Chapter published in:
The Politics of Multilingualism: Europeanisation, globalisation and linguistic governance
Edited by Peter A. Kraus and François Grin
[Studies in World Language Problems 6] 2018
► pp. 201–222

Chapter 9
The promise and pitfalls of global English

| University of Calgary

In this chapter, I explore the purported and actual effects of global English in contexts in which it is often seen as a way of enhancing socioeconomic mobility. While some studies suggest that proficiency in English in countries where it is not an official or dominant language may correlate with higher wages, many other studies demonstrate that English-medium instruction in these countries is detrimental to academic achievement and the attainment of a high level of literacy in any language. The chapter also explores the concepts “English as a Lingua Franca” (ELF) and “Lingua Franca English” (LFE) and critically examines claims that there is, or could be, a “neutral” variety of English for global communication, one that requires a change in current views on the nature of language itself.

Keywords: global English, English as a Lingua Franca, neoliberalism, language and development
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Neutral English?
  • 2.English markets
  • 3.English and development in postcolonial and expanding circle countries
  • 4.Research on Lingua Franca English
  • 5.Is there a variety of English that can be called a Lingua Franca?
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgement
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 September 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/wlp.6.09ric
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