World English Practice written by Zianur Rahman

World English Practices
written by Zianur Rahman

key Words:
1) Definition of World English Practice.
2) World English vs. World Englishes,
3) Why is it important to practice English?
4) Why people are practicing English?
5) The Benefits of Learning English.
6) Kachru Model “The Three Circles of English”.
7) References

World Englishes
World Englishes refers to the different varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in different regions of the world. (1)

Practice

noun

1.     Practice is defined as to use an idea or actually put it into place. It also refers to the act of continually doing something in order to get better at it.

verb

1.     Practice means to do something over and over, out of habit, because it has become an accepted custom, or on purpose to try to get better at the task. (2)

World English vs. World Englishes

The notions of World English and World Englishes are far from similar, although the terms are often mistakenly used interchangeably. World English refers to the English language as a lingua franca used in business, trade, diplomacy and other spheres of global activity, while World Englishes refers to the different varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in different regions of the world. (3)

Why is it important to practice English? Why people are practicing English?

There are many, many reasons why learning a new language is a good idea. It allows you to communicate with new people. It helps you to see things from a different perspective or get a deeper understanding of another culture. It helps you to become a better listener. It even has health benefits, as studies have shown that people who speak two or more languages have more active minds later in life!
Those are all reasons to learn any language – but did you know that there are 6,500 languages still spoken in the world today? With such an enormous number to choose from, why pick English?

Here are some big reasons that practicing English can improve your life and why people are practicing English.

1    1) It’s the Official Language of 53 Countries and It’s the most commonly spoken language in the world

Depending a bit on how you count, in addition to the approximately 400 million native speakers, English is understood and/or spoken by 1-1.6 billion people. With over a quarter of the world speaking the language, there’s always someone to practice with, especially when you travel.
400 million people around the world speak English as their first language. Not only that, but English is listed as one of the official languages in more than a quarter of the countries in the world. That’s a lot of new people you can communicate with just by improving one language!

2) It’s the Most Widely Spoken Language in the World

What’s more, English is the rest of the world’s “second language”. While Chinese Mandarin and Spanish are the mother tongues of more people overall, most people in the world choose to learn some English after their native language. In fact, one in five people on the planet speaks or understands at least a little bit of English.
This makes English one of the most useful languages you can learn. After all, you can’t learn all 6,500 languages in the world, but at least you will be able to communicate with people from all different countries using English.

3) It Can Help You Get a Better Job and It’s the language of international business and also Make More Money

Companies are becoming more international, and English is listed as an essential skill for more and more jobs. There are some organizations that now conduct all their business in English, no matter where in the world they are based. If you want the best-paid opportunities, learning English is a great idea.

It’s the language of international business
With world business headquarters predominantly in the financial hubs of the UK and USA, English has long been the default language of trade as you can read in the history of the English language. 

Make More Money
The world may not have a global language, but English is the default option for countless forms of communication across the globe. That’s why one of the benefits of learning English is that it significantly boosts your hiring potential. Not only is it an appealing credential on your resume, but it’s also statistically proven to increase your hiring potential.
In 2014, those entering the workforce with second language fluency expected an additional 10% to 15% pay bump.

4) It Makes It Easier to Travel/ One of the Best Languages to Learn For Travel  
As I said before, English is the world’s second language. This means that learning English makes it much easier to travel anywhere you want. For example, airplane announcements, train timetables, emergency information, and street signs are often translated into English, particularly in countries that use a different type of alphabet. Plus, even if you don’t find other travelers or local people that speak your mother tongue, you are practically guaranteed to find someone who understands some English.
Just take a look at some of the destinations around the world where you can truly feel the benefits of learning English:

• Barbuda
• Australia
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• New Zealand 

Additionally, these are just some of the countries that use English heavily:

• Sweden
• The Netherlands
• Denmark
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• South Korea
• Argentina

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5) It’s easy to learn
This is debatable depending on who you speak to, but it’s generally accepted that English isn’t the most taxing language to get to grips with. The vocabulary is simple to grasp and it has developed throughout different languages regarding its evolution that is explained in the article about the history of the English language. Therefore, many speakers of those languages can see where concepts in English originated from and fast adapt to understand the basics of English.

6)It helps you understand other languages
English has a long and fascinating history that spans wars, invasions, and influences from around the globe. Cultures that have helped shape modern English include Romans, Vikings and the French. For this reason, it’s a hybrid language comprised of Latin, Germanic and Romance elements.

