More important for understanding the global spread of English are close and detailed understandings of the ways in which English is embedded in local economies of desire. We need to evaluate the global spread of English, and the role of English language teachers as its agents, critically and carefully in order to appreciate the ways in which demand for English is part of a larger picture of images of change, modernization, access and longing. It is tied to the languages, cultures, styles and aesthetics of popular culture with its particular attractions for youth, rebellion and conformity; it is enmeshed within local economies, and all the inclusions, exclusions and inequalities this may entail; it is bound up with changing modes of communication, from shifting internet uses to its role in text-messaging; it is increasingly entrenched in educational systems, bringing to the fore many concerns about knowledge, pedagogy, culture and curriculum. [...] To understand the power and politics of ELT, then, we need detailed understandings of the role English plays in relation to local languages, politics and economies. [...] We are never just teaching something called English but rather we are involved in economic and social change, cultural renewal, people’s dreams and desires.
Adapted from: PENNYCOOK, Alastair. The cultural politics of English as an international language. London: Longman, 1994.
