The Geographical spread of English
6
becoming more and more necessary at work even in newly industrialized nations like China, Japan, and India. As Warschauer 2000 observes, “many non-native
speakers of English need to use English daily in workplaces for presentations, negotiations, and international collaboration” Focho, 2011, p. 5. In many
countries, people who are bilingual in the indigenous language plus English are required in international companies, industries, and organizations that usually pay
best salaries . Like Cortazzi and Jin 1996 said, “in China, for example,
proficiency in English helps in getting well paid jobs, especially those with international connections”. Kossoudji 1988 also added that “the United States
deficiency in English has a negative impact on migrant workers; they tend to have lower earnings and less job mobility compared to those with greater competence
in English” Focho, 2011, p. 5. Considering the large number of people who are proficient in English, today, the job market for both migrant and international
workers is more competitive, moreover there is an increasing emphasis on English in the workplace, especially for various professionals businessmen, medical
doctors, nurses, and those who working in technology, agriculture, aviation, etc.. In the other hand, the growing demand of English proficiency opens thousands of
job opportunities for English language teachers worldwide Focho, 2011, p. 5. The third role of English is
‘English for international communication’. Kirkpatrick 2006 just said that English is spoken in every continent of the world
in one form or other and giving rise to many models such as native speakers, nativised speakers, or lingua franca users. That justifies its status as a global
language. Moreover, as Seidlhofer 2003 points out, “bilingualism is a popular
7
trend and English has a stabilization role in bilingualism since most people speak their language and English
” Focho, 2011, p. 6. Jenkins 2006 also added that
English is a way to communicate internationally across linguistic boundaries, because it is a shared foreign language that people of different nations and
background languages use to communicate with each other Focho, 2011, p. 6. The last English role is
‘English for global education’. Focho 2011 stated,
“Knowledge is often equated to power, is a catalyst for gaining positive self image and confidence”. A global education is key to such knowledge gain
since it informs the students in some areas like cross-cultural awareness, global issues, universal values, critical thinkingleadership skills, and experiential
learning. According to Roux 2001, “students must be aware of traditions and beliefs which are different from their own. Such understanding fosters cross-
cultural co-operation, tolerance and peace, and helps minimize hatred, tribalism, racism, and violence which inevitably lead to war” Focho, 2011, p. 7.
Global education providers should help the students to develop social responsibility and global citizenship in order to provoke the building of a culture
of peace and respect the human rights. The students‟ participation in global issues
discussions generally builds their self-confidence and a feeling of being well informed. Focho 2011 points out that
“the English class is an ideal location for developing such knowledge because there are few constraints on the subject
matter discussed during language learning activities ” Focho, 2011, p. 7.
From that all, we can see that English give many advantages for students. Focho 2011 concludes that “it helps them to achieve academic success, make it
8
easier for them find employment, enables them to communicate internationally, and gives them a broader perspective on the world in which they live
” Focho, 2011, p. 8.