Essay: The status of English in today's world and the many issues it raises for teachers and learners

English is considered an International Language as it is the second language (L2) of most people around the world. In this text, I will speak about the importance of the English language in the present time, about the supposed linguistic imperialism of the Countries of the inner circle¹ also about the respect, which the learners must receive, about their individual freedom.

According to BURNS and RICHARDS (2012), English is an International Language due to the increasing numbers of speakers of English as L2 and also by English being universally distributed geographically around the world. In Brazil, English is by far the most frequent language in the needs for professional opportunities, speaking two or more foreign languages ​​usually makes the professional much more desirable for certain companies. Besides these professional advantages, English is also highly needed for students, researchers and teachers, as it allows access to the vast majority of the knowledge available in that language. There is also a vast cultural wealth from many places in the world which becomes accessible through English. In the end, English as L2 is a synonym for accessibility to the world of the other and to exchange experiences and a great diversity of knowledge, thus being able to broaden the horizons of the speakers, promoting sociocultural ascent.

There has been a lot of discussion about teaching English, there is a political debate in which many influential names have accused Countries such as England and the United States of promoting imperialism and wanting to spread their culture through language. KIRKPATRICK (2007), affirms that

“Those who see imperialism as the cause argue that [...] British and American English necessarily bring with them Anglo-cultural norms and that to learn this English means adopting British and American culture.” KIRKPATRICK (2007, p.36)

In my opinion is inevitably a developed country will not try to spread its culture around the world. In fact, all Countries try to do this in a certain way, And this has always happened in the history of great civilizations like Greece, Rome, British Empire, etc. The key question here is how this cultural influence will be received in other Countries. A nation that teaches its people to know and respect their own culture will never fear the influence of the culture of others. Valuing and knowing your own cultural roots is a duty learned within the family and should be encouraged by the Government.

I learned to value and respect my language and culture in my family and in my community, especially my Cuiabano accent², despite being influenced by other customs in other parts of the country, I have always preserved my culture. It is worth mentioning that in Brazil there is much rivalry between varieties of accents. It is quite common to find someone who has already suffered prejudice because of his accent. Some customs and accents are worshiped because they are at all times in the media while others are despised because they are uncommon and restricted to more peripheral places. Maybe linguicism is more internalized than it seems, it is not something that occurs only between people of different Countries or different accents. Whatever it is, this is not a subject to be discussed here, perhaps another time. In other words, if someone knows and appreciates their own culture, he will never abandon it when learning another language or culture.

A very important reason is the individual freedom that each person has to learn the variety of English he wants and for whatever reason. Other scholars, against the thesis of "linguistic imperialism", claim 

"people are making sense and pragmatic choices, they are not being coerced into learning English, And, far from English being a purveyor of Anglo-cultural norms, the development of new varieties of English shows how English can be adapted by its speakers to reflect their cultural norms." KIRKPATRICK (2007, p.36)

I agree with this opinion, I trust that it is first necessary to respect the conceptions and wishes of each person, but I recognize that this situation becomes more delicate when it comes to teaching English, especially in public schools. How to teach English, removing cultural influences from Countries like the United States and England? I do not assume that is an easy task, the North American culture, for example, is very strong in our country, since it has been disseminated for a long time through media such as cinema, music, and entertainment among others. As I mentioned earlier, I do not feel "removing cultural influences" is the solution, but rather educating students to be aware of and value their own culture.

I have an experience that illustrates this fact well, once I was teaching English for children aged 11 to 15 years old, as a PIBID³ teacher. The class was about Countries and nationalities, we prepared a presentation with photos of famous people (most of them were American), To teach "Where is he/she from?" Questions, I was amazed to see how the students knew all the celebrities and became excited during this activity. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just exemplifies how the rich American culture is deeply rooted in our current society.

Mckay (2012) point out some key principles for promoting a socially sensitive English as International Language pedagogy (EIL). Among the main ones we have: “The EIL Should include examples of the diversities of English varieties used today, need exemplify L2/L2 interactions, should be taught in a way that respects the local culture of learning”. I agree with Mckay's remarks, and I realize that all of this combined with the serious attitude of governments to foster the appreciation of their own culture in schools would suffice to protect themselves against linguistic and cultural imperialism. Governments should also invest in actions to intimidate rivalry between local cultures within the same country, as in the case of Brazil, and also promote the valorization of multiculturalism.

To conclude, I reaffirm the importance of the value and the potential of social, cultural and educational transformation that the knowledge of the English language brings with it, and that the individual needs to be respected in his choices related to the many linguistic varieties, that is, the people have the Inviolable right to learn the accent and culture of any country he wishes, because this is a personal choice. And also that linguistic imperialism can be easily annulled when there are concrete actions by institutions such as Government and Family in order to value their own culture and identity of public school students.

¹ The Inner Circle represents the traditional historical and sociolinguistic bases of English in regions where it is now used as a primary language: the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, anglophone Canada and South Africa, and some of the Caribbean territories.  (KACHRU, 1992).

² The Cuiabano speech is a dialect specifically spoken by the natives of the city of Cuiabá-MT. It is characterized by a peculiar accent, possibly originated from the mixture of archaic portuguese and local indigenous languages.

³ Institutional Scholarship Initiative Program. The program offers undergraduate training courses for university students who dedicate themselves to the internship in public schools and who, when graduating, commit themselves to the exercise of teaching in the public network.