The Effect of English as a Lingua Franca

商亮

In recent years， the importance of English has become more and more obvious. Almost 25% of the population all over the world can use English fluently or competently （Crystal， 1997） and this number is increasing steadily. English， which has become lingua franca can be defined as a ‘contact language between the speakers of different languages （Seidlhofer. 2005）. The ‘contact language means people who speak different languages use one language to communicate. ELF （English Lingua Franca） is also a part of EIL （English International Language）. Many countries， which have high and advanced education systems， use English as an official language. As a result， English has become more important of higher education， and students are willing to choose not only English-speaking countries but also the school of non-English countries （France， Italy or Germany） that use English as the lingua franca to study. For these reasons， to make the higher education more successful， English should be used as the lingua franca of higher education.

English as a scientific language helps academic communication in higher education. Near 85% mail around the world is written in English and more than 70% scientists read English texts. The 90% system of retrieve is set in English （Alcantara & Others）. In higher education， students and scholars need sources and evidences to support their research. However， these sources are almost used English. If universities use English as a lingua franca， student could be benefited and convenient to do their research. English plays a very significant role in scientific history stage and modern times. As a result， English should be used as the lingua franca in higher education because of enhancing the academic communication.

Computer language is based on English. During recent years， the development of computer accompanies English. English is widely used in hardware and software （Graddol， 2000）. In higher education， students and teachers need computers to make them study more effectively. On the other hand， the design of computer keyboard and system is also based on English. English is also the representative language of technology and invention. A clear example， English abbreviations have been used by many famous engineering companies such as Caterpillar and Boeing （Graddol， 2000）. This example indicates that English is applied in many advanced areas. In the higher education， students might study the advanced technology. As a result， English as a lingua franca in unchangeable to be used in higher education.endprint

Some opinions about English as the lingua franca appear to show that English can cause dying of minority languages. Crystals theory suggests English is not the main causes of dying minority and it is called ‘language suicide. English as the lingua franca in higher education does not mean that everyone must use English in all the occasions. It is just focus on the higher education. The reason for the dying of minority languages mainly relate to socioeconomic problems. For example， immigrants， when groups of people who speak the different minority languages live in a dominant culture， they would not have much chance to speak or use their own languages （Majidi， 2013）. Therefore， English as the lingua franca in high education is not the cause of the language extinction.

English is suitable to be the lingua franca in higher education because of the advantages of English features. English， which is used widely， makes enormous effects in science， computer and technology around the world. In addition， there are more than 812 million people using English as their second language in the world （Oster， 2010）. These reasons enhance the English to be the lingua franca in higher education. There might be many other reasons that I didnt mention in this essay but there could be a great deal of benefits of English as the lingua franca in higher education. English should be the lingua franca of higher education and could have a good future worldwide.

References：

[1]Alcantara，R.Cababilla，J.Espina，F(xiàn).Villamin，A.（2003）.Philippine association for teacher education.KATHA PUBLISHING CO.，INC.

[2]Crystal，D.（1997）.English as a global language.Cambridge： Cambridge University Press.

[3]Crystal，D.（2002）.Language Death.Cambridge University Press.

[4]Graddol，D.（2000）.The future of English？.The British Council 1997，2000.

[5]Majidi，A.（2013）.English as a global language；threat or opportunity for minority languages？ Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences，4（11），33-38.

[6]Ostler，N.（2010）.The last lingua franca：English until the return of Babel.London：Allen Lane.

[7]Seidlhofer，B.（2005）.English as a lingua franca.ELT journal volume 59/4 October 2005；doi：10.1093/elt/cci064.Publish by Oxford University Press.endprint