Who is communicating in English across the world? Who decides what is good English? What variety of English is regarded as authoritative? Who can best provide English language teaching? Who are the best English teachers? What are the dominant languages in the world? What is their future? Whose culture is the English language based on? Should students study the culture that gives rise to a language? What impact does new technology and changes in patterns of communication have on learning and teaching English? How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends?

1. English on the move

2. Who is communicating in English across the world? There are between 309 – 400 million native English speakers. But there are up to 1,400 million people who use English as a second language.

3. Who decides what is good English? What variety of English is regarded as authoritative? There is a whole range of native Englishes which have their own grammatical rules and vocabulary. People who use English as a lingua franca want their nationality and identity to be evident when they communicate in English. A corpora based on the use of English globally could provide the basis for new ways of teaching and assessing English.

4. Who can best provide English language teaching? Who are the best English teachers? The UK and the USA have enjoyed huge revenue from being the providers of English language teaching. Projects for bilingualism look to countries with success in the field, such as Singapore, Finland or the Netherlands. Countries in Europe and Asia are attracting international students by offering course taught in English.

5. What are the dominant languages in the world? There are more native speakers of Chinese and Spanish than English. Arabic may well soon become the third dominant language. As these languages are increasingly used for global communication, will they too face the same challenges as English? What is their future?

6. Whose culture is the English language based on? Mono-lingualism is declining in the USA and the UK has a multi-ethnic culture. Anti-Americanism and a distrust of the UK is widespread. Do English learners still want to study these cultures? Should students study the culture that gives rise to a language?

7. What impact does new technology and changes in patterns of communication have on learning and teaching English? The dominance of English on the internet is declining. Students can learn on the move and use the internet to develop their own personal learning environments. Are educational institutions ready to adapt to these changes and break down the classroom’s walls?

8. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends? The British Council is sensitive to local and national identity. It forges partnerships with key organisations in the countries where it finds itself. It is committed to innovation and using technology to go where teachers and learners are.

9. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends?

10. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends?

11. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends?

12. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends?

13. How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends? Current Global Projects: LearnEnglish Mobile LearnEnglish Second Life LearnEnglish Radio

14. Who is communicating in English across the world? Who decides what is good English? What variety of English is regarded as authoritative? Who can best provide English language teaching? Who are the best English teachers? What are the dominant languages in the world? Whose culture is the English language based on? What impact does new technology and changes in patterns of communication have on learning and teaching English? How is the British Council keeping pace with these trends? What is their future? Should students study the culture that gives rise to a language?

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