THE ENGLISH EFFECT The impact of English, what it's worth to the UK and why it matters to the world - British Council
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
THE ENGLISH EFFECT The impact of English, what it’s worth to the UK and why it matters to the world www.britishcouncil.org
Contact us to receive publications in alternative formats, request a hard copy, or give feedback: externalrelations@britishcouncil.org
CONTENTS
Foreword 2
Executive summary 3
The global language 5
How English is changing lives 10
The economic benefit 14
Conclusion and recommendations 16
The British Council: sharing the benefits of English 18
ABOUT THE
BRITISH COUNCIL
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the
UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a
Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for
educational opportunities and cultural relations.
We work in more than 100 countries, and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000
teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and
millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and
society programmes.
We earn over 75 per cent of our annual turnover of £781 million from services
which customers pay for, education and development contracts we bid for,
and from partnerships. Less than 25 per cent of our turnover now comes from
a UK government grant. We match every £1 of core public funding with over
£3 earned in pursuit of our charitable purpose.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org
You can also keep in touch with the British Council through
http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org
THE ENGLISH EFFECT 1
Foreword
The English language is perhaps the United Kingdom’s greatest and
yet least-recognised international asset. It is a cornerstone of our
identity and it keeps us in the mind of hundreds of millions of people
around the world, even when they are not talking to us.
English is spoken at a useful level by prospects but also contribute to national
some 1.75 billion people worldwide growth and competitiveness. In a 2012
– that’s one in every four. By 2020, we survey by the Economist Intelligence
forecast that two billion people will be Unit, nearly 70 per cent of executives
using it – or learning to use it. And it is said their workforce will need to master
the economically active, the thought English to realise corporate expansion
leaders, the business decision-makers, plans, and a quarter said that more
the young, the movers and shakers than 50 per cent of their total workforce
present and future who are learning will need English ability. English is
and speaking English. They are talking becoming a core criterion in determining
to each other more and more and employability. Early adopter advantages
English is the ‘operating system’ of are gradually fading and are being
that global conversation. replaced by economic disadvantage for
those who do not speak the language.
The English language was forged by the
Those who are not online or cannot
UK’s unique history and now provides
speak English are increasingly left behind.
a major economic contribution to the
UK’s prosperity. Thousands of students English makes a significant contribution
come to the UK to study English, to sustainable global development. It Mark Robson
contributing some £2 billion a year to eases trade between countries that do Director of English and Exams
local and regional economies across not share a common language. It is used British Council
the country. Many carry on to further as a language of convenience, facilitating
and higher education, continuing to dialogue and building trust where an Mark Robson is a member of the British
contribute directly through tuition understanding of diverse positions is Council’s Executive Board. Much of his
fees and by living here. In the process, crucial – notably in peacekeeping and business career has been in international
they form personal, professional and conflict resolution, where security forces consumer product marketing and sales,
business relationships with people and and other uniformed services increasingly including at the market research agency
organisations in the United Kingdom speak to each other in English. A fairer, MORI, Colgate-Palmolive, and the US
which will continue when they return more prosperous world is a safer and conglomerate Georgia-Pacific.
to leadership positions in their own more secure world, and English is
countries. Much less of this would increasingly the lingua franca that holds
happen without the attraction of the together the international conversation
English language. and debate in areas such as climate
change, terrorism and human rights.
But English adds value well beyond the
It is the UK’s greatest gift to the world
UK economy. Research shows how a
and the world’s common language.
good command of English can not only
enhance an individual’s economic
2
Executive Summary
• English is the world’s common • The UK needs to continue to highly receptive world market. And just
language. English has come of age invest in sharing English. The UK as culture can create the space where
as a global language. It is spoken by needs to be able to respond to this individuals can express, explore and
a quarter of the world’s population, global demand by continuing to re-imagine difficult issues, so English as
enabling a true single market in attract young people into teaching the common language aids dialogue,
knowledge and ideas. It now belongs English and by investing in sharing understanding, trust and the brokering
to the world and increasingly to English with the world. of business deals.
non-native speakers – who today
The growth of English, and the Emerging economies and developing
far outnumber native speakers.
emergence of the internet as a truly countries increasingly recognise the
• English gives the UK global communication channel with few economic value of producing large
a competitive edge. For the boundaries, are mutually reinforcing numbers of skilled graduates able to
UK today, it provides a strong trends. Thanks to the internet, the rise communicate in English. Jobs, economic
competitive advantage in culture, of social media, the speed and spread opportunity and wealth creation are
diplomacy, commerce, media, of global communications technology critical to stability. Countries with a low
academia and IT, and in the use and the increasingly globalised and proficiency in English have uniformly low
and practice of soft power. interdependent global economy, English levels of exports per capita. A focus on
• English drives growth and now allows the rapid cross-pollination improved language skills, integrating
international development. of ideas and innovation around the English into the curriculum from the
For developing and emerging world, and the development of a new primary or even pre-school years,
economies, there is enormous kind of supranational single market helps attract foreign investment, further
demand and need for English in knowledge and ideas. increasing the need for English speakers;
in public education systems to boost and a strong export sector in services
The global power of English has helped
stability, employability and prosperity. helps create a middle class, strengthening
the UK to grow and maintain its position
• English changes lives. The impact spending and growing the national
as a cultural superpower – in arts, in
of globalisation and economic economy. In developed and developing
academia, and more – with every
development has made English the countries alike, for the investor, the
chance of continuing to grow its soft
language of opportunity and a vital academic, the civil servant, the teacher,
power influence in today’s highly
means of improving an individual’s the performer, the politician, the
networked world. In the 21st century,
prospects for well-paid employment. secretary, the diplomat, the activist,
where content is king (as Bill Gates said
the schoolchild, English creates
back in 1996), creative, culture-rich
opportunities otherwise impossible.
