[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 19 | August 18, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]

This article has been submitted for publication by Professor (Dr) Shibu Simon, National Defence Academy (Pune). 

Relevance of English in ICT Age

As the world is in transition, so is English language itself taking new forms. English has changed substantially in the 1500 years of its use, reflecting patterns of contact with other languages and the changing communication needs of its people. Today, English is considered a global language since it is mainly used for communication in the cyber world. With computers playing a major role in ELT today, the future of English in ICT age is a matter of debate.

Graddol in his book The Future of English identifies significant global trends in Economics, Technology and Culture which may affect the learning and use of English internationally in the 21^st century (2). The book takes stock of the present, apparently unassailable position of English in the world and asks whether the status of English can be expected to remain unchanged during the coming decades of unprecedented social and economic global change. It also explores the impact on English of developments in ‘Communications Technology’ with English widely regarded as having assumed the status of a global language now. (more…)