7) It’s really flexible 
Non-native English speakers who learn it as a second language often comment on how many ways there are to say things. That’s because English doesn’t discriminate – you can use it however you like. Countries like Singapore have taken this concept to heart, inventing an entirely new type of English called ‘Singlish’ that has absorbed facets of other languages like Chinese and Malay.
Now we’ll explore some of these fantastic benefits you could acquire from practicing English. Some might even surprise you! (4)

The Benefits of Learning English

1. Keeps your Brain Sharp
Learning any language keeps your brain active and challenged.
2. Become a Better Writer
One of the best way to understand a new language is to write. The more that you write, the more exposure to the new language you receive. This helps your book comprehension and eventually your creativity.  
3. Immigration Benefits. (5)

Kachru Model “The Three Circles of English”

Throughout the history of English experts has proposed many models to try to classify its speakers. However, not all linguists agree with which one is the best. In this slide, we are trying to take a look at Kachru’s model proposed in four decades ago. But before starting to explain any model we need to be aware of the fact that this is a three-group model. That is, one that classifies speakers as:

• ENL: English as a native language, these are native speakers born in an English-speaking country, having then this language as their mother tongue. Native Englishes include American English, Australian English, British English, Canadian English, Irish English, New Zealand English, Scottish English, and Welsh English.
• ESL: English as a second language, these are the non-native speakers who have learned English almost at the same time as their mother tongue.
• Brazil. Poland, Ireland, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea.
• EFL: English as a foreign language, these are the non-native speakers who learned English in a country where English is not usually spoken.

Although the classification shows some problems such the fact that the classification of bilingual speakers and the psychological problems are shown in ENL(English as a native language)  of speakers of non-standard varieties and ESL(English as a second language) of speakers who are not comfortable using the language in certain situations. This is the main classification that linguists are going to take into account in order to write their own models.

For many sociolinguists the most important and accurate model is the one proposed by Braj Kachru in 1988. His “Three circle model of World Englishes”, states that there are three circles inside which, the different speakers are classified. The different circles are:

• The Inner Circle is made up of the traditional bases of English and its speakers are the ones in charge of providing the norms. These places are where the norms are created and from which they spread to the other circles. Some of the countries that conform to the Inner Circle are the USA, UK, and Canada.
  
  
• The Outer Circle represents the places where they speak official non-native varieties of English because of their colonial history. The speakers of these places are the ones who challenge the norms and develop them and are mainly ESL Some of the countries that belong to this circle is India, Pakistan, and Egypt.
• The Expanding Circle is made up of EFL speakers where English is not usually spoken. In this circle, the speakers have to follow the rules established by the Inner Circle and developed by the Outer one. Some examples of countries that belong to this circle are China, Russia, and Brazil.

“The Spread of English” offers an extended explanation of how the model works. It shows how colonization, history, and politics played a role in the spread of English in different countries. The Inner Circle, as was explained before, is made up of the countries that belong to the first diaspora. These countries were the linguistic and cultural bases of English is traditionally located. The Outer Circle is conformed by the second diaspora thanks to the colonization of different places in Asia and Africa by the British Empire. One of the most important things to take into account regarding this circle is that the English varieties spoken there are usually in constant contact with other languages. This causes the English variety to be influenced by those other languages and in some cases to incorporate some of their features. This is why the Outer The circle is norm-developing because the contact with other languages prompts changes in its vocabulary and sometimes in its grammar. The Expanding Circle was never colonized by the British Empire and therefore English is not a language spoken by a significant number of people in the country.

All in all, Kachru’s model has had a lot of importance in the history of sociolinguistics. (6)

References :

1) Galloway, N. & Rose, H. (2015). Introducing Global Englishes. Arbingdon, UK: Routledge

2) https://www.yourdictionary.com/practice

3) Paradowski, Michał B. "Barbara Seidlhofer: Understanding English as a Lingua Franca: A Complete Introduction to the Theoretical Nature and Practical Implications of English used as a Lingua Franca (Review article)".

4) https://www.lingualearnenglish.com/blog/tips-to-learn-english/10-reasons-english-important-language/

5) https://www.rypeapp.com/blog/major-benefits-of-learning-english/

 6) https://varietiesofenglishsite.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/classification-of-english-speakers-kachru-model/