English content has a growing and
Emerging from a colourful history, But as English advances to become
thanks to its Darwinian capacity to a key basic skill for millions around the
The UK must continue
evolve and adapt – and changing world, the UK will need to invest in its
to invest in English for almost beyond recognition along own competitive advantage by sending
the benefits, opportunities the way – English has come of age more of its best and brightest young
as the ‘global common language’. people out into the world to share
and value it brings to Its seemingly irresistible spread, and teach the language, to learn the
our trade, our culture begun in past centuries but accelerating languages, cultures and customs of
intensely in the past few decades, others, and to bring their learning back
and our people. means that different varieties have to enrich our own culture.
emerged. It is constantly moulded
For the UK, the English language is a
and altered by new communities of
critical component of trust building and,
users, whether geographic or digital.
in turn, trade and prosperity. To maintain
In this way it has come to belong to
the ‘English Effect’ we must continue
all its speakers – it no longer has a
to nurture and invest in English for the
single centre such as the UK which
benefits, opportunities and value it brings
influences its norms of usage, but
to our trade, our creative industries,
instead has many centres and hubs
our culture and our people. If we do not,
around the world which individually
we risk losing the economic, social
and collectively shape its character.
and cultural value derived from one
It is a global medium with local
of the UK’s greatest assets.
identities and messages, and this trend
will continue as non-native speakers
now far outnumber native speakers
– already at an estimated ratio of 4:1,
which can only grow. Our own forecast
is for double digit growth in the
demand for English in a swathe of large
countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan,
Brazil, Mexico and Nigeria.
4
the GLOBAL LANGUAGE
The Evolution of English
English is the dominant international ‘What seems to be happening is that those people who
language of the 21st century. It is were once colonized by the language are now rapidly
spoken at a useful level by some
1.75 billion people – a quarter of the remaking it, domesticating it, becoming more and
world’s population. As the language of more relaxed about the way they use it – assisted by
communications, science, information
technology, business, entertainment
the English language’s enormous flexibility and size,
and diplomacy, it has increasingly they are carving out large territories for themselves
become the operating system for
the global conversation.
within its frontiers.’
Salman Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands (Granta Books 1992)
How did this happen? What does it mean?
Two qualities have been pivotal in the As English was spreading, it was also express new concepts (‘to email’ or
evolutionary rise of English: momentum adapting and absorbing, soaking up ‘to google’). The only constant is change.
and adaptability. vocabulary from elsewhere. Arabic,
This globalisation of the language has
The momentum was originally provided Spanish, Hindi and Malay words all
led to a diverse range of ‘Englishes’,
by the political, military, religious and found their way into the English lexicon
subtly different not just from a ‘standard’
merchant classes. Through colonisation, through trade and colonisation, joining
English, but from each another. The
ship-borne trade with the Americas, the contributions from a thousand years
European Commission2, for example,
North Africa, the Indies and China, earlier of Old Norse and Norman French
recognises that over the years,
and the attendant role of Christian and, with the coming of the Renaissance,
‘European institutions have developed
missionaries, the English language was Latin and Ancient Greek. In the mid-19th
a vocabulary that differs from that of any
exported worldwide. Arabic and Spanish century, the Industrial Revolution
recognised form of English. It includes
spread similarly through conquest and generated a variety of new words – a
words that do not exist or are relatively
religious conversion, across the Islamic new technical lexicon – such as ‘factory’,
unknown to native English speakers
world and the Americas, in parallel to ‘steam-press’, ‘stethoscope’: some of
outside the EU institutions’. Along the
the rise of English. But they did not them returning to classical roots, others
way it provides a window into concepts
adapt and adopt with the pace and taking on simpler terms, to describe
that are common in one nation’s
flexibility of English. processes, concepts and artefacts that
bureaucratic tradition, but not others.
were either new or newly discovered.
Though the UK’s political and military In his book The Tipping Point3, Malcolm
power was crucial in the 19th and The process continues and has intensified
Gladwell writes of ‘The paradox of the
early 20th centuries, the Louisiana today – with many more scientific,
epidemic: that, in order to create one
Purchase1 in 1803 was to prove of major technological and creative discoveries
contagious movement, you often have
significance. This established English (and their patents and trademarks) now
to create many small movements first.’
as dominant over French in the United described and named in English when
In the free development of global
States; and then – as the UK’s empire once they were introduced to the world
English, the language has had many
shrank in the 20th century – rapidly in German and French. Words expand
small movements: dialects that are the
growing American global influence their meanings to cover new situations
fittest for purpose and meet the needs
gave the language a momentum (‘a computer mouse’); the language
of their users (such as EU officials) in
perhaps unique in modern history. incorporates or creates new words to
context. Dialect is no longer restricted
1. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States in 1803 of 828,000 square miles of France’s claim to the territory of Louisiana,
encompassing all or part of 15 present US states and two Canadian provinces.
2. European Court of Auditors, Translation Directorate (May 2013). Brief List of Misused English Terms in EU Publications.
