An introduction to Suresh Canagarajah’s The ecology of global English

“Joel Spring received his Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin. He is currently a Professor at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His great-great-grandfather was the first Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory and his grand-father, Joel S. Spring, was a local district chief at the time Indian Territory became Oklahoma. Joel Spring worked as a railroad conductor on the Illinois Central Railroad and for many years lived each summer on an island off the coast of Sitka, Alaska. His novel, Alaskan Visions, includes many of his Alaskan experiences. After falling in love with his editor, Joel moved to New York. . . .

Professor Spring’s major research interests are history of education, multi-cultural education, Native American culture, the politics of education, global education, and human rights education. He is the author of over twenty scholarly books with the most recent being How Educational Ideologies are Shaping Global Society; Education and the Rise of the Global Economy; The Universal Right to Education: Justification, Definition, and Guidelines; Globalization and Educational Rights; and Educating the Consumer Citizen: A History of the Marriage of Schools, Advertising, and Media. Joel’s most important textbooks are American Education (now in its 11th edition) and the American School 1642-2004 (now in its 6th edition).”

Retrieved from http://qcpages.qc. edu/ EECE/faculty/spring.html

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

The goal: Advertising promotes constant production and consumption of new products.

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

The fear: Increased leisure time will corrupt workers and make them more difficult to control.

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Advertising and new products create new “needs”

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Advertising and new products create new “needs”

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Advertising and new products create new “needs”

Consumers work harder so that they can meet their “needs”

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Consumption of products

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Consumption of products

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Consumption of products

Personal fulfillment

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Planned obsolescence

Continual consumption

Tenets of theindustrial-consumer paradigm:

Brandnames

Desire for higher status and new personal images

Fill in the blank:_______

Fill in the blank:_______

Fill in the blank:_______

Fill in the blank:_______

“Is consumerism becoming the global culture with English as

the international language? . . . Are there educational alternatives

that will promote other ways of thinking about the economic

organization of society?”

English: then and now

English: then and now

An imposed instrument of cultural imperialism

English: then and now

An imposed instrument of cultural imperialism

A chosen vehicle for participation in the global economy

English: then and now

An imposed instrument of cultural imperialism

A chosen vehicle for participation in the global economy

A means of upward mobility in the global economy

“Alastair Pennycook argues that those who claim that ‘English is no longer

tied to any culture since it is now the “property of the world” overlook some

of the values implied in teachingEnglish’. These values involve the relations of

global economic development.”

“A survey of university students found many believing that English could be learned for utilitarian purposes without undermining religious and local cultural values. The following statements were made by different students:”

“Learning the language

doesn’t mean

adopting the culture.”

“Western culture does not neces-

sarily mean negative culture.”

“We can learn English but not copy the ‘Western’ way of life.”

“We won’t develop if

we reject a language

because of its culture.”

“A language is just a tool. That’s why we learn English.”

“English learned for participation in the global economy is not culturally neutral.

In the 19th century, the British tried to spread their culture . . . by making English

the language for administration of the empire. Today, that . . . cultural

content of English has been replaced by an economic

paradigm that people willingly choose to participate in by

learning English.”

“Could speakers of English from India and Cambodia who work for multinational

corporations have more in common than they might have with poor, non-speakersof English in their own countries? Will the

global use of English create a global social and economic class? Or, in

other words, will knowledge of English be necessary for

participation in a global power elite?.”

Before “No Child Left Behind”:

Office of Bilingual Education

After “No Child Left Behind”:

Office of Bilingual Education

After “No Child Left Behind”:

Office of Bilingual Education

Office of

English

Language

Acquisition

Fill in the blank:

___________ is the most widely

recognized global language.

Answer:

Detail from Adbuster’s corporate flag—see www.adbusters.org

Detail from Adbuster’s corporate flag—see www.adbusters.org

Global Globalbrandsbrands

“[T]he ‘No Child Left Behind Act’ promotes a national language while neglecting instruction in other languages. . . . In contrast to the English-only bias of ‘No Child Left Behind,’ the U.S. military is worried about the nation’s international language capabilities. The U.S. Defense Department is advocating the teaching of foreign languages ‘and greater understanding of other cultures in order to address the country’s economic and security needs’.”

