European Day of Languages (26 September)
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In a multilingual Europe, the concept of English as a core skill rather than a foreign language is emerging.
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The research reveals that demand for English as a lingua franca will remain strong in Europe and that social networks are changing the way learners need and use the language.
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The report also highlights the entry of multinationals into the English language teaching and learning sector, through the use of Artificial Intelligence.
The British Council, the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, has released its findings on the current and future use of English in Europe. Its research The Future of English: Global Perspectives involved roundtable discussions with 92 experts and policymakers globally, including from Poland, Spain, Germany and Italy.
In the framework of the European day of Languages, the institution emphasises the key role of English as a tool underpinning and building “intercultural competence” rather than a foreign language. English allows us to relate to each other in a multilingual Europe where a wide variety of diverse languages coexist. This concept has implications in how national identities are perceived and formed.
In line with this, the EU wide research concludes that the demand for English as a lingua franca will remain strong in the future, as a result of increasing European multilingualism, global mobility and the use of social media for informal communication and education.
The research sheds new light on how social media and technology impact on Europeans’ need and use of English. Experts thus point to balancing formal and informal methods of learning along with a more fluid concept of linguistic competence to address these needs. There is a need to combine the more informal use of English in communication environments such as social media with formal certification of levels for employment and international study requirements.
It is in this area of more formal education that the report highlights the importance of having qualified teachers and training them in the skills needed to teach English online in the new social and educational context.
The Future of English: Global Perspectives underlines the lack of quality in part of the current online English teaching and learning offer and the disruption that the entry of multinationals such as Google will bring to the sector, using Artificial Intelligence to build much more individualised formal and informal learning proposals.
The Future of English: context and road map
The Future of English: Global Perspectives brings together the conclusions drawn from roundtable discussions involving 92 experts and education policymakers from 49 countries around the world. In a context where 67% of the global population was exposed to and/or spoke English in 2017, the British Council's research aims to provide insights into the current landscape of English use and help education policymakers and experts plan and prepare for the needs of tomorrow's learners.
The report also makes recommendations on the agenda that should guide English language research in the coming years, including the design of frameworks to assess the effectiveness of educational methodologies and policies; the creation of English language proficiency profiles to enable comparisons between countries and regions; and the measurement of the social and economic benefits associated with the development of English language skills.
The complete research report is available and free of charge on this website: https://www.britishcouncil.org/future-of-english.