3. Malcolm Gladwell (2000). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference, New York: Little Brown.
THE ENGLISH EFFECT 5
‘One of the main problems we have in building
a more integrated European community is
inadequate communication within Europe.’
Joachim Gauck, President of Germany
in its distinctiveness by region or place. The pace of change this generates is The advantages (and
It applies to social groupings; and we striking. Adaptations, corruptions and disadvantages) of English
can see the development of distinct tailoring that had previously taken
In the same way that a unified currency
dialects in cyberspace and in mobile centuries now take only months.
or an effective free trade agreement
communications – just think of text The Oxford English Dictionary added
can facilitate ease of commerce,
language as one example – in parallel approximately 300 new words (BitTorrent,
so a unified language code, or at least
with the decline of regional dialects as cybercast, paywall amongst them) to
a common tongue, can aid dialogue,
our usage in the UK becomes more the lexicon in June 2012. Can English
understanding, trust and the brokering
geographically homogenised. readily absorb this pace of change,
of deals. Global English, or access
or will it in some way lose ‘integrity’?
to one of the many global ‘Englishes’,
Technology and the Its trajectory is difficult to predict. Loan
is a highly valued technical skill.
pace of change words and changes to structure have
It can be a prerequisite for many
been enriching the language for the
If English took hold due to the historic international positions, an asset in
past 1,500 years – that much is not new.
factors of trade, empire, military and diplomacy, foreign relations and
We now must be prepared not just to
industrial might in earlier centuries, development, and a passport to
tolerate, but to confidently embrace
technology has enabled it to jump the advancement in the global media,
the changes being wrought by instant
fence and to thrive without the physical entertainment and financial worlds.
global access, for online and social
contact which had previously been Joachim Gauck, President of Germany,
media usage will have a significant role
necessary. The growth of English, used a speech on Europe’s future4
to play in the next phase of the evolution
and the emergence of the internet to call for English to be made the
of English. English has always evolved
as a global communication channel, language of the European Union (as
– and that is its great strength.
are mutually reinforcing trends. he appealed for the UK to stay in the
The extraordinary growth and speed
This lack of boundaries is important. EU). ‘One of the main problems we
of cross-cultural online communication,
Previously, the spread of language was have in building a more integrated
combined with the emergence of global
governed by those physical encounters, European community’, he stated,
English varieties, is creating a new
then by the circulation of printed ‘is inadequate communication within
dialect of English for the web: let us call
materials, then by radio, television, Europe’. To encourage a greater sense
it English 2.0, the unofficial language
cinema and other mass media. The of commonality, he argued, Europe
of the internet. Here, the rules of the
arrival of the internet and social media, needed a common language as well
language are relaxed, grammatical and
with the potential for even wider reach, as encouraging multilingualism. ‘I am
structural purity have become far less
has meant that those languages with convinced that, in Europe, both can
important than flexibility and openness
the greatest momentum and the most live side by side: the sense of being at
to change, and new loan words are put
attractive characteristics and attributes, home in your mother tongue, with all its
to immediate and global use. Those
such as widespread usage, immediate poetry, as well as a workable English for
who use it can be immediately heard,
applicability, well-regarded cultural all of life’s situations and all age groups.’
seen, read and understood by far
ambassadors or accessible teaching
greater numbers than ever before.
and learning, have become the most
successful channels of online
communication and exchange.
4. To an invited audience at his official residence, Schloss Bellevue, Berlin, 22 February 2013.
6
trainee teacher in China reflecting
on her motivations for learning the
For the UK today, English provides a strong competitive language: ‘We use English as an
edge in fields as diverse as diplomacy, commerce, international language because so
media, academia and IT. It means a place at the heart many people in so many countries
speak English. Though there are so
of a global network. many people that speak Chinese, just
the people in China speak Chinese.
The economic incentive to learn English world-leading research, and the fact I think that English as an international
is compelling. An increasing number that this teaching and research happens language is natural.’
of companies – Nokia, SAP, Heinkeken, in English.’ For the generation soon to inherit
Samsung and Renault amongst them – influence in commerce, politics, media
Other university systems acknowledge
have recognised the long-term and cultural life, ‘connectedness’ is a
the centrality of English. Jean-Loup
advantages to productivity and growth major priority; technology is the vehicle
Salzmann, chairman of the Conference
that adopting English as a common that they have chosen; and English is
of French University Presidents, notes
company language can have. In a 2012 increasingly the fuel on which it will run.
that ‘In any French medical laboratory,
survey by the Economist Intelligence
more than half the people speak only It is clear that what we currently think
Unit5, 70 per cent of executives said
English. The evaluation of our research of as the ‘English-speaking world’ will
their workforce will need to master
is in English, our European projects are eventually lose effective control of its
English to realise corporate expansion
in English, and when professors from ‘own’ language. ‘If there is one predictable
plans, and a quarter said more than 50
abroad are welcomed to our universities, consequence of a language becoming
per cent of their total workforce would
we speak to them in English.’7 Indeed, a global language,’ writes the eminent
need English ability.
