M.Ed. (Education Linguistics) / Researchers generally agree that second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people across the world today. The teaching of second languages in classrooms around the world alone constitutes a formidable undertaking. Their general importance in and out of the classroom is perhaps best expressed by Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991:2): •••not only do second languages have a place in school, they also affect many other aspects of people's lives. In the interdependent world of today, second language acquisition and use are ubiquitous. English alone, for example, is used by almost 1.5 billion people as their official second language (Crystal, 1985). The remarkable spread and use of the language has become an uncontested fact: it has become the international language for science and technology, with more than half of all the world's scientific and technical journals published in English. It is the medium for 80% of the information stored in the world's computers at present, while three quarters of the world's mail arid other correspondence are also in English (Peirce, 1989). This is just one example of second language use that has contributed to the general importance of second languages across the globe today. There are many others. So, for instance, is second language learning and use closely linked with the huge migrant worker force of Europe and other parts of the world, where there is a need amongst the people to be able to understand and speak the language of their new environment. Another such issue is the arrival and assimilation of immigrants who permanently resettle in a new country. The large entry of Indochinese refugees into many different countries around the world in the 1980's is a case in point (Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991). Second languages also often play an important role in the affairs of state, especially in societies where there is a diversity of cultures and languages (Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991). Which language or languages should receive official recognition and which should not? In our own country, for example, this is currently a much debated issue, following the socio-political changes and events of recent years. It appears that English has become the language people favour best in a post-apartheid South Africa.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:4072 |
| Date | 17 February 2014 |
| Creators | Louw, Jay |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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