GLOBAL ISSUES IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

I have previously defined a global education approach to language teaching as one which aims at　enabling students to effectively acquire and use a foreign language while at the same time empowering them with the knowledge, skills and commitment required by world citizens for the solution of global problems (Cates 1990). While many language instructors are interested in global education and in integrating social responsibility and a global perspective into their language classes, they Often express difficulty in teaching about world problems such as war and peace, human rights, world hunger or tropical rainforest destruction because these global issues seem remote from the reality of the classroom and the daily lives Of their students. This paper attempts to show that seemingly-distant world problems are inextricably bound up with the language learning/teaching process and explores the ways in which language teachers, students and classes are connected to such issues as war, poverty, prejudice, social injustice and environmental destruction. lt is hoped that this paper will promote greater awareness of our links to world problems and will stimulate discussion about how global education can contribute to greater social responsibility in language teaching