the law requiring higher education academic David Crystal8, ‘it is that
For other sectors, the English language instruction to be principally in French nobody owns it any more. Or rather,
is an indispensable part of their offer. is now being modified in an attempt to everyone who has learned it now owns
Loren Griffith, Director of the International reverse the decline in the number of it – “has a share in it” might be more
Strategy team at Oxford University, sums foreign students at French universities. accurate – and has the right to use it
it up in these terms: ‘Today most of the in the way they want.’ There is therefore
Protestors involved in the uprisings in
world’s best universities6 are in English- a job to be done. There is a need for
North Africa in 2011, whilst using French
speaking countries, and that is no high-quality teaching of English even
and Arabic to gain local and regional
coincidence. English has become the more than ever, if not to protect the
support, switched to English to influence
lingua franca of academia. This greatly purity or integrity of the language, then
the wider global community. One such
increases UK universities’ ability to to ensure that the diverse dialects that
activist, who had taken first to the streets
attract the world’s best to study and are being allowed to flourish are clear
and then to social media and the internet
do research here, and to collaborate about the source code from which
during the Libyan revolution, was asked
with the best located around the world. they are diverging and share enough
why he had chosen English when Arabic
More international students study at common elements to ‘interoperate’
had served him well on the streets. His
UK universities than anywhere but the as a global operating system.
answer was clear and concise: ‘Because
United States. Three central reasons are
that’s where we go when we want to
our tradition of rigorous training in how
influence the world.’ And here is a
to think well, the chance to participate in
5. Economist Intelligence Unit (2012). Competing across borders: How cultural and communication barriers affect business.
6. THES: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings
7. The Times, 22 May 2013 ‘Use of English in French universities is a cause célèbre’.
8. David Crystal (2003) English as a Global Language. Cambridge University Press.
THE ENGLISH EFFECT 7
For the UK today, English provides a ability for the markets they served; and the real casualty from the global spread
strong competitive edge in fields the largest language deficits were for of English may actually be the native
as diverse as diplomacy, commerce, the fastest-developing markets. Only speaker: ‘The rest of the world will have
media, academia and IT, and helps it 0.4 per cent of business owners reported access to everything s/he does, but
to play a major global role as a cultural that they were able to speak Russian s/he will have access to little or nothing
superpower. It means a place at the or Chinese well enough to conduct beyond the edges of his own tongue.’
heart of a global network, predicated business deals in their buyers’ language.
upon nuance, ease of understanding, The report called for a fundamental The global demand
trust and trade, and where it gives the reappraisal of the importance of language
UK a big advantage in the global soft learning to the UK’s future competitive The new growth markets for English are
power stakes. position and business success, and largely outside the traditional countries
recommended that foreign languages of the developed world. China and India
Soft power is rooted in attraction, show an enormous scale of demand,
be re-established as core subjects
exchange and the building of cultural whilst being quite different in terms of
within the UK national curriculum and
relationships across borders, much demographic change and educational
in workplace training. The British
of it unmediated by governments. culture. However, it is in the tier of large
Academy10 has added its voice to the
This requires communication, exchange countries below these giants where the
debate, providing evidence that the
and an interest in different cultures. most astonishing growth is forecast. The
UK is suffering from a growing deficit
This in turn is fraught with the dangers British Council forecasts at least double
in foreign language skills at a time when
of misinterpretation, misperception, digit growth – in some cases up to 40
global demand for such skills is expanding.
false assumption and insensitivity. per cent – in demand for English in
It argues that much more needs to be
In the building of stronger cultural ties, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil and Mexico,
done to tap the supply of multilingual
some shared understanding and mutual as well as the large African countries,
skills within UK society, and to ensure
respect are key elements, and these are particularly Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sudan.
our education system is equipped to
greatly enabled by a common language. The growth in the demand for English
support the UK’s aspirations for growth
Yet the UK should not be complacent. and global influence. is closely related to one particularly
Despite its strength as the most important dimension of globalization:
In not embracing the widespread learning the trend towards increased
common global language, the vast
of other languages, those who rely urbanisation. A Euromonitor report for
majority of the global population do
exclusively on English deny themselves the British Council says ‘Up to 18 million
not speak English and other languages
access to other cultures through the Nigerians are expected to move to
such as Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin
vital entry point of their language. The urban areas over 2009–2015. Urban
are increasingly in demand.
writer and researcher David Graddol11 dwellers have far higher levels of
An international trade business survey has warned that monoglot English exposure to English, and are also better
by the British Chambers of Commerce in graduates face a bleak economic future: placed for access to schools than their
20129 – to which over 8,000 businesses qualified multilingual youngsters from rural counterparts.’13
responded – specified a number of other countries are proving to have a
obstacles to export growth. Over one competitive advantage over their British Elsewhere, the Russian government has
in five businesses identified a language counterparts in global companies and stated that fluent English will in future be
deficit as one of these; up to 96 per cent organisations. Scott L Montgomery12, a requirement to become a civil servant.
of respondents had no foreign language writing of scientific research, warns that In Vietnam, English has become
9. British Chambers of Commerce (2012) Exporting is Good for Britain: Skills.
10. British Academy (2013) Languages: The State of the Nation.
11. David Graddol (2006) English Next: Why global English may mean the end of ‘English as a Foreign Language’. British Council.
12. Scott L Montgomery (2013): Does Science Need a Global Language? English and the Future of Research. University of Chicago Press.
Interviewed in www.InsideHigherEd.com 4 June 2013.
13. Euromonitor International (December 2010) The Benefits of the English Language for Individuals and Societies:
Quantitative Indicators from Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
8But ways of learning are changing –
the face-to-face classroom is being
‘If I have to summarise the meaning of the English
supplemented by the virtual world,
language in one word then it has to be freedom. broadcast media, and the mobile phone.
