The word English derives from the eponym Angle, the name of a Germanic tribe thought to originate from the Angeln area of Jutland, now in northern Germany. English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now the most widely used language in the world. It is spoken as a first language by the majority populations of several sovereign states, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and a number of Caribbean nations. It is the third-most-common native language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. It is widely learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union, many Commonwealth countries and the United Nations, as well as in many world organizations.
English arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and what is now southeast Scotland. Following the extensive influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 17th century to the mid-20th century, through the British Empire, and also of the United States since the mid-20th century, it has been widely propagated around the world, becoming the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions.
Historically, English originated from the fusion of closely related dialects, now collectively termed Old English, which were brought to the eastern coast of Great Britain by Germanic settlers (Anglo-Saxons) by the 5th century – with the word English being derived from the name of the Angles, and ultimately from their ancestral region of Angeln (in what is now Schleswig-Holstein). A significant number of English words are constructed on the basis of roots from Latin, because Latin in some form was the lingua franca of the Christian Church and of European intellectual life. The language was further influenced by the Old Norse language because of Viking invasions in the 9th and 10th centuries.
The Norman conquest of England in the 11th century gave rise to heavy borrowings from Norman French, and vocabulary and spelling conventions began to give the appearance of a close relationship with Romance languages to what had then become Middle English. The Great Vowel Shift that began in the south of England in the 15th century is one of the historical events that mark the emergence of Modern English from Middle English.
Owing to the assimilation of words from many other languages throughout history, modern English contains a very large vocabulary, with complex and irregular spelling, particularly of vowels. Modern English has not only assimilated words from other European languages, but from all over the world. The Oxford English Dictionary lists over 250,000 distinct words, not including many technical, scientific, and slang terms.
Teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. TEFL usually occurs in the student's own country, either within the state school system, or privately, e.g., in an after-hours language school or with a tutor. TEFL teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.
I am choosing to teach the English language as a basis of capacity building in the community because of the many uses and advantaged of learning the world’s most wide spoken language. English is commonly used as a medium for the communication of information and news. Three quarters of all telex messages and telegrams are sent in English. Eighty percent of computer data are processed and stored in English.
Much satellite communication is carried in English. Five thousand newspapers, more than half of the newspapers published in the world, are published in English. Even in many countries where English is a minority language, there is at least one newspaper in English. In India alone, there are three thousand magazines published in English. In many countries, television news is broadcast in English. Because of the power of television, demonstrators in every country use signs printed in English for the benefit of the international press.
Other than that, English is a major language of international business, diplomacy, and science and the professions. It is the language that an Iranian businessman and a Japanese businessman are likely to use to communicate. Important commodities such as silver, tin, and hard currency are traded in English.
English is also an official language, or the official language, of many international organizations, including the United Nations and many professional organizations. It is frequently the language of international conferences, and it is the language of international athletics. Throughout the world, many professional papers are published in English. Even papers that are published in other languages often have abstracts in English.
English is also very important for international travel. Much of the information countries disseminate about themselves outside of their borders is in English. English is spoken in large hotels and tourist attractions, at airports, and in shops that tourists frequent. There are newspapers printed in English, and TV news is available in English. Tours are almost always available in English. Even in countries where few people speak English on the street, people who work with tourists generally speak English. In some countries even drivers of buses or streetcars and sellers at newsstands speak English well.
In many former British colonies, English is still used in government and as a medium of communication among people who do not have another language in common. In some cases, it is a neutral language that is used to avoid giving any one indigenous language too much prestige. English is often used in India, because it is neutral. It is the language of government. People who speak English have a certain status in society. It is used for books, music and dance. In Singapore, English is a second language, but it is necessary for daily life. Many companies there use English. In addition, sixteen countries in Africa have retained English as the language of government. Now standard English is taught in schools in those countries, because it is necessary for careers.
English is also studied as a foreign language in countries where it is not generally used as a medium of communication. In China, English language lessons are popular TV programs. Two hundred fifty million Chinese--more than the population of the US--are learning English on TV. English is usually the first or most commonly taught foreign language in many countries, and people understand it a little at least.
