Authors: ALMEIDA, Raquel Silvano; GUIMARÃES, Aline Santana; MOTTA, Tatiara Fernandes; BRANDINO, José Vitor dos Santos.*

In the 2021 pandemic remote learning year, Brazilian language professors and future English language teachers gathered virtually in order to study about the contemporary drive of globalization and the current status of the English language.

Historically grounded relations between English and globalization serve as a background to understand the different phases of this language that is well-known, nowadays, as “global”. Both globalization and the spread of English have a long trajectory of time and space and, therefore, cannot be seen as “totally” recent phenomena, but with dominant characteristics marked by influences and remnants of their previous periods.

Taking into account the phases of development of societies and the current moment of globalization, we examine that English has gone through distinct phases of expansion articulated to the historical processes of civilizing mission, territorial expansion, industrialization, modernization and contemporary globalization.

According to Almeida (2020, p. 10), in her recent book entitled Globalização do Inglês: impactos mercadológicos e reflexos na formação de professores no Brasil, “Regarding the English language, it is not possible to refer to the language itself without considering the political, economic, cultural and social contexts in which it is inserted”.

Along the 2021 remoted study, those future English language teachers were asked to reflect about the teaching of English as a global language in the Brazilian setting:

Future Teacher #1

Talking about English in an increasingly globalized world is common, especially in academy, even more knowing that this language has become an extremely important tool in the international market as a means of communication for the expansion of national and international trade.

English has also become a high-value currency, with the aim of creating and strengthening ties between countries considering its use in different contexts.

According to Carmagnani (2001, p.133 apud ALMEIDA, 2020, p. 54) “Everything is possible in this world built for the consumer: the world around him/her is simplified to the point of making him/her believe that obtaining the product – the English language – he/she will be integrated into the hegemonic group”.

For consumers in general, learning English in order to improve their professional curriculum has become a requirement of the increasingly competitive job market, but we should note that many people get into this vibe just for the purpose of joining a social group of superiority and leadership. This makes us think that the English language has become a product to create greater social differences between people; this is not capable of uniting people but separating them due to the difficulties that many face to at least accomplish high school in Brazilian public schools. Thus, the consumers of this product, in this case, the English language, may think that from the beginning of an English course in a language school, for example, it will take them to a high status, making them members of an elite group in society, stuck-up ones compared to others.

The English language should not be considered a product, it should be considered an invaluable wealth of cultural value left by those who came before us, as a means for the construction of knowledge and interdisciplinarity where through the English language we can understand other disciplines linked to itself ,and thus, bring a more meaningful teaching especially to students who always ask themselves: What for and why should I learn English? Where in hell will I use this language?

English has emerged to make life easier for everyone, it is a primary means of communication between peoples, so there was so much propagation around the world, and it helped the economy in general, contributing to globalization. Therefore, we must not fail to emphasize its importance in teacher education in times of linguistic commodification, as English is not only used for communicative purposes, but also to critically analyze the results of globalization in the face of the teaching and learning objectives of foreign languages.

Therefore, we see here the real need for this globalization of the English language in different contexts. And we note that it emerged to unite purposes, to break barriers of lack of communication, and not to gain social status or as a simple profit generator between countries. The English language has expanded to generate challenges within education with new methodologies, increasingly innovative ways of learning and bringing other questions such as interdisciplinarity and teaching through projects.

Future Teacher #2

Our Brazilian culture does not have a culture of valuing a second language, that is, our culture is still about learning another language, it is weak, because each person’s belief is very different. An example would b, the encouragement of parents to their child, because they did not have the study they wanted, they want a different culture for them, because their parents’ culture did not have this focus and they did not understand the reason for learning another language.

People today know that knowing a second language is essential for a job, for expanding horizons and borders. But even in Brazil, teaching in this part is weak. We have as a second official language and many do not know, the Sign language and it is not taught to students, which should be shown to them. Countries like Canada have two official languages ​​and almost everyone has access to them.

The difficulties to teach a new language in the midst of a universe that is full of different cultures and beliefs are immense. Our country has many mixed cultures and does not have a defined one for its people. What we can do to improve this is:

 Demonstrate the importance of a world language.

 Show student why they are learning English.

 What English is for in day-to-day life and in the future.

 The possibilities of communication that can be made.

 Where it can be used and taken advantage of.

All that is learned is not in vain, knowledge is something infinite in our eyes. It is up to us to make the most of everything that can be learned, such as languages or any other subjects. English is something that will be required for various tasks and jobs. As it is considered a commodity for many, the value they see is still little for them, but for a short time. The future generation that is being formed, (“those who value education will encourage good”) will bring great expectations of a very comprehensive learning with a promising future, breaking boundaries of our students who strive for a better understanding of the language.

Future teacher #3

As a student-teacher, my participation in the remoted study group resulted in lots of reflections about my experiences in the classroom, considering the instrument that I use every day, naturally, it was being critically analyzed in various aspects such as economically, politically, socially, and historically. As teachers of English we must be aware of what has been happening to that language throughout the time, to guide us in our journey in the teaching and learning process.

The first point that caught my attention was the current way that the English language is spread today, focusing mainly on market issues, and it will impact the messages that will permeate the social thinking, for example, that the English language sole is a trampoline that changes lives. We must be careful with the thought that ‘’in English is fancier’’ and reduce the risk of our students devaluing their own culture, but if it happens, we should try to overcome this problem.

It is reassuring conversations on how we can speak another language and keep our Brazilian accent because the only thing that it tells people is the place where I come from, nothing more, not that I speak that language well or badly. And on that, we discuss the beautiful poem ‘’Accents’’ by Denice Frohman, which reinforces the idea of our identities and background being carried and shown by language.

Reference:

ALMEIDA, Raquel Silvano. Globalização do Inglês: impactos mercadológicos e reflexos na formação de professores no Brasil. Campinas, SP: Pontes Editores, 2020.

*NOTE: Raquel Silvano Almeida (Doutora e Docente da Universidade Estadual do Paraná / Unespar / Campus de Apucarana-PR). Aline Santana Guimarães (Professora Graduada em Letras Inglês pela Unespar/Campus de Apucarana-PR). Tatiara Fernandes da Motta (Professora Graduada em Letras Inglês pela Unespar/Campus de Apucarana-PR). José Vitor dos Santos Brandino (Professor e Graduando em Letras Inglês na Unespar/Campus de Apucarana-PR).