Stephen van Vlack
Sookmyung Women`s University
Division of English Language and Literature
English in the Era of Globalization
Fall 2007
Week 2 - Answers
Trimnell 2003, Chapters 1 and 2
1. In chapter 1, Trimnell describes his experience in getting hooked on Japanese. What is your own language learning story?
Everyone has their own language story, hopefully a happy one but also sometimes a sad one. Textbooks and studies conducted primarily by Americans, such as Trimnell, would lead us to believe that most people are first introduced to languages in school and usually sometime in middle school. Because of this languages seem like something strange and even unnatural, but we know better. For most of the world`s population this simply is not true. Most people grow up in a multilingual or at least a bilingual environment and are exposed on an irregular basis either directly or indirectly to other languages. Even Koreans, Korea being one of the few supposedly totally monolingual countries in the world, are exposed to other languages both in their daily experience of walking around and also through various media like TV. Maybe we did not pay much attention, but the exposure is there. We, therefore, need to make a strong distinction between language exposure and language learning. Exposure does not lead to learning but learning cannot take place without exposure.
My own language learning story revolves around basically the desire to meet people and expand on my own meager existence. Really I was overwhelmed by the idea that I could embrace other cultures, and peoples, and places. I was awestruck by the power that control of a new linguistic code provided me. At the time I thought that by learning these new languages I would be able to indeed change myself into a different person. I was not thinking at all about monetary gains or future plans but who does when they are 17 or 18? It was an emotional experience.
2. Do you think there are any necessary prerequisites for success in language study? What might they be? Present your opinion.
Obviously there are certain prerequisites that all people require for success in language learning, but it should be acknowledged that these prerequisites do vary both in number and degree from person-to-person. As we mentioned in class, the basic ideas is that simple intrinsic motivation is often not enough. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation alone is really not enough. In reality we need to blend elements of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in order to be successful. Aside from that obviously we also need to be realistic about the simple requirements of language learning such as time, opportunity, materials and resources among other basic prerequisites. A successful language learner needs to start off with the right mindset and for this and ambiguity tolerance is extremely important. People need to understand that not everybody is the same and that we, ourselves, vary from others in certain ways. This is something that we are forced to encounter every day but in dealing with people with whom we believe we share so many things we never really notice this ambiguity (we often assume in our home culture that everyone is more or less the same) and therefore don`t develop a tolerance for the ambiguity between ourselves and others and between others. When confronted with people who behave more, on the surface at least, different from us than we are forced to be able to tolerate this ambiguity. We need to notice and except for differences between how we think and how we behave and even what we know in relation to a discernible group of other people. We need to embrace the idea that ambiguity is not only inevitable but also natural. Empathy, as well, helps. Empathy is the idea that we can understand what other people are thinking, where they are coming from even though their thinking might be different from ours. Thus, when you see somebody in a crowded room fall down you can understand the shame and embarrassment they are feeling even though maybe you have never fallen down in a crowded room like that. That is empathy and we need it to understand other people.
This is an important question because in the end it is hard to differentiate between being a language learner and being a culture learner. In addition, if one is interested in globalization and maybe simply becoming a citizen of the world through this concept of globalization then these prerequisites that we need for language success are also the same prerequisites that we need to become global citizens or leaders in a global world. That is the main point, global citizens are not only multilingual but they are also multicultural. Being globalized is a matter of being able to look at the world at some distance from your own specific position. You need to be able to see the world from other points of view. To do this requires the same type of mindset that one needs for learning languages successfully.
3. What are some of the reasons which stop people from trying to learn another language?
One of the main reasons which stops people from learning another language is simple lack of success. Maybe they are impatient, or they have poor materials or opportunities to use the language. Their motivation might be too one-sided, or their teacher frustratingly incompetent. There are many reasons, but the chief reasons boil down to mindset, emotions (passion), and interference from other duties. To pick up a language you need all the things we mentioned above plus a passion which will keep you going throughout the long and arduous process. One of the main thing we have to understand about learning is that it cannot be forced. It has to be coaxed and tricked, tickled into performing. Language learning is a powerful force, the most powerful thing we as humans possess but it is often a giant sleeping in our heads. To use it, it must be awoken and for this we need energy and passion. Often this is why failure occurs. Even if we cognitively understand the learning process and know exactly what it is we need to do, but that is not enough. We need a strong fuel to drive all the mechanisms for language learning.
4. What are some of the reasons (in general) people should try to learn another language? Now, what about the reasons for language learning in Korea specifically?
