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Speaking an extra language is always good. It makes it easier to admit that there are different ways of doing things. It also helps to understand other cultures, to see why they are valued and what they have produced. You can discover a foreign culture through traveling and translation. But truly understanding is another thing: that requires some mastery of its language to talk with people of the culture, and to read their most important books. The “not created here” idea comes from fear and dislike of foreign things and culture. It makes people avoid important ideas and new ways of working.

Native English speakers, of course, speak English most of the time - with their families, the people they work with, their neighbors, and their personal friends. Sometimes they talk to non-native speakers in English, but most English speakers do not do this often. On the other hand, a Portuguese man speaks English most often with non-native English speakers. They all have strange accents. His ears become sympathetic. He learns to listen and understand and not be confused by the accent. He learns to understand a Korean, a Scotsman or a New Zealander with strong local accents. And he learns to understand the pronunciations of others learning English. Often, he understands accents much better than a native English speaker.

It is a general observation that the person who already speaks five languages has very little difficulty learning the sixth one. Even the person who masters two languages is in a much better position to learn a third one than his countryman/countrywoman who sticks only to the mother tongue. That is why it is too bad people no longer speak their local patois. The practice almost disappeared during the 20th century.

Scientists tell us that having a second language seems to enable some mysterious brain connections which are otherwise not used at all. Like muscles with regular exercise, these active connections allow people to learn additional foreign languages more easily.

Now that so many people migrate to English-speaking countries, many of the young people in those families quickly learn English. It is estimated, for example, that 10% of all younger persons in the UK still keep another language after they learn English. Probably similar figures are available in the US. Those children have an extra set of skills when speaking to other new English language learners.

The British Council is the highest authority on English learning and speaking. It agrees with us in its findings. David Graddol of the British Council is the writer of English Next, which is a major study from the British Council. Graddol said (as translated into Globish):

“(Current findings)… should end any sureness among those people who believe that the global position of English is completely firm and protected. We should not have the feeling that young people of the United Kingdom do not need abilities in additional languages besides English.”

Graddol confirms:

“Young people who finish school with only English will face poor job possibilities compared to able young people from other countries who also speak other languages. Global companies and organizations will not want young people who have only English.

Anyone who believes that native speakers of English remain in control of these developments will be very troubled. This book suggests that it is native speakers who, perhaps, should be the most worried. But the fact is that the future development of English is now a global concern and should be troubling us all.

English speakers who have only English may not get very good jobs in a global environment, and barriers preventing them from learning other languages are rising quickly. The competitive edge (personally, organizationally, and nationally) that English historically provided people who learn it, will go away as English becomes a near-universal basic skill.

English-speaking ability will no longer be a mark of membership in a select, educated, group. Instead, the lack of English now threatens to leave out a minority in most countries rather than the majority of their population, as it was before.

Native speakers were thought to be the “gold standard” (idioms remain in this section); as final judges of quality and authority. In the new, quickly-appearing environment, native speakers may increasingly be indentified as part of the problem rather than being the basic solution. Non-native speakers will feel these “golden”native speakers are bringing along “cultural baggage” of little interest, or as teachers are “gold-plating” the teaching process.
Traditionally, native speakers of English have been thought of as providing the authoritative standard and as being the best teachers. Now, they may be seen as presenting barriers to the free development of global English.

We are now nearing the end of the period where native speakers can shine in their special knowledge of the global “lingua franca.”

Now David Graddol is an expert on this subject. But he is also an Englishman. It would be difficult for him - or any native English speaker - to see all that non-native speakers see… and see differently.

For example, non-native speakers see how native English speakers believe that their pronunciation is the only valid one. Pronunciation is not easy in English. There are versions of English with traditional or old colonial accents. Many different British accents were mixed in the past with local languages in colonies such as America, India, South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, or New Zealand. Today more accents are becoming common as English gets mixed with the accents from other languages. Learners of English often have to struggle to hear “native” English and then to manage the different accents. Learners often learn English with the older colonial accents or newer accents. Not many people now speak English like the Queen of England.
Also, native speakers often use their local idioms as if they are universal. (Like saying that someone who dies is “biting the dust”. How long does it take to explain what these really mean? The modern global citizen does not need language like that.)

Non-native speakers also observe this: that most native speakers believe they are English experts because they can speak English so easily. Language schools in non-English-speaking countries often have native English speakers as teachers. They are said to be the “gold standard” (an idiom!) in English. But these native speakers are not always trained teachers. Often all they have is their ability to pronounce words. They do not know what it is like to learn English. In the end result, a teacher needs to know how to teach. So sometimes non-native English speakers become better teachers of English than people with the perfect UK, or US, or South African English pronunciation.

In the past, English schools have made a lot of money using native speakers to teach English. Thus the students always work towards a goal that is always out of reach. Probably none of these students will ever speak the Queen’s English. To achieve that you must be born not far from Oxford or Cambridge. Or, at a minimum, you must have learned English when your voice muscles were still young. That means very early in your life, before 12 years old. Learning to speak without an accent is almost impossible. You will always need more lessons, says the English teacher who wants more work.

But here is the good news: Your accent just needs to be “understandable”...not perfect. Learners of English often need to stop and think about what they are doing. It is wise to remember to ask: how much English do I need? Do I need all the fine words and perfect pronunciation? Perhaps not….

Technical

Idiom

a term for the use of colorful words which may not be understood by non-native speakers.

Lesson

one section of a larger course of study

International

Migrate

to move your home from one country to another. Also: an immigrant is a person who migrates.

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