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TEFL Gilchrist Oregon



Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL Gilchrist Oregon and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad.

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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:

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Within the past 500 years english has grown from being spoken by between 5 and 7 million people to around 250 million (“english Language”, 2012). It is spoken on every continent, is learned as a second language by children around the world and is the medium of the science and business industries and the medium of pop culture. British colonialism commenced the spread of english around the world and in the years since World War II it has become even more prevalent with the global span of American influence. Out of the 6,000 languages currently spoken in the world, half of the world's population speaks only 10 of them and english is 2nd most common, currently spoken by around 1.5 billion people (Kenneally, 2007). Despite the promising future that it seems may be in store for the english language, some linguists argue that there will never be a single dominant global language. Although english has definitely cemented its place as a lingua franca (a common language spoken by people with different native languages), they don't believe it will adopt the role of global language. They point out that there have been languages in the past that seemed to assume that role of global language only to end up dying off, including Persian, Aramaic and Phoenician. Another example of this would be the Latin language. As the Roman Empire spread, so did the use of Latin. In the 15th century it seemed that Latin would become a global language, however Latin is now numbered among the dead languages (“Latin”, 2012). Linguist Nicholas Ostler believes that the days of english as a globally spoken language are numbered. He states that although the number of people speaking english around the world is increasing, the number of people speaking it as a native language is not. More than 1 billion people speak english worldwide but only about 330 million of them as a first language, and this population is not growing (The Economist, 2010). Ostler is included among a group of linguists who believe that the spread of the english language will slow and eventually the number of english speakers in the world will decline. Their belief is that english will not be replaced with another language poised to take the title of global language, but that technology will replace any need for a global language. With further advancements being made in the field of language translation software, it is possible that someday any necessary translation between languages will be done instantaneously. This however, is probably in the distant future. Other linguists argue that there is more to learning english than merely as a way to communicate with others. Interjecting a translator into a conversation, whether machine, software, or human, no matter how fast or accurate it is, will always remove naturalness and nuance from the conversation (“Machine translation”, 2012). Additionally, when a person knows english as a first or second language it gives them a competitive advantage because they have better opportunities and higher earning potential. Even in an age where we rely so heavily on technology to do so much work for us employers that are engaged in business around the world will still undoubtedly prefer candidates who speak english. Briefly, while there may be a case that english will not succeed as a global language, and that no language truly will because of the advent of translation software, I feel that english will be the language to come closest to that role. When it comes to communication, whether being used for business or pleasure, a common language has huge social advantages. Works Cited "english as She Was Spoke." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 16 Dec. 2010. Web. 07 Aug. 2012. . "english Language." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 July 2012. Web. 07 Aug. 2012. . Kennealy, Christine. Introduction. The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language. N.p.: Viking, 2007. N. pag. Web. 3 Aug. 2012. "Latin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 08 July 2012. Web. 07 Aug. 2012. . "Machine translation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 July 2012. Web. 07 Aug. 2012. .


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