Freedom to relate to others, explore new cultures, UK providers are in competition with
companies from around the world for
freedom of information, to do what I want to do for a this market, which is likely to triple in
living and live in a place I love … English has opened size in the major markets mentioned
above, as well as in the traditional
my horizons in every sense of the words and I owe markets of Europe and the developed
who I am today to the ability to speak the language.’ economies of the Far East. The global
Francisco Rodriguez-Weil, set and costume designer, Venezuela market for digital English language
learning products and services reached
$1.31 billion in 2011. The worldwide
compulsory from the fourth grade and it In the newest states, English can have five-year compound annual growth
is now compulsory in all Japanese primary a special role in nation building. When rate (CAGR) is 14.5 per cent and
schools. The government of Thailand South Sudan gained independence from revenues will reach $2.58 billion by
has set the ambitious goal of teaching Sudan in 2011, English was announced 2016. But high quality English teaching
English to 14 million students in 34,000 as the new national language of unity. – whether face-to-face, ‘blended’ or
state schools, from pre-primary to virtual – will still need real teachers,
As a result, native-speaker teachers are
university age; and the Kazakhstan and the international employment
in increasing demand around the world.
government says 30,000 more English- opportunities for talented British
Although there are some 12 million
speakers will be needed for Expo 2017, graduates remain substantial.
English teachers active in the world
an international exhibition on sustainable
today, this masks a huge global shortage.
energy to be held in Astana.
‘My mother tongue is Kurdish, which is banned;
so I write my poetry in my second language,
Turkish. I have therefore always had a very traumatic
relationship with Turkish. That is not the case with
English. English is like a break I have been offered to
somewhat alleviate the burden of the life I am living.
It is a break to take a breath and rest. Something would
have been missing in my life if I didn’t speak English.’
Bejan Matur, writer, TurkeyHOW ENGLISH IS
CHANGING LIVES
English has developed as a global
language for a range of reasons, many
‘English language skills are an indispensable tool for
of them historical, rather than anything
intrinsic in the language itself. The daily communication with most of the outside world,
enormous irregularities in the English either in my professional or personal life. Through
system of spelling, for example, may
often be seen by a newcomer as a English I was not only able to assemble a vast professional
disincentive. Millions, however, are network spanning around the globe, including China
undeterred. One of the strongest
incentives for learning the language is
and Japan, I was also able to meet and get to know
the use to which it can immediately be very inspiring personal friends around the region and
put, socially, economically and culturally. in other, very different countries in Europe. It is vitally
From education and the creative important that I am able to speak English; as important
economy to IT and advanced
engineering, industries in the UK benefit as being able to speak at all.’
hugely from using the English language. Vladimír Vano, Chief Analyst, Volksbank Slovensko AS, Slovenia
But it also helps economies overseas
to prosper. English language skills
provision in 2008. Consumer demand and Pakistan, noted that ‘Education
provide life-changing opportunities,
for these schools is solid, as private is a long-term investment for each
and promote prosperity and security
education institutions are perceived to government, but a citizen’s individual
around the world – to the extent that
offer better-quality English tuition than ambition is the prime motivator.
development efforts have now become
public alternatives. Interviews with companies indicate that
‘inextricably linked in governmental and
individuals regard education as the best
academic circles as well as in the media At an individual level, the discernible
way to escape poverty, and believe that
with English language education’14. relationship between English proficiency
learning English in particular offers great
Research in countries in the Middle and gross national income per capita is
opportunities for career advancement.’
East and North Africa suggests that the a virtuous cycle: ‘Improving English skills
need to widen the scope of domestic (drive) up salaries, which in turn give Thus, individuals seeking to learn English
industry and also attract more inward governments and individuals more money do so not only because it is an enriching
investment by multinationals is fuelling to invest in English training … improved second language, or because it is a
the fast-growing demand for improved English skills allow individuals to apply rewarding pastime. More usually they
English education. It is also clear for jobs and raise their standards of learn because it affords access. It
that reducing unemployment as a living.’16 In India, for example, hourly allows a young woman in Pakistan to
means of securing political stability wages are on average 34 per cent communicate with a professor in the US,
is an imperative for many of these higher for men who speak fluent English a farmer in Ghana to get international
countries.15 and 13 per cent higher for men who weather reports and commodity prices
speak a little English, relative to men via his mobile phone, or a student in
One of the most noteworthy initiatives
who do not speak English.17 Myanmar to share hopes and aspirations
has been in Algeria, where after
with community organisations in Belfast
decades of strict state control of the Research by Euromonitor International18
education system, the government on the benefits of English in five countries,
continues on page 12
began to open the door to private Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh
14. Paul Bruthiaux. Hold your courses: Language education, language choice, and economic development. TESOL Quarterly 36(3).
15. Euromonitor International (May 2012). English Language Quantitative Indicators: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
16. United Nations. GNI per capita PPP ($), 2011. Gross national income converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates.
Quoted in EF English Proficiency Index 2012, www.ef.com/epi
17. British Council (2009). Project English.
18. Euromonitor International (December 2010) The Benefits of the English Language for Individuals and Societies:
Quantitative Indicators from Cameroon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
10One of the strongest incentives for learning the language is the use to which it can immediately be put, socially, economically and culturally.
‘Really I wouldn’t have had a proper professional
career without the English I learnt, and I think that
really I owe that to my parents who had the vision
to force me to study English on top of my normal
schooling from a very early age.’
