English today and tomorrow from a critical perspective

Abstract

Doing any critical analysis with English and English Language Teaching (ELT) requires a critical examination of the language and related matters. First, the English language has a long history of evolution and people all over the world have been speaking English as a first language, second language or an important foreign language. The United Kingdom, its former colonies and the United States of America are the starting points of the popular diffusion of English language. Thus, they are either native speakers of English or competent English users. Secondly, nowadays, English is used as an effective tool in various situations of international communication with various "world Englishes". It also means there are different standards of English, including metropolitan native norms and other local or regional norms. Last but not least, ELT, like other kind of teaching, is not free from political connotations. We should recognize the political nature of ELT for our actions. This paper presents a brief discussion of the present use of English and the growing tendency of this language use. It also looks at the teachi ng of English language as a political undertaki ng. On t he ground, some ideas may be offered for a more in-dept h critical analy sis.