Language is access, access to people and people are the gateway to information. The more languages we have at our disposal, the more information from outside our own region we will be able to access and use, the more people we will be able to communicate with. Remember, communication all about access to information. It can be confusing because, nowadays due to technological advances like writing, we can access information seemingly separate from human contact, but all information out there was at some point created by a human being, even if you never see her or communicate directly with her. Technology has allowed us to communicate indirectly, but indirect communication is still all about communication, which is about information. Information, and our ability to store it and access it for reuse later, makes everything we have around us possible. That is why we need to learn other languages - access!
Now, the smaller your regional area, the more access you need. Korea is a fairly small regional area and as a small region controls a relatively small amount of information (although a large amount compared to its size). Koreans need to access more information from the outside, to do this they have to learn languages and primarily English because English currently controls the largest amount of information in the world. In short, English is access. Access not to a better life directly as many immigrants find out to their detriment, but to the expanding possibilities that more information, a wider distribution, can bring. In a small region like Korea distribution is everything. In a global world with a global economy Korea cannot afford to be isolated.
Trimnell 2003, Chapters 3 and 4
1. According to Trimnell, how far does the global power of English extend? Do you agree or disagree?
The basic idea proposed by Trimnell here is that the global power of English does not extend nearly as far or as deep as people sometimes think. It is also a point also made by David Crystal, a renowned scholar in the field of English. While English is the global language that does not mean that it is global. I don`t think we need Trimnell or anyone else to tell us that as most of us have grown up and/or lived outside core English speaking regions/countries, but Trimnell is addressing not us but Americans who may, based on their on experience need to be told this directly. For us it is clear, not everyone in the world speaks English and even the people who have been exposed may not be able to use it very well, and not because they are stupid.
In addition, the future of English and its global level of speaking is currently uncertain. Trimnell seems to indicate that the global power of English is waning. In fact, the global power of English is growing, especially in developing regions like Asia, Africa and South America, but it may also be waning in places like Europe and even the US itself if you can believe linguistic alarmists about the growth of Spanish. Overall, however, I would have to disagree with Trimnell in the respect that the power and spread of English will increase in the near future at least. But who knows what may come but English, for our lifetimes is a safe bet.
2. Trimnell makes the point that English levels are generally lower than we think, even in English-friendly regions like Scandinavia, yet the world is globalized, what does this tell us about the current nature of globalization?
Although I agree with the general sentiment of Trimnell`s argument, that English levels are not quite as high as we might often expect, I am not ready to acquiesce to his `kitchen English` argument. I think that is a bit over-exaggerated. If English levels are lower that we think then it does have a lot to tell us about globalization. Truly globalized individuals are unique and small in number. Globalization is an elitist concept. To be globalized requires resources, resources for learning and more importantly time. No doubt Koreans as a people are more globalized than Americans, not only because they have to (if we follow the crux of Trimnell`s book it appears Americans have just as a great a need to be globalized as everyone else), but because they can afford it or are willing to make sacrifices to do it. People on average here spend much more time studying than Americans. (Remember, because of Korea`s limited control over information, studying is also of a fundamentally different nature and then it may be for Americans and Europeans). An American could or would never afford to take one or two years off just to study for an exam the way so many Koreans do. Of course not all Koreans can afford to invest so much in studying but as a society the percentage of people doing so as well as the percentage of time, money and energy devoted to such study is quite high. This reveals a promising future for Koreans under the current model of the world. The world is truly run by a few globalized individuals who are able to see and communicate beyond real and imaginary borders.
3. What do you think is the main point Trimnell is trying to make in his long chapter 4 narrative?
I think his major idea is that in a globalized world we need to establish partnerships, not hegemonies. All across the world other countries no longer need to go directly to the US to access things. In a global economy these tings can be gotten almost anywhere. With true globalization, so the theory goes, comes equality through interdependence. The US needs other countries just as much as they need the US. If English speakers do not break out of this top-down mode, Trimnell warns us, then they will suffer losses. A truly globalized world requires partnerships and this includes language. All people need to be self-reliant and self-reliance (juchae???) starts with having the knowledge to do things at least, in part, by yourself regardless of the circumstances.
4. Have you ever found yourself in a situation like that where you were totally reliant on another to express your thoughts and feelings? Describe how you felt about it.
I think all of us have been in this kind of situation and really it is the worst feeling in the world (once your reach a certain age). The inability to express ourselves despite a dire need really transcends our human nature, our emotional/cognitive configuration. We have not yet evolved an emotional mechanism for dealing with this. Nor can we simply blame the interpreter for being either lazy or evil with their own private agenda (as Trimnell does). Anyone who has ever been in the role of interpreter will confess, it is a thankless job and one which requires a certain degree of simplification. It really is not possible to interpret every single nuance or detail from one language to the other in the constraints generally provided. Thus it is best to avoid situations where one is totally reliant on an interpreter. That is the point.