Globalization and Language Teaching Essay

Recent studies indicate close connection between language teaching and globalization. Globalization has been instrumental in the wide spread of different languages mainly English language. Since globalization entails worldwide spread of social relations, there is a need for a common ground in language between the parties. Globalization ensures that distant and different localities connect in such a way that distant events shape the local happenings and vice versa.

The major instrument for these social relations between countries is language since it will construct and maintain the social connections. In order for people from different areas of the world to connect and undertake their activities successfully, there has to be a common mode of communication through language. For this reason, there have been an increased number of people in need of learning different languages, and this has been through ELF and EIL approaches. These approaches ensure that people from a different areas are able to master the native language of the others (Gnutzmann, 2005).

Globalization calls for cross-cultural understanding as it helps people to be more polite and effective in attaining its goals. Globalization can only be effective if there is a reduction in miscommunication amongst people. Miscommunication comes about when people do not have the initiative to learn and master language of the other natives. Globalization has increased the number of English speakers because it has become necessary for people to master the language for interactions purposes.

Through globalization, different activities have become an international affair and these include education, businesses, work, marriages, tourist destinations, and even sports (Springgay, 2008). On the other hand, globalization has had a negative impact on the teaching of language especially English. The approaches used in teaching language are not up to standard as they only aim at the learners mastering the spoken language.

There are several cases of poor English language approach being in use even in schools, and this is because the approaches aim at quick learning of the language. The two subjects- globalization and language teaching- connect on both a positive and negative platform (McKay, 2003).

Visual Pedagogy

Visual pedagogy refers to the art profession or science this is paramount in young children. Through visual pedagogy, we are able to build the young ones minds as at a tender age children think more with their eyes. What a child sees is more powerful than what he or she gets through the other senses. Cognitive development goes hand in hand with the way children learn to think, and this is better through visual pedagogy.

Teachers or caregivers of young people mainly make use of visual items to build their brains and minds (Coupland, 2010). Thinking is a fundamentally human activity that we all engage in from birth. Visual pedagogy plays a significant role in thinking because we think of what we see. Thinking is an intentional activity, which we engage in without much force. On the other hand, visual sense is relevant in increasing the creativity and imagination of young people (Duffy, 1998).

In preschool, the teachers support creativity and imagination using visual items and objects. For instance, kindergartens and preschools have several charts, which have drawings of different items that the children can easily identify. By seeing the objects on the charts on a regular basis enables the young people to identify objects even in a setting outside school. Toys and play objects comprise of items the young ones can recall for instance small cars, dogs, cats, guns, etc.

Adults can be instrumental in building the child’s imagination through engaging them in constant conversation about the things they see either at home or in school. Letting the children make guesses of the objects they see will increase their imagination and creativity capacities. Toys like building blocks whereby the children can build different objects from the blocks increases their creativity and imagination (Duffy, 1998).

CLT in Asian Context

Creativity Language Teaching (CLT) is a methodology that was first proposed in England in the 1970s, and it was to be revolutionary because of its focus on creativity in language learning classrooms. This approach has served as a major source of influence on English teaching practice especially in the Asian context- where they use English as a foreign language (Goldfarb, 2002). Despite the major disapproval of CLT by several scholars, there has been a strong position for adopting CLT in Asian countries.

When talking of Asian countries, which make use of CLT we comprise of Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Vietnam. It has been close to impossible to implement CLT approach in these Asian countries because of the present English teaching circumstances. The concerned scholars have identified certain barriers, which when looked in to will allow for creativity language teaching in Asian countries (Sakurai, 2004).

CLT debates the essence of putting language learnt to practice which will ensure that the learners master the language. Having knowledge of a language and not putting it to use will not improve the person’s efficiency in language. Advocators of CLT advocate for language teaching and learning in social context and social rules. For instance, teaching English in the Asian context should make use of objects and items of Asian origin to increase understanding (Phan, 2004).

Teaching English in Asian countries using foreign examples will not provide room for relation by the learners. Using examples that learners can relate to will increase the creativity of the learners, and more so the learners will build interest in learning the language. Creativity Language Teaching will increase the understanding of the language being taught as it encourages the learners to relate the language to their real world (Yu, 2001).

References

Coupland, N. (2010). The handbook of language and globalization. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Duffy, B. (1998). The role of adult: Supporting creativity and imagination in the early years. Buckingham. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Duffy, B. (1998). The importance of creativity and imagination for society and young children in: Supporting creativity and imagination in the early years. Buckingham. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Gnutzmann, C. (2005). The globalisation of English and the English language classroom. Tübingen: G. Narr.

Goldfarb, B. (2002). Visual pedagogy: media cultures in and beyond the classroom. Durham: Duke University Press.

McKay, S. (2003). Towards an appropriate EIL pedagogy: Re-examining common ELT assumptions, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 23-35.

Phan, L. (2004). University classrooms in Vietnam: contesting the stereotypes, ELT Journal, 58 (1), 10-18.

Sakurai, K. (2004). Wearing two pairs of shoes: Language teaching in Japan, ELT Journal, 58(2), 16-25.

Springgay, S. (2008). Body knowledge and curriculum: pedagogies of touch in youth and visual culture. New York: Peter Lang.

Yu, L. (2001). Communicative language teaching in China: Progress and Resistance, Tesol Quarterly, 35(1), 9-16.