Perspectives on the role of English

3.2
Leisure and career opportunities
The literature also notes that the Periphery uses EIL in various domains relating to
leisure and work, for example in the international news and entertainment media and in
youth culture (Strevens, 1980: 62; 1992: 31; Kachru, 1994: 140), for the internet (Seaton,
1997: 381; Bowers 2001: 293) and for (particularly international) business and trade
(Kaplan, 1987: 143; Hyrkstedt and Kalaja, 1998: 345; Master, 1998: 716; Bowers, 2001:
293). It could be inferred from this that proficiency in English therefore enhances one’s
leisure and career choices and opportunities.
Various sources support this inference. Personal experience shows that it is
certainly one of the main reasons given to Japanese students of English by their teachers
for studying the subject at school. Kachru (1994: 136) and Wardhaugh (1998: 356) have
called English ‘the language of mobility’, implying that it gives access to avenues which
might otherwise be closed. Holmes (1992: 65) has noted that English is used to enhance

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job prospects and in an interview with Roger Bowers, Helena Kennedy QC talked of her
experiences with the British Council:
But what was apparent in South Africa was that lots of people, anxious to make life
better, didn’t want, as they saw it, to ‘waste time’ learning their own language. They
were actually saying ‘I want to learn English, because English is the language that’s
really going to better my life, and the life of my children.
(Bowers, 2001: 294).
This raises the larger issue of the effects EIL has upon local languages, which I
will discuss in section 4, but she makes the point that English is perceived to open doors
which local languages cannot or do not. In highlighting similar sentiments among
Nigerians, Bisong (1995: 124-125) points out that English is perceived to '[maximise]
opportunities in a multilingual and multicultural society' (ibid.: 126). Finally, English
proficiency is perceived as a highly influencial factor in employment and promotion in
Periphery nations as culturally diverse as China (Yong and Campbell, 1995) and Brazil
(Friedrich, 2000). In fact, as of 1999, 82% of the (particularly multinational)
organisations and companies which use the ‘Test of English for International
Communication’ (TOEIC), either take account of TOEIC scores when reviewing job
applications and promotions, or wish to do so in the future (Educational Testing Service,
2000: 5).
How does enhancing leisure and career opportunities help a society’s
development ? Wider leisure opportunities might generate income for, and even create
new jobs in both public- and private-sector leisure-related industries. Wider career
opportunities and choice can help bring about higher levels of employment. The net result
is a more prosperous economy. This view is supported by Al-Haq and Smadi (1996: 313)
who demonstrated that Saudi university students believe that English can enhance their
nation’s economical development.
Strong critics of EIL, its spread, influences and effects, do not appear to contest
that English can enhance leisure and career opportunities in Periphery societies, nor that,
where such occurs, it might be beneficial to the local economy. What mainly concerns
them, as touched upon above, is the potentially adverse effects that EIL might have on a
society’s indigenous culture in the process.
4
Language in the development of culture

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Unsurprisingly perhaps, there seems little controversy attached to the use of EIL
for improving the physical services and infrastructures necessary for a large, well-
equipped society, or for improving peoples’ quality of life through work and leisure.
However, the debate concerning the effects that EIL and its use have had on local
cultures is far more active. I shall discuss this with respect to the impact EIL has had on
indigenous value- systems, languages and literary arts.