Global English: The Globalization Of Higher Education

As globalization has become the centre of convergence of higher education, competition is the main worry. “The changing nature and role of education is putting pressure on the rest of the education system.” (Graddol 2006:74) Global competition in higher education is characterised by many developments such as the rise of global university rankings, declarations by nations to have a world class university, the development of regional units of control and reform, the development of cross-border quality assessment practices, and the internationalization of universities. On the other hand, as “global English becomes mainstream, it provides no competitive advantage. Instead there is a penalty for failure to adopt.”(Graddol 2006:108)

International

The term Global English has become fashionable in recent years .This term refers to the uses of the English language internationally, especially with or among non-native English speakers. As pointed out above, English is present in wide area as a language of instruction in non English-speaking nations, specifically in programs created to reach and engage foreign students. For example, within Europe, English is becoming more and more important in various programs, particularly in Master 's degree programmes and those attracting students from Asia because it is used as the medium of instruction. In many non English-speaking nations, students are interested in learning English and obtaining degrees from English-speaking institutions, however, few English-speaking students are interested in having a good command other languages and obtaining degrees from non English-speaking nations. This is understandable considering English is the main language of commerce, trade and the occupations and the only global language of science, investigation and academic publication. Kachru’s (1992) classifies the use of English into three circles, namely the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle. The inner circle includes the countries where English is used as the first language, like the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Canada. The outer circle refers to the countries where English is largely used and sometimes possesses official status, for instance India, Malaysia, countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, Pakistan, Tanzania, Nigeria, Philippines, and Singapore. The expanding circle includes those countries where English has no official status, but has important functions in some areas such as commerce, trade or education. Some examples of expanding circle are Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. “It is English that stands