Modern Journal of Studies in English Language Teaching and Literature Volume 1 December 2019

 
 
Introduction 
 
Globalization and the English language co-exist
when the ASEAN integration was discussed 
during the economic and academic reforms as it has been deemed one of the most important 
aspects in attaining a more fluid partnership between nations. However, this is not to say that 
other Asian countries are not active in their campaign to learn the language. According to 
Mizusawa, (2020) “Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology 
has focused on communicative skills in teaching English to improve Japanese EFL students' 
_______________________________ 
Corresponding Author:
Jose Cristina M. Parina 
Author's Affiliation:
De La Salle University Manila 
2401 Taft Avenue Manila, 1004, Philippines 
Email Address:
[e-mail]

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Modern Journal of Studies in English Language Teaching and Literature Vol. 3 Issue 1 June 2021 
32 
English proficiency” (p. 105). This is also recognized in China where “English has become a 
compulsory subject from Primary Three in China since 2003” (Qi, 2016, p.1). All of these 
countries recognize globalization as an opportunity to facilitate free trade or technology, which 
are carried out mostly in English.
Historically, the United States and United Kingdom were two of the most powerful 
countries, which prompted people to learn their language. However, this is not anymore the 
case today, as English is not only used because it is the customers’ language or the language 
of powerful countries. As mentioned, the ASEAN, which is composed of 10 countries, namely 
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, 
Thailand, and Vietnam – all claim English as their second language. Hunt (2014) notes that 
English will become the language of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) once it was 
introduced in the latter part of 2015. Since English has been the working language of ASEAN, 
it has strengthened its presence in these regions. In addition, “Improving English skills (drive) 
up salaries, which in turn give governments and individuals more money to invest in English 
training,” thus, people from around the world are investing a huge amount to learn it (British 
Council, 2013, p. 10).
This establishment of World Englishes started with the concept of three (3) concentric 
circle models, the Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and Expanding Circle (see Kachru, 1985). 
However, time changes, and with the current state of English, according to Canagarajah (2012), 
these three concentric circle models are leaking, thus making speakers of the inner circle “to 
negotiate outer circle varieties in everyday communication” (Canagarajah, 2006, p.1). In 
addition, with the growing number of varieties of English, one concern is the meaning such 
language represents. According to Mahboob (2010), varieties of English may be represented 
differently by their users, thus construing its [English Language] meaning due to the user’s 
linguistic choice.
The concept of World Englishes was originally not totally accepted by everyone. A 
quick scan of the earlier statements shows that Prator (1968) argued against Halliday et al. 
(1964) and claimed that it is intellectually unwarranted and does not contribute best possible 
results to use a local variety of English as a model in learning the language. Quirk (1990), 
additionally, strongly disagrees with the teaching of World Englishes. He asserts in his paper 
titled, “Language Varieties and Standard Language”, that there are two standards of English, 
the British English, and American English, and that there are one or two which standards are 
unofficially established, probably Australian English. In addition, he posits, “native-English 
speakers have never lost their respect for Standard English, and it needs to be understood 
abroad too” (p. 10). With more people learning English, more varieties of the language have 
developed, and these variations have features of their own. According to Hu (2004), non-native 
speakers of English believe that they have contributed to the enrichment of the said language. 
With the rise of the varieties of English, which are the new Englishes, World Englishes is now 
an established concept.