ejlp.2010.16<\/li>\n
  • Copland, F., Garton, S., & Burns, A. (2013). Challenges in Teaching English to Young Learners: Global Perspectives and Local Realities. TESOL Quarterly<\/em>, 48<\/em>(4), 738-762. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/tesq.148<\/li>\n
  • Council of Europe. (2002). Key aspects of the use of English in Europe<\/em>. Strasbourg: Language Policy Division.<\/li>\n
  • Countries \u2013 European Union \u2013 European Commission<\/em>. (2018). European Union<\/em>. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https:\/\/europa.eu\/european-union\/about-eu\/countries_en<\/li>\n
  • Di Martino, E., & Di Sabato, B. (2012). CLIL implementation in Italian schools: can the long ago employed teacher be trained effectively? The Italian protagonists\u2019 voice. Latin American Journal Of Content And Language Integrated Learning<\/em>, 5<\/em>(2), 73-105. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5294\/laclil.2012.5.2.9<\/li>\n
  • Dimova, S. (2015). English-Medium Instruction in European Higher Education<\/em> (1st ed.). London.<\/li>\n
  • Dunbabin, T. (1968). The Western Greeks<\/em>. Oxford: University Press.<\/li>\n
  • Eurydice. (2001). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe<\/em>. Luxembourg: Office for Publications of the European Communities.<\/li>\n
  • Eurydice. (2012). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe<\/em>. Luxembourg: Office for Publications of the European Communities.<\/li>\n
  • Follick, M. (1934). The Influence of English<\/em>. London: Williams & Norgate.<\/li>\n
  • Gazzola, M. (2016). Multilingual communication for whom? Language policy and fairness in the European Union. European Union Politics<\/em>, 17<\/em>(4), 546-569. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1177\/1465116516657672<\/li>\n
  • Gnutzmann, C., Jakisch, J., & Rabe, F. (2014). English as a lingua franca: A source of identity for young Europeans?. Multilingua<\/em>, 33<\/em>(3-4). http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1515\/multi-2014-0020<\/li>\n
  • Kachru, B. (1992). The Other tongue<\/em>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.<\/li>\n
  • Knapp, A. (2011). When comprehension is crucial: Using English as a medium of instruction at a German university. In A.\u00a0 De Houwer & A.\u00a0 Wilton, English in Europe Today: Sociocultural and educational perspectives<\/em> (1st ed., pp. 51-70). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.<\/li>\n
  • Krzy\u017canowski, M., & Wodak, R. (2011). Political strategies and language policies: the European Union Lisbon strategy and its implications for the EU\u2019s language and multilingualism policy. Language Policy<\/em>, 10<\/em>(2), 115-136. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1007\/s10993-011-9196-5<\/li>\n
  • Modiano, M. (2017). English in a post-Brexit European Union. World Englishes<\/em>, 36<\/em>(3), 313-327. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1111\/weng.12264<\/li>\n
  • NAS Sigonella IT<\/em>. (2018). Navymwrsigonella.com<\/em>. Retrieved 7 February 2018, from https:\/\/www.navymwrsigonella.com\/<\/li>\n
  • Oakes, L. (2001). Language and national identity<\/em>. Amsterdam: Benjamins.<\/li>\n
  • Phillipson, R. (2017). Myths and realities of European Union language policy. World Englishes<\/em>, 36<\/em>(3), 347-349. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1111\/weng.12270<\/li>\n
  • Pulcini, V. (1994). The English language in Italy. English Today<\/em>, 10<\/em>(04), 49. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1017\/s0266078400007914<\/li>\n
  • Pulcini, V. (1997). Attitudes Toward the Spread of English in Italy. World Englishes<\/em>, 16<\/em>(1), 77-85. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1111\/1467-971x.00048<\/li>\n
  • Ridge, E. (2011). Crystal, David. 2003. English as a Global Language. Second edition. Cambridge University Press. Per Linguam<\/em>, 20<\/em>(1). http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5785\/20-1-80<\/li>\n
  • Schneider, E. (2013). English around the world<\/em>. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.<\/li>\n
  • Seidlhofer, B. (2006). ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN EUROPE: CHALLENGES FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS. Annual Review Of Applied Linguistics<\/em>, 26<\/em>. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1017\/s026719050600002x<\/li>\n
  • The EU in 2016 \u2013 General Report on the Activities of the European Union<\/em>. (2016). Publications.europa.eu<\/em>. Retrieved 7 December 2017, from http:\/\/publications.europa.eu\/webpub\/com\/general-report-2016\/en\/#chapter0<\/li>\n
  • The Inquisition in Sicily \u2013 Best of Sicily Magazine<\/em>. Bestofsicily.com<\/em>. Retrieved 2 February 2018, from http:\/\/www.bestofsicily.com\/mag\/art169.htm<\/li>\n
  • Unger, D. (2013). Van Parijs, Philippe. Linguistic Justice for Europe and for the World. Politische Vierteljahresschrift<\/em>, 54<\/em>(1), 220-222. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5771\/0032-3470-2013-1-220<\/li>\n
  • Wilton, A., & De Houwer, A. (2011). The dynamics of English in a multilingual Europe. In A.\u00a0 Wilton & A.\u00a0 De Houwer, English in Europe Today: Sociocultural and educational perspectives<\/em> (1st ed., p. 2). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishings.<\/li>\n
  • Wright, S. (2009). The elephant in the room: Language issues in the European Union. European Journal Of Language Policy<\/em>, 1<\/em>(2), 93-119. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.3828\/ejlp.2009.2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    World Englishes: The adoption and use of English in European politics and education with reference to Brexit; What is \u2018World Englishes\u2019? \u201cEnglish is no longer just \u2018one language\u2019, it comes in many different shapes and sizes.\u201d Schneider, 2011, p. 11 The term \u2018World Englishes\u2019 was devised by the sociolinguistic researcher Braj Kachru and is one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6652,5859,8396],"tags":[5676,5686,5780,5294,5674,5677,5678,6403,4639],"class_list":["post-45936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-do-my-homework-english-language","category-english-language","category-paper-writing-service","tag-1500-words-assessment-task","tag-ace-homework-tutors","tag-assignment-homework-help-answers","tag-bishops-writing-bureau","tag-create-a-2-4-page-resource","tag-create-powerpoint-include-harvard-referencing","tag-i-need-completed-essay-in-300-400-words","tag-write-a-3-5pg-paper","tag-write-a-page-assignment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}