TESOL: Trojan horse of globalisation

Abstract: While it is certainly the case that globalisation has contributed to the spread of the English language, this paper argues that the English language is itself an agent in the spread of globalisation. In this process, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) plays a major role. It has long been argued that language and culture are inseparable and that in acquiring a language the learner also acquires the culture in which the language is embedded. If the language is acquired by means of formal classroom instruction, then it follows that the language classroom may be seen as a vehicle for cultural transmission. This paper analyses the cultural content in a widely used TESOL textbook. It does this at two levels: (a) An analysis of field, tenor and mode as depicted through the selection of language used in the book together with the accompanying illustrations and (b) An analysis of the teaching methodology recommended or implied by the authors. The analysis reveals a tendency in the textbooks to depict an exclusively attractive view of English-speaking culture without any counterbalancing features and concludes also that the teaching methodology favours a western view of learning. The paper cautions that teachers need to adopt a critical approach to the depiction of culture as well as to the embedded teaching methodology to avoid being cast in the role of unwitting purveyors of both cultural and linguistic imperialism.