This bumper sticker:

(from www.bumpertalk.com/bumpertalk/BD110A.html)

will have to be updated to this:

(adapted from www.bumpertalk.com/bumpertalk/BD110A.html)

a language

other than

“Could speakers of English from India and Cambodia who work for multinational

corporations have more in common than they might have with poor, non-speakersof English in their own countries? Will the

global use of English create a global social and economic

class? Or, in other words, will knowledge of English be

necessary for participation in a global power elite?.”

“[T]he two nations, Japan and China, who have been most resistant to foreign influences, have

succumbed to the requirement of English for participation in global economic and inter-national policy organizations. In contrast, U.S. education officials have acted under

the assumption that English will be the global language while its military

forces support the learning of foreign languages, particularly

Mandarin, for security purposes.”

“The overwhelming majority of non-English speakers and non-English speaking nations choose to learn English because it provides

access to global economic and political organizations. Despite claims that English is

now merely a utilitarian tool freed from older forms of cultural imperialism, the very fact that English is chosen

as a tool for participation in the global economy means an

acceptance of the values inherent in that economy.”

“Brand symbols are now more of a global language than English. Non-English and

English speakers easily recognize universal brand icons. . . . When

two immigrant students speaking different languages meet in a U.S. high school, they share a common

language of global brands. Their shared culture is global

consumerism.”

“Although the industrial-consumer paradigm cannot be simply dismissed

as a source of human satisfaction, there are certain problems inherent

in the model. . . . Here are the major problems with the

industrial-consumer paradigm. . . .”

“1. There is no concern with happiness and satisfaction in employment. The emphasis is on happiness and satisfaction through consumption. This is a problem because most people spend more time at work than they do at consuming.

2. The emphasis is on working hard, often meaning longer hours, to increase consumption activities. Of course, many subsistence farmers and poor people work long hours just to survive. However, the industrial-consumer model does not promise fewer working hours, only more products.

3. The model is premised on a fear that industrialism might provide more personal freedom by reducing work time. Some people fear that more leisure time would make the masses uncontrollable.

4. The issue of what makes humans happy has been clouded by the advertising emphasis on personal satisfaction through consumption.

5. Can the world’s natural resources sustain an industrial-consumer society for all the world’s peoples?

6. If the world’s natural resources cannot provide an industrial-consumersociety to all the world’s peoples, then will the world continue to bedivided between the rich and poor and the hungry and overfed?

7. Will the industrial-consumer model with its voracious appetite forresources and disregard for the environment destroy Mother Earth? ”

“Many environmentalist advocate replacing the industrial-consumer paradigm with a biospheric paradigm. In this

paradigm, humans become just one species existing among other animal and plant species. In addition, environmental education teaches that the meaning and pleasure of life is

dependent on the quality of human interaction with nature. The biosphere paradigm is to act like a mental filter that interprets

human experience in the context of a web of relations with the land, air, water, and other plant and animal species.

It also results in seeing human knowledge as dependent on the same web of relationships.

Consequently, environmental education is considered as something that must be holistic

and inter-disciplinary where the student learns through experience, self-interest,

and participation in social change.”

“CONCLUSION: THE NECESSITY OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONALMODELS TO THE EDUCATIONAL SECURITY STATE

The globalized educational security state is primarily concerned with managing human resources to fulfill the needs of the industrial-consumer paradigm. Similar to English as the global language, historical factors have made the educational security state the global model. . . . I would argue, there is available for consideration three alternative educational models to the current dominant global model:

1. The classical search for the source of human happiness and the just society through the explication of texts as exemplified by Confucianist, Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. . . . 2. The progressive educational goal of achieving human happiness and the just society by empowering people as actors in the reconstruction of society. . . .3. The use of traditional knowledge particularly of indigenous peoples. This knowledge is based on centuries of experience with how humans interact with each other and the environment. It provides an under-standing of the human species’ place in the biosphere of Mother Earth. ”

“I would hope that we could educate a generation who could provide answers to the following questions:1. How can we organize technology and industry so that work is a source of happiness and satisfaction for all people? Rather than thinking about technology as a source of profit and new products, we should think about it as a way of freeing people from meaningless, harmful, and dissatisfying occupations.2. How can we organize the economy so that all people have the nutrition, medical care, and shelter necessity to survive and have long and satisfactory lives?3. How can we organize the economy so that people have more leisure time?4. What are the social, political, and economic conditions that promotehuman happiness?5. How can we organize the economy to maximize human happiness without depleting the world’s resources and while protecting the biosphere?These are the questions that are not addressed by the model of the educational security state that now dominates global educational systems.”