Paloma Escudero, Global Director of Communications, UNICEF
or Sarajevo. More prosaically, English We weren’t asking them about English, A common view, therefore, was that
allows football fans in a fishing village we were asking them generally what English is a liberating force. It is also
in the Gambia to listen to live Premier they wanted to improve about their worth noting the role that English
League commentary, or those with schools, and these were very traditional language courses, and in particular
the resources to do so to travel across Bedouin families and top of the list was teachers’ behaviours and attitudes, can
borders, knowing that they will find a English because they know it’s hugely have in building positive perceptions of
way to be understood more readily. important in terms of the kind of jobs the UK.
It affords access not to a linguistic club, their kids are going to get.’
The 1994 genocide left Rwanda with
but to a global conversation. Research
Interviews with English language students a severe skills shortage after many
in the Middle East and North Africa shows
in six cities (Muscat, Cairo, Rome, Madrid, professionals either fled the country
that one of the most important factors
Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City) or lost their lives, and English is
influencing the demand for English is
reveal the range of ways in which courses crucial in Rwanda’s development and
young people’s eagerness to take part
impact on their lives – an impact that participation in the global economy. In
in online social networking – which is
goes beyond the obvious linguistic 2009 the government announced an
primarily conducted in English.19
goals of accuracy and fluency. 20 Studying ambitious plan to switch the country’s
‘I think it’s absolutely transformative English, they reported, enabled them to entire education system to English: a
in terms of giving people access be more competitive in the job market huge undertaking in a country where
to improved livelihoods’, says Tony and to move up the career ladder. more than 95 per cent of schools teach
McAleavy, Education Director of It provided access to undergraduate in French to pupils from about the age of
CfBT Education Trust which works and postgraduate courses, either in nine, alongside the indigenous
extensively abroad. ‘Quite apart from their countries or overseas, and to Kinyarwanda. Thousands of teachers are
the extraordinary range of social or work-related professional development already being taught English as schools
cultural benefits that come from courses. It enhanced their ability to begin a rapid switchover to using the
education. We work in a lot of low- engage with the internet and social language for tuition in a few core
income countries and the kids who’ve networking sites. This in turn increased subjects. The intention is to change the
got great English have got radically their ability to access information, work entire system within a few years and
improved life chances. We’ve done more efficiently, and cultivate friendships raise a generation of Rwandans fluent
some work, for example, in a remote with people around the world, and in English, strengthening the country’s
rural part of the UAE, and we met allowed enhanced access to unbiased ties to its English-speaking east African
up with some parents and asked them news about world events. neighbours, including Uganda, Kenya
about what it was they wanted to and Tanzania, with which it does much
improve in terms of their local schools. of its trade.
19. Euromonitor International (May 2012) English Language Quantitative Indicators: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
20. Simon Borg (July 2009), Centre for Language Education Research, University of Leeds: The impact on students of British Council teaching centre EFL classes.
21. Ms Kalimba and Professor Khan were speaking at a Commonwealth Institute seminar in London in 2012 on the importance of English for development.
22. Annika Hohenthal. The Power of English: the Case of India. www.postcolonialweb.org/india/hohenthal/contents.html
23. David Graddol (2010). English Next India: The future of English in India. British Council.
12Ms Kalimba’s views of the importance political awakening: Gandhi, a staunch drivers of this growth: education
of English were echoed by Pakistan’s opponent of the adoption of English, (increasing demand for English-medium
Professor Saeeda Asadullah Khan, struggled to create a consensus for an schools, widening access to higher
Vice-Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah acceptable alternative and expressed education, incorporation of English
Women’s University: ‘English has a major his message to the elite in English. training in vocational education);
role to play in terms of determining employment (many jobs in the
For a variety of reasons, India has
Pakistan’s position within the context organised sector now require good
nevertheless chosen to adopt and
of a developing nation and to build up English skills); and social mobility
maintain English as the secondary
its knowledge economy’, she said21. (English is seen as an access route to
official language of the country, after
the middle classes and geographical
In India, English was first used as a tool Standard Hindi. Successive governments
mobility within India and beyond).
of power to cultivate a group of people have seen the advantages of this position,
who identified with the cultural and other at the individual, community and For the investor, the academic,
norms of the political elite. It provided a international level and English is now the civil servant, the teacher, the
medium for understanding technology spoken by approximately 100 million performer, the politician, the call centre
and scientific development, and by Indians. (According to the 2001 census, worker, the diplomat, the activist, the
the 1920s had become the language 258 million speak Hindi and a further schoolchild, English opens the door to
of political discourse, intra-national 30 indigenous languages are spoken opportunities inconceivable without it.
administration, and law.22 Tellingly, it also by more than a million native speakers).
became the language of nationalism and David Graddol23 identifies three main
‘English, to me, is the international language of dance.
The English language has allowed me to communicate
all over the world with artists, designers, composers,
teachers, fellow dancers and choreographers and has
been essential to initiating and developing both my
professional and personal relationships.’
Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director, English National BalletTHE ECONOMIC BENEFIT
The ‘Global Ranking of the Publishing
Origin of English language students in the UK
Industry’24, a Livres Hebdo research
project, highlighted that while the US 1. Italy 15. Germany
may be dominant in trade publishing, 2. Spain 16. Rest of the World
UK publishers punch significantly above
their weight when it comes to academic 3. Rest of the Middle East 17. Thailand
and scholarly publishing. Indeed the 4. South Korea 18. Taiwan
top five UK companies included in
the rankings – Pearson, Reed Elsevier, 5. Rest of Europe 19. Rest of Central America
Informa, Oxford University Press 6. Saudi Arabia 20. Rest of the Far East
and Cambridge University Press –
accounted for €13.39 billion, 7. Brazil 21. Mexico
nearly a quarter of total global 8. Turkey 22. Venezuela
publishing revenues.
9. France 23. Austria
Asia is now the fastest growing market
for many publishers’ English language 10. Russia 24. Poland
content. Demand in rapidly developing 11. Colombia 25. Czech Republic
countries such as China, Indonesia
12. China/Hong Kong 26. Sweden
and Malaysia reflects the high status
these societies place on education 13. Switzerland 27. Argentina
and particularly English language
14. Japan
learning and the research singles
out these two sectors as areas of
significant growth. Source: English UK, 2011 annual return statistics from 368 private sector member schools.
Grant Glendinning, Director of the
Centre for Lifelong Learning at City and Each year over 600,00025 international are likely to have a long-term impact
Islington College, identifies English as a students from 200 countries come on the value of education exports.
critical deciding factor in the minds of to study at universities, colleges and
those students who are able to make boarding schools in the UK and a further The Domestic ELT Industry
choices about where, how and in what 600,00026 come to do a short English
language course. In 2011, they The UK’s ELT industry has grown by
medium they want to gain higher
contributed the lion’s share of the UK’s 34 per cent since 2000 and is currently
qualifications. ‘The potential for the UK
£17.5 billion education-related export worth over £2 billion annually to the UK
to play a role in meeting the education
market27, helping institutions, cities economy. This figure is expected to rise
and skills demands of the changing
and communities throughout the UK to to nearly £3 billion by 2020.
world is only just being realised, and
with the UK as the birthplace and the thrive. Analysis by London Economics28 In 2011, the UK had the largest share
historical and cultural home of English, suggests that the value of that market of English language students studying
many students cite that as the reason might be approximately £21.5 billion in outside their home country, with almost
they choose the UK over other English 2020 and £26.6 billion in 2025 (both 50 per cent of students by volume
speaking countries in which to continue in 2008–09 prices). This excludes the and 35 per cent of the global market
their studies.’ potential impact of tuition fee increases by value29.
and student visa rules, both of which
24. http://wischenbart.com/booklab/?p=427
25. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), UKCOSA and others
26. London Economics (June 2011) BIS Research paper No.46: Estimating the Value to the UK of Education Exports.
27. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2013). International education: global growth and prosperity. BIS/13/1081.
28. London Economics (June 2011) BIS Research paper No.46: Estimating the Value to the UK of Education Exports.
29. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2013). International education: global growth and prosperity. BIS/13/1081.
14The £2 billion spent on ELT (which with the English language. ‘You’ve got The consultancy firm Brand Finance
includes tuition fees, accommodation at the heart of it a business focusing on estimates that the full, long-term
and day-to-day expenses) was well the teaching of English, but every British economic benefit to the UK through
spread across the UK. The top 15 towns company, for example of a scientific or the use of English, in both international
and cities were: technical nature, has got an advantage trade with English-speaking countries
in selling its products and services and in the domestic UK economy, is
£ in 2010 because it speaks English to people who £405 billion. The Intellectual Property
want to talk professionally in English.’ asset value is £101 billion.30 This latter
1. London £771,454,897 figure represents what a (theoretical)
He notes also the complex range of
2. Bournemouth £150,159,468 licensor would charge the UK for
different types of English teaching
continued use of the English language
3. Brighton £121,982,664 services for which there is a growing
in international trade with English-
and Hove demand. ‘It’s not just the obvious service
speaking countries and within the
in terms of, say, teaching kids English.
4. Oxford £96,977,876 domestic economy.
In Brunei, for example, we work with the
5. Cambridge £89,414,405 local airline company on aviation English. Inevitably these figures prompt as many
There’s a big market for technical English questions as they answer – how can you
6. Edinburgh £69,562,230
associated with particular vocations and place a value on a global good? But the
7. Manchester £67,963,916 particular professions. In another context methodology which Brand Finance uses
we’re helping schools in the Middle East is applied daily to intangible assets and
8. Canterbury £31,876,972
so that they can teach maths and science is suggestive of the enormous – and
9. Leeds £28,513,618 through the medium of English. This substantially hidden – benefit to the UK
bringing together of the maths pedagogy which English brings. As was recently
10. Bristol £24,432,439
and the English content is a growing said of soft power by a UK cultural
11. Glasgow £21,210,270 niche in terms of the global market. commentator31, ‘It’s like good health,
So it’s a complex market as well as a something you only really appreciate in
12. Eastbourne £18,962,245
growing market.’ its absence.’ The same is true of English.