Teaching in the developing world is a big challenge, even for those who chooses Teaching English as A Foreign Language as a career. Taking the fact that developing countries do not have the proper infrastructure and introduction to foreign languages. Language teaching practice often assumes that most of the difficulties that learners face in the study of English are a consequence of the degree to which their native language differs from English (a contrastive analysis approach). A native speaker of Chinese, for example, may face many more difficulties than a native speaker of German, because German is more closely related to English than Chinese is.
Language learners often produce errors of syntax, vocabulary and pronunciation thought to result from the influence of their L1, such as mapping its grammatical patterns inappropriately onto the L2, pronouncing certain sounds incorrectly or with difficulty, and confusing items of vocabulary known as false friends. This is known as L1 transfer or "language interference". However, these transfer effects are typically stronger for beginners' language production, and SLA research has highlighted many errors which cannot be attributed to the L1, as they are attested in learners of many language backgrounds (for example, failure to apply 3rd person present singular -s to verbs, as in 'he make').
Some students may have very different cultural perceptions in the classroom as far as learning a second language is concerned. Also, cultural differences in communication styles and preferences are significant. For example, a study looked at Chinese ESL students and British teachers and found that the Chinese learners did not see classroom discussion and interaction as important but placed a heavy emphasis on teacher-directed lectures.
As the language is learnt for the worldly matters such as employment opportunities and receiving the worldly knowledge, English can also be used in an Islamic aspect. We still think that the language still carries a negative impact on the Islamization of the world but little did we comprehend that the language has helped the world learn Islam using the language? For example our Basic Themes of Quran and Understanding Islam classes are fully conducted in English, enabling the students of International Islamic University of Malaysia to get Islamic knowledge despite most of the students didn’t have the English language as their mother tongue.
The main barrier in teaching English in a developing group of people is the perception that the language is deteriorating their tradition. The issue has been raised locally in Malaysia, when Malay Language enthusiasts claimed that the wide spread English Language is limiting Malaysians to use the Malay Language. While learning English is a major manifestation in capacity building, some has asserted and questioned the need of learning the English language as some of the world’s most developed countries such as Japan and Korea are proudly using their native language in every day interactions.
Different students can have different difficulties and problems in learning English. They can make different mistakes in English pronunciation, grammar, orthography and vocabulary usage.There is a connection between the native language of a learner and particular difficulties in learning and using English and the kind of mistakes a learner typically makes in English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary as there is native language interference in learning and using English.Listening comprehension and speaking in English are the skills generally more frequently used than reading and writing in daily living in an English speaking country. Listening comprehension and speaking in English are more difficult and more important for learners to master than reading and writing. When reading and writing a text a learner has more time for thinking and pauses than when listening and speaking in English in daily living.A learner can also look up unknown vocabulary in English dictionaries and use other English reference books when reading and writing a text in English which is impossible when listening and speaking in English. Therefore listening comprehension and speaking in English are more difficult than reading and writing.English vocabulary for daily living requires more time and is more difficult to master by foreign learners than English grammar.
As we have seen, English is a widespread and important language in the world today. It is used for everything from international academic conferences to news reports to popular music lyrics. It is used not only for communication between native speakers and non native speakers of English but between non native speakers. Even though it does not have the greatest number of speakers in the world, it is the most widely used language in the world, and it will be used by more people in the future.
There are a number of reasons why a person would want to learn English as a second language, each reason is individual, and will provide countless benefits in future communications. As with any type of learning, it is important to find a learning methodology that works best for you, and that is easy to access. With this in mind, there are many amazing English as a second language courses online that provide a positive environment for both students and teachers. By using the resources available online, it is possible to quickly and effectively master the English language.
English can also be used to spread the message of Islam. And in the context of capacity building in the community, English can be used to develop the worldly aspects of knowledge and Islamic aspect. There are a lot of Quranic ayah revealed related to learning, to quote some: “And that those on whom Knowledge has been bestowed may learn that (the Qur’an) is the Truth from your Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer), and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may be made humbly (open) to it: for verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe to the Straight Way.” and “...Allah will raise up, to (suitable) ranks (and degrees), those of you who believe and have been granted Knowledge. And Allah is well-acquainted with all you do.”
As a conclusion, learning English is vital in capacity building in the community. I have argued about the necessities of learning English and it has been proved that the language will bring many advantages to the learner and will be used to develop further skills. The community itself has to be open to learning the language without forgetting their tradition as their perception is by far the biggest challenge and barrier to teaching English to this group of people.
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