TIRF - English & Plurilingualism

TIRF @ TESOL Conference, March 2010

“As many languages as he has, as many friends, as many arts and trades, so many times he is a man” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Multilingualism is Important

“If you talk to a man in a language

he understands, that goes to his

head. If you talk to him in his

language, that goes to his heart. “Nelson Mandela

“If I’m selling to you, I speak your language. If I’m buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen!”

Willy Brandt

“Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem”

[As many languages you speak, as many people you are]

Old Czech proverb

“Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von der eigenen.

[Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own!]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Language Issues in the World

Globalisation -> global multilingualism English as a world language / lingua franca English is making millions multilingualBut – Over 6000 languages in 200 countries LWUL – less widely used languages Language death Language & identity Language & integration

Multilingual Identities

"I think I do present a bit of a different personality when I'm speaking in English ...…when I'm speaking in Japanese, I really have to think about all the things, what's the proper style…and try to adjust myself to the identities" (Akira)

“I think in both languages, English and Bengali, together they make me truly me”

"And sometimes I say to myself, Oh my God, she's so rude…and in fact it's because I'm used to the English way of talking and sometimes when I go back to France, in the supermarkets, for example, I say to myself 'they are so rude' because they never say 'sorry' etc" (Laure)

Multilingual identities in a global city, David Block

Minority Languages

Language Issues for English Speakers

“80% of UK export managers cannot do business in a foreign language”

“The proportion of UK executives who can negotiate in another language is 50% of the EU average”

“75% of UK companies recognise a need to improve their capacity in languages to support future business development”

The proportion of pupils in England taking foreign languages at GCSE has been decreasing dramatically in recent years:

2001 - 78% of all pupils were taking a language2004 - 68% 2006 - 51% 2009 - 44%

The Barcelona Objectives: 1+2

Mother tongue +International language

Or Neighbour language +Personal adoptive language

Research - when should children start languages?The age of beginning compulsory first foreign language varies across Europe- Spain - 3- Austria - 6- Italy - 6- Norway - 6- Portugal - 6- Germany - 6-8- France - 7- Finland - 7- Poland - 7- Sweden - 7- Czech R. - 8- Belgium - 8- Denmark - 9- Hungary - 9- Netherlands - 10Source: Eurydice

Research – The “Language-Rich Europe” Project

Aim - to evaluate and address Europe’s language needs for 2020 A benchmarking exercise on current language policy, language use and attitudes to language learning in European countries. This will focus on five main areas in which languages and their interactions play a role: Economic trade, commerce Integration, citizenship, identity and intercultural

dialogue Foreign relations, aid and development, the voluntary

sector Justice, security and health The media and ‘edutainment’

Results published in the form of a European Index on Language Learning

Research - The future of English

Future of English English Next English Next – India

English Next – China English Next – Brazil English Next – Rwanda

Research – TIRF Key Questions report

Role of English teachers

We are making people multilingual We could teach more about language itself We could teach about Diglossia, Hinglish, Surjik We should make language learning higher profile, more accessible, less intimidating We should make English speakers multilingual Study TIRF Research Reports – www.tirfonline.org

TIRF

The International Research Foundation

for English Language Education

Visit TIRF’s website athttp://www.tirfonline.org

Bibliography

Block, David - Multilingual identities in a global city Crystal, David - How language works Ferraro, Gary - Cultural dimension of International business Graddol, David - English Next (British Council) Graddol, David - English Next - India (British Council) Gubbins, P. & Holt, M. Language and Identity in Contemporary Europe Hofstede, Geert - Cultures and Organisations Trompenaars, Fons - Riding the waves of Culture www.britishcouncil.org Michael.carrier@britishcouncil.org

TeachingEnglish.org.uk

http://www.tirfonline.org