Exploration In The Phenomena Of Linguistic Imperialism And The ELT Situation In China

The prevailing diffusion of English, on one hand, has brought much convenience to people in their international activities, and on the other, has left many minority languages in the world in the endangered situation. Experts who are concerned about the unequally use of English and the endangered languages have done a lot of research work, each presenting views from different angles. They use different terms to describe the phenomenon of English diffusion: linguistic imperialism, linguistic hegemony, linguistic genocide, etc.The worldwide diffusion of English resulted from many reasons. First, it is the result of British colonial expansion. During the three hundred years from 16th century to 19th century, Britain succeeded in spreading English in the areas of North America, the Caribbean, New Zealand, South Africa, and South Asia. Second, it is the result of American superiority in economy, politics and technology. Third, it is the result of its own structural characteristics. 20th century is the neo-neo-colonialist phase in which the power of English is exerted in a more discrete means, i.e., through cultural penetration. Behind the language diffusion is the political and economic benefits, so both the USA and the UK governments have made great efforts in the promotion of English diffusion. As a result of all these efforts, English has gradually established its status as the international language.The existence of an international language has brought about much discussion. People turn their attention first to the endangered languages due to the expansion of English. Speakers of those endangered languages see the promotion of an old colonial language as an act of aggression. And the antithesis of opposition to the advance of English comes from many parts of the world. Besides, there is much controversy on whether monolingualism or multilingualism should be preferred. First, there are four myths about monolingualism, which claim that monolingualism at both the individual level and the societal level is normal, desirable, sufficient and inevitable. As tit-for-tat critiques to the four myths, the fundamental value of multilingualism is that an amazing world resource can present us with different perspectives and insights, and thus enable us to reach a more profound understanding of the nature of the human mind and spirit. The 'right to language' is a main counterstrategy against monolingualism, and violations of linguistic human rights lead to a reduction of linguistic and cultural diversity on our planet. The conclusion is, while English looks set to continue as an aid to worldwide communication for the foreseeable future, it is likely, and desirable, that it should not eradicate the splendid diversity of languageand culture to be encountered across the globe.English started spreading in China in the early 20th century, and after several decades it has established its status as the first foreign language in China. The promotion of English education is being conducted at an unprecedented speed. Especially after the success of China in its bidding for 2008 Olympic Games and joining the WTO, a new wave of enthusiasm for learning English is showing up around the whole country. We can see and feel the spreading of English in many ways.This irresistible penetration will not only bring impact to the ELT situation in China, but also present new challenges to the preservation of our Chinese culture. Before getting down to the ELT situation in our country, I first conducted a questionnaire among the students of the institute where I work as an English teacher, the results of which exposed some striking facts. Even though having a clear awareness about the international status of English, the students hold a negative attitude towards the learning of it, and they gave a very low evaluation on their English proficiency. A self-evident fact remains that there exist some problems in the ELT models in our country. Another problem is, compared with the great effort exerted on the development of English education,...