13. Norwich £18,201,976 Recent research by the British Council
The brand value of English shows that the ability to speak English
14. Portsmouth £17,565,035
has a major positive impact on people’s
15. Sheffield £17,024,787
The English language creates an easier interest in business opportunities with
environment in which the UK can do the UK, in wanting to visit the UK and in
Source: Department for Business, business, and it fuels a booming English wanting to study in the UK.32 Sustained
Innovation and Skills (BIS) and English UK, 2011
teaching industry, with much of the investment in meeting the world’s
earnings going directly into local and currently insatiable appetite for English
However, Tony McAleavy of CfBT sees
regional economies around the UK. But is one of the best investments UK plc
this £2 billion as ‘a drop in the ocean’
can you put a value on something we can make in our trading, creative and
in terms of the wider economic benefit
use every day without even thinking? cultural future.
to the UK that comes from our association
30. These figures are arrived at using an approach known as the ‘Royalty Relief Methodology’, commonly applied to commercial brands for the purposes of technical valuations
(for example, in tax disputes). It uses publicly available financial information – in this instance, financial figures from the Office for National Statistics and softer measures from
various studies in the public domain. It relies on verifiable third party data (licensing agreements – where appropriate) and therefore less judgment is involved than other methods.
31. Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian, 19 June www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/19/britain-soft-power-greater-gangnam-style?INTCMP=SRCH
32. British Council (2013). Culture Means Business. See also British Council (2012), Trust Pays.
THE ENGLISH EFFECT 15Conclusion and
recommendations
English is now spoken by a quarter of the world’s population,
enabling a true single market in knowledge and ideas. Non-native
speakers now substantially outnumber native speakers and
as a result, English increasingly belongs to the world rather than
to any one country.
English has huge economic value – for But we should not stop there. We must 2. The UK should use its huge strengths
the UK it supports trade and exports always remember that English is not in English teaching, curriculum
around the world and a thriving ELT enough for UK young people and that development and assessment
sector at home. It provides a significant the learning of other languages must to enable low and middle income
competitive advantage in everything be a much higher priority in the future. countries around the world to
from soft power to commerce, to the If we are to maintain our position at the improve the provision of English
media, to universities and academia; and heart of the global network and as a in public education systems.
delivers a ready and growing global major cultural and economic presence,
market for the UK’s impressive cultural we must learn from, and share more and 3. More should be done to encourage
industries. It is a critical component more with, other cultures and countries. and enable the brightest and best
of trust building and, in turn, trade young people from the UK to explore
Taken together, and allied to continuing opportunities to teach English
and prosperity.
support for the competitive strengths around the world.
Around the world there is enormous of our education system and our cultural
demand and need for English in the and creative sector, this mixed economy 4. There is an urgent need for a step-
state and public education systems, of investment and reciprocity will enhance change in foreign language learning
especially in developing economies. the UK’s global attraction and influence. amongst young people in the UK,
The UK is uniquely placed to support ensuring that we continue to learn
the development of high quality English Recommendations from and engage with people from
teaching. This is the right thing to other countries and cultures.
do to support improved prospects for 1. The UK should recognise the
countries and individuals in low and significant contribution of its dynamic
middle income countries, but also and entrepreneurial ELT sector
in the long term it will help to build and do more to support its growth.
closer relationships with the UK as A strategic and joined-up approach
well as growing the market for UK to market development and
goods and services. intelligence, involving government
and the private sector, should
The UK should respond to this global be encouraged.
demand by attracting even more of our
brightest and best young people into
teaching English around the world.
16Emerging economies and developing countries
increasingly recognise the economic value of
producing large numbers of skilled graduates
able to communicate in English.THE BRITISH COUNCIL: SHARING
THE BENEFITS OF ENGLISH
The British Council helps millions of people around the world to learn
English as a central part of its work for the UK. No organisation does
more, in more places, to share the benefits of the English language
with the world.
Our work in English is about delivering The resources we create in these larger We are working with Russia’s 200,000
benefit to the UK, raising the profile of operations enable us to reach and English language teachers, policy
UK expertise around the globe and teach English in places few other makers and other professionals
reinforcing the UK’s position as the organisations could – in conflict zones to improve the quality of English
home of the English language. A wider and developing countries like South teaching – particularly in the state
knowledge of English also helps UK Sudan, the nations of Sub-Saharan sector, where English is taught to
and other businesses who want to Africa and South Asia, the Middle East an estimated 15 million learners
export or invest internationally. and North Africa; and in vital world in more than 60,000 schools.
institutions such as Egypt’s Al-Azhar
Our research shows that, worldwide, We opened our office in South Sudan
University, military colleges and civil
those who speak English are more in 2011, as soon as the country was
service academies.
likely to trust the UK, visit and study established. We have been supporting
in the UK, and be interested in doing We will also be supporting millions the development of the South Sudan
business with the UK. more learners via the improvements Police Service for many years, through
in public education systems which professional development and English
We teach English face-to-face in
we are helping to achieve, such as training. We are bringing English
60 countries worldwide, and reach
‘Project English’ in India. This has language tuition to public servants,
hundreds of millions with our
benefited more than 27 million including many former combatants,
LearnEnglish websites for adults,
young learners across the country, helping them to move from conflict
children and teens, with wind-up
and brought opportunities for to public service.
MP3 players in Africa and via radio
professional development to
and with the BBC World Service. We accredit half the UK’s English
more than 650,000 teachers.
language schools, promote the UK
We work with state and national
We are working in partnership with as a destination for English students,
governments, especially in developing
Intel® Corporation to place 100 work with teachers of migrants in the
countries, to improve English in state
million PCs and devices featuring UK, and run a programme of events
education. We also develop scale and
British Council LearnEnglish for the UK’s ELT sector.
excellence in our large-scale teaching
content in classrooms and homes
operations in Western Europe, Asia,
in 100 countries.
the Middle East and North Africa
which are self-funding with no
cross-subsidy from UK taxpayers.
18You can also read
