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The love of all things English begins at a young age in non-English-speaking countries, promoted by pop culture, Hollywood movies, fast-food brands, sports events and TV shows.
Later, with English skills and international education qualifications from high school, the path is laid to prestigious international universities in the English-speaking world and employment opportunities at home and abroad.
But those opportunities aren't distributed equally across socioeconomic groups. Global education in English is largely reserved for middle-class students.
This is creating a divide between those inside the global English proficiency ecosystem and those relegated to parts of the education system where such opportunities don't exist.
[...] It's unfortunate so many schools view an English-speaking model as the gold standard and overlook their own local or regional wisdoms. We need to remember that encouraging young people to join a privileged English-speaking élite educated in foreign universities is only one of many possible educational options.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Dr Spin on Tuesday August 11 2020, @12:54PM (2 children)
people that are lower then the middle-class
In most of the world, people involved in trade or tourism have to learn English - possibly on the job - regardless of class.
The real issue is that there is more than one kind of English.
I once knew a tourist guide in Amsterdam who spoke at least seven languages - all with such a heavy Dutch accent that it was impossible to tell which language she was speaking!
In England your class is determined by how you speak English. That is far more significant than money, clothes or colour. The reason we talk about the weather at bus stops is not because we care about the weather. It is because we want to hear what class you are and where you come from.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 11 2020, @01:27PM (1 child)
In how many ways can you say that the weather is shit and it's raining?
(Score: 2) by rleigh on Tuesday August 11 2020, @03:54PM
It's dreich today.