Uncovering the role of literature, late imperialism, and the rise of new models of internationalism as integral to the invention of Global English, this book focuses on three key figures from the “Vocabulary Control Movement” - C.K. Ogden, Harold Palmer, and Michael West - who competed for market share for their respective language teaching systems - Basic English, the Palmer Method, and the New Method - through battles over word lists and teaching methods in the 1920s and 30s. Drawing on archives from the Carnegie Corporation and considering language teaching in eight global sites, this book analyzes how a series of conferences in New York and London resolved their conflicts and produced a consolidated, international standard form of English. As a postcolonial approach to the development of the field of English Language Teaching, it reveals how these language debates were proxy battles over an idealized global subject: an urban, secular, consumer moving seamlessly between the tribal and global, speaking both mother tongues and an international lingua franca, Global English. Featuring analysis of the primary texts of each of the three key figures in this book as well as close readings of their readers, which featured adaptations of well-known literary texts from writers like Poe, Dickens, Wordsworth, Milton and Wells, it recovers a neglected history of English as it was redefined as an international language through anti-colonial resistance in the peripheries and transatlantic power struggles in the metropole during the interwar period.

A sweeping account of the global rise of English and the high-stakes politics of languageSpoken by a quarter of the world's population, English is today's lingua franca- - its common tongue. The language of business, popular media, and international politics, English has become commodified for its economic value and increasingly detached from any particular nation. This meteoric "riseof English" has many obvious benefits to communication. Tourists can travel abroad with greater ease. Political leaders can directly engage their counterparts. Researchers can collaborate with foreign colleagues. Business interests can flourish in the global economy.But the rise of English has very real downsides as well. In Europe, imperatives of political integration and job mobility compete with pride in national language and heritage. In the United States and England, English isolates us from the cultural and economic benefits of speaking other languages.And in countries like India, South Africa, Morocco, and Rwanda, it has stratified society along lines of English proficiency.In The Rise of English, Rosemary Salomone offers a commanding view of the unprecedented spread of English and the far-reaching effects it has on global and local politics, economics, media, education, and business. From the inner workings of the European Union to linguistic battles over influence inAfrica, Salomone draws on a wealth of research to tell the complex story of English - and, ultimately, to argue for English not as a force for domination but as a core component of multilingualism and the transcendence of linguistic and cultural borders.

Discusses how Anglo-American has become the language of the world, and describes the changes that English has brought to far-away cultures in distant places.

Winner of the Kobayashi Hideo Award, The Fall of Language in the Age of English lays bare the struggle to retain the brilliance of one's own language in this period of English-language dominance. Born in Tokyo but raised and educated in the United States, Minae Mizumura acknowledges the value of a universal language in the pursuit of knowledge yet also embraces the different ways of understanding offered by multiple tongues. She warns against losing this precious diversity. Universal languages have always played a pivotal role in advancing human societies, Mizumura shows, but in the globalized world of the Internet, English is fast becoming the sole common language of humanity. The process is unstoppable, and striving for total language equality is delusional—and yet, particular kinds of knowledge can be gained only through writings in specific languages. Mizumura calls these writings "texts" and their ultimate form "literature." Only through literature and, more fundamentally, through the diverse languages that give birth to a variety of literatures, can we nurture and enrich humanity. Incorporating her own experiences as a writer and a lover of language and embedding a parallel history of Japanese, Mizumura offers an intimate look at the phenomena of individual and national expression.

The romantic idea of the writer as an isolated genius has been discredited, but there are few empirical studies documenting the role of "gatekeeping" in the literary process. How do friends, agents, editors, translators, small publishers, and reviewers-not to mention the changes in technology and the publishing industry-shape the literary process? This matrix is further complicated when books cross cultural and language barriers, that is, when they become part of world literature. Gatekeepers builds on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Randall Collins, James English, and Mark McGurl, describing the multi-layered gatekeeping process in the context of World Literature after the 1960s. It focuses on four case studies: Gabriel García Márquez, Charles Bukowski, Paul Auster and Haruki Murakami. The two American authors achieved remarkable success overseas owing to canny gatekeepers; the two international authors benefited tremendously from well-curated translation into English. Rich in archival materials (correspondence between authors, editors, and translators, and publishing industry analyses), interviews with publishers and translators, and close readings of translations, this study shows how the process and production of literature depends on the larger social forces of a given historical moment. William Marling also documents the ever-increasing Anglo-centric dictate on the gatekeeping process. World literature, the book argues, is not so much a "republic of letters" as a field of chance on which the conversation is partly bracketed by historic events and technological opportunities.

With English becoming the world's foremost lingua franca, the pressure to improve English language education (ELE) has been steadily increasing. Consequently, the nature of ELE has changed drastically in the last decade. This has not only brought about a number of changes in the way English is taught and learnt, but it has also led to various innovative practices around the world. As a result, this edited book aims to shed light on the new theoretical and methodological developments in the field of ELE as well as the major issues and difficulties faced by practitioners in different parts of the globe. One very important variable that the book takes into account is the role that English already plays in a particular society since this may affect the views that teachers and students hold of the language. This in turn can significantly influence the way English is taught and learnt in given political, economic and socio-cultural settings. The purpose of this book is therefore to provide a comprehensive overview of the pedagogical methods, policies and problems that underlie English language education in ten different regions across the world, including: the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Japan, China and Hong Kong. In doing so, the different chapters in the book emphasize the importance of responding to linguistic and other forms of diversity in order to develop English language education in a globalized world. This book will be useful for teachers and students of English language, for English language curriculum and materials developers, and for those involved in educational policy-making and language acquisition research. Written by experts in the field, the range of content covered in the book's chapters will also help policy-makers, researchers and practitioners develop effective English language education practices and policies, and propose solutions to emerging issues in English language teaching and learning in different environments around the world. The newly-developed arguments and concerns pertaining to English language education will serve as future reference for professionals interested in this area of expertise.

The model of English that should be used in classrooms has long been a subject of debate. This book (with an accompanying audio CD) describes selected varieties of World Englishes, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of selecting a particular variety from the point of view of both teachers and learners. It aims to examine and re-evaluate concepts such as 'standard', 'variety', 'native speaker' and 'non-native speaker', and to validate the role played by multilingual and multicultural English language teachers, arguing that context and learner needs should determine the variety to be taught.

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Learn how to develop and sustain multimodal, project-based learning (PBL) instruction in secondary English Language Arts classrooms. National standards encourage authentic forms of reading, writing, and communication that can support college and career readiness, and this book highlights PBL as a powerful way to harness students’ interests and engage them in academically rigorous learning. The authors provide specific, research-informed curricular approaches and instructional guidance for classroom teachers, as well as an overview of the dimensions of PBL that are often overlooked in the broad expectations of inquiry-based teaching. Instead of “quick fix” lessons, Compose Our World explores how core dimensions of equitable teaching—such as social and emotional support, universal design for learning, and cultivating classroom community—function as the bedrock for student success in PBL contexts and beyond. Book Features: Based on the authors’ extensive experience developing and studying a PBL curriculum.Brings PBL to life through classroom vignettes and teacher and student voices.Provides classroom resources that facilitate customization to unique contexts. Shares ideas for developing teacher communities around PBL practices.Offers additional curriculum materials online.Appropriate for ELA teachers new to PBL, as well as veterans.