In the sentence “The idea that communication matters more...

T E X T 1

Teaching English as a Global Language

1. With over 1.5 billion native and non-native
2. speakers, English is the world’s most widely spoken
3. language. Teaching English as a global language means
4. acknowledging the reasons for its worldwide presence. It is
5. important to provide context to help students understand
6. how exactly English became a global language. Present a
7. brief history lesson that traces English from its origins in
8. England to the dozens of countries that use it as a
9. dominant language today.
10. English is no longer linked to a particular country.
11. Pull up a map and ask students to start naming the
12. countries where English is spoken as a native language.
13. Then, ask them to find the countries where it is spoken as a
14. dominant language. Finally, ask them to find where it is
15. spoken by the majority of the population. This will remind
16. students that there are many ways that English is spoken
17. around the world. This can help change one’s perspective
18. from seeing English as having a single, correct form of
19. usage to seeing it as a way to facilitate communication
20. with people across the globe.
21. Students who are learning English as a global
22. language must be reminded that statistically speaking, they
23. are more likely to use English with non-native English
24. speakers than natives. This is because English has more
25. non-native speakers than native speakers! It’s estimated
26. that 70-75 percent of the world’s English speakers are non-
27. native. It’s highly likely that students will at some point
28. encounter an unexpected accent or dialect of English.
29. It is the heavy task of the global English teacher
30. to help students unlearn their fear of mistakes and
31. embrace communication for the sake of comprehension.
32. The idea that communication matters more than
33. grammatical precision is also important to help students
34. develop strategies for what to do when communication
35. breaks down. This means giving them tools like asking for
36. clarification, rephrasing their own statements, and
37. confirming understanding. Role-playing these types of
38. interactions helps students build confidence and prepares
39. them for real-life situations – whether in meetings, travel,
40. or casual conversations. By focusing on communication
41. strategies rather than perfection, you help students
42. become more effective, empathetic speakers.
43. One of the best ways to reinforce the global
44. nature of English is by incorporating authentic materials
45. into your lessons – materials created by English speakers
46. from various countries and cultural backgrounds. This
47. includes podcasts, YouTube videos, blog posts, news
48. articles, or even social media content produced by non-
49. native speakers or international communities. Using real-
50. world examples allows students to encounter English in a
51. variety of accents, formats, and contexts, far beyond the
52. confines of standardized textbooks. It also helps them
53. develop listening and reading skills that are more
54. adaptable to the real-life situations they’ll encounter when
55. using English with people from different backgrounds. It is
56. a shared language used by billions, and it’s shaped by the
57. voices of its global community.
58. Although it’s a global language, English is also
59. uniquely personal. Whether it’s the cafe playing the latest
60. hit song from a music artist, the name of the milkshake at
61. their local fast food restaurant, or a new Instagram update
62. from a celebrity, remind students to recognize the role
63. English already plays in their lives. Invite them to interact
64. with it by straining to understand the song lyrics or set
65. their phones to English. Since it’s all around us, it can be
66. easy to learn to ignore global English. Invite students to
67. recognize it, embrace it, and engage with it in their own
68. daily lives. Teaching English as a global language, you can
69. help your students use this language to its full potential –
70. to facilitate multicultural communication and collaboration
71. and to express the full, authentic experience of humans
72. around the globe.

Adapted from: https://bridge.edu/tefl/March 21, 2025