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Teaching English as a Global Language

With over 1.5 billion native and non-native speakers, English is the world’s most widely spoken language. Teaching English as a global language means acknowledging the reasons for its worldwide presence. It is important to provide context to help students understand how exactly English became a global language. Present a brief history lesson that traces English from its origins in England to the dozens of countries that use it as a dominant language today.

English is no longer linked to a particular country. Pull up a map and ask students to start naming the countries where English is spoken as a native language. Then, ask them to find the countries where it is spoken as a dominant language. Finally, ask them to find where it is spoken by the majority of the population. This will remind students that there are many ways that English is spoken around the world. This can help change one’s perspective from seeing English as having a single, correct form of usage to seeing it as a way to facilitate communication with people across the globe.

Students who are learning English as a global language must be reminded that statistically speaking, they are more likely to use English with non-native English speakers than natives. This is because English has more non-native speakers than native speakers! It’s estimated that 70-75 percent of the world’s English speakers are non-native. It’s highly likely that students will at some point encounter an unexpected accent or dialect of English.

It is the heavy task of the global English teacher to help students unlearn their fear of mistakes and embrace communication for the sake of comprehension. The idea that communication matters more than grammatical precision is also important to help students develop strategies for what to do when communication breaks down. This means giving them tools like asking for clarification, rephrasing their own statements, and confirming understanding. Role-playing these types of interactions helps students build confidence and prepares them for real-life situations – whether in meetings, travel, or casual conversations. By focusing on communication strategies rather than perfection, you help students become more effective, empathetic speakers.

One of the best ways to reinforce the global nature of English is by incorporating authentic materials into your lessons – materials created by English speakers from various countries and cultural backgrounds. This includes podcasts, YouTube videos, blog posts, news articles, or even social media content produced by non-native speakers or international communities. Using real-world examples allows students to encounter English in a variety of accents, formats, and contexts, far beyond the confines of standardized textbooks. It also helps them develop listening and reading skills that are more adaptable to the real-life situations they’ll encounter when using English with people from different backgrounds. It is a shared language used by billions, and it’s shaped by the voices of its global community.

Although it’s a global language, English is also uniquely personal. Whether it’s the cafe playing the latest hit song from a music artist, the name of the milkshake at their local fast food restaurant, or a new Instagram update from a celebrity, remind students to recognize the role English already plays in their lives. Invite them to interact with it by straining to understand the song lyrics or set their phones to English. Since it’s all around us, it can be easy to learn to ignore global English. Invite students to recognize it, embrace it, and engage with it in their own daily lives. Teaching English as a global language, you can help your students use this language to its full potential – to facilitate multicultural communication and collaboration and to express the full, authentic experience of humans around the globe.