'Complacence': Keith Davidson Looks at 'The Significance of English as a Global Language'

Davidson, Keith, English Drama Media

We are now nearing the end of the period where native speakers can bask in their privileged knowledge of the global lingua franca. (David Graddol, 2006)

From time to time the QCA flags up the significance of English as a global language, and that's about as far as it ever gets. It was an agenda item for the QCA 2005 English 21 project, oddly tied to 'how we teach the spoken language'; and was the subject of a challenging paper by Gillian Klein ('English as a global language') in the linked 'think pieces':

... the prevailing response to the globalised position of English is complacence. Most of the denizens of Anglophone--and affluent--countries are content with their single language (Klein, 2005)

which occasioned some comment in the responses collated in the QCA English 21 Playback (2005):

The 'global role' of English is probably the most striking aspect of English in the 21st century with implications for English in education in England as well as worldwide. But what English, and whose English?

It was missing from the QCA's project conclusions in Taking English forward (2005) but was flagged up again, having got no further, under 'Range and content' for English in the QCA 2007 secondary curriculum review:

KS3: the significance of standard English as the main language of public communication nationally and globally / KS4: the importance and influence of English as a global language

'Standard English', globally, begs all the questions in any case; we shall have to look elsewhere.

Global English

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Publication information: Article title: 'Complacence': Keith Davidson Looks at 'The Significance of English as a Global Language'. Contributors: Davidson, Keith - Author. Magazine title: English Drama Media. Issue: 10 Publication date: February 2008. Page number: 57+. © 2008 National Association for the Teaching of English. COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale Group.

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