The document discusses linguistic imperialism and the role of English in Argentina. It notes that while Spanish is the dominant language in Argentina, English is present and taught in schools for various reasons. English is taught beginning in primary school as it provides opportunities for education, business, and tourism internationally. However, Argentina remains a monolingual society with Spanish used for all daily functions. The importance of English is acknowledged but not at the expense of the Spanish language and Argentine culture.

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Linguistic Imperialism
& The Importance of English IN and TO your Country
Practice Paper N°1
Pérez Emanuel, Yacopini Cristian
Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Unlpam University
Practica Educativa II
Estela Braun
April 13, 2021

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PRACTICA EDUCATIVA II, DIDÁCTICA ESPECIAL DE LA LENGUA
INGLESA Y RESIDENCIA EN ESCUELAS PRIMARIAS.
PRACTICAL 1: Answer using Font 12, Arial, line spacing 1.5. Maximum 3
pages. Insert your name and that of the subject. Deadline: April 13th. (*)To be solved
in pairs.
a. Linguistic Imperialism. ROBERT PHILLIPSON (2018). Read the article and
watch the PPT presentation.
Questionnaire Guide:
A. What are the main aspects of Linguistic Imperialism?
B. Do you think that linguistic imperialism is contested and resisted in our
country?
C. What is linguicism in terms of Pennycook (1998)?
D. What are the consequences of a monolingual ideology?
E. What is the role of institutions such as the World Bank in consolidating
linguistic imperialism?
F. How have linguistic policies which support linguistic imperialism affected
schooling in some countries?
G. What is happening with EAP (English for Academic Purposes)?
H. What are the implications of these theories for us, as English language Teachers?

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I. Which English language variety should we teach at school? Why? Consider
Kachru's circles (1985) and theory discussed in class from chapter 1, The Changing
World of English (Harmer, 2007)
A. The study of linguistic imperialism focuses on how and why specific languages
dominate internationally and attempts to account for such dominance in a
theoretically informed way. Furthermore, this type of study does not argue for or
against particular languages. It analyses how linguistic imperialism functions in
specific contexts to identify injustice or discrimination to provide a basis for
remedying them.
B. We believe that Argentinian culture is trying to resist linguistic imperialism. Still,
we are affected by it mainly when we talk about advertisement and commercialism.
We are using English as a tool to promote our businesses or resemble particular
American or European facades. These are some photos that I took at Santa Rosa's
center. Interestingly, as we get closer to the main square, we will see more English
signs and words to catch their customers' attention. The barbershop owner could use
our language in the first picture by named it "Benicius & Nuevo Estilo." Instead, he
decided to use English to make his establishment more European, or in other words,
to appear more sophisticated. The second picture will depict the same image. The
technological store owner decided to name the place "Small Center" instead of
referring to an aspect of our culture like "El Gaucho." This is the result that
linguistic imperialism has in our capitalism. It becomes a necessity for many
merchants to sell and promote their products mainly in the technological area.

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C. Linguistic imperialism is a form of linguicism, a favoring of one language over
others in ways that parallel societal structuring through racism, sexism, and class.
Linguicism serves to privilege users of the dominant language's standard forms, which
represent convertible linguistic capital.
D. The result, in many cases, is to place a myriad of languages and variations into a
process of linguistic cannibalism. Many of them will disappear by the power of
imperialism and conquer. Furthermore, establishing a monolingual ideology will close
the room to different variations, languages, culture, customs, religions.
E. F. Institutions such as the World Bank encourage the consolidation of the powerful
globally and locally and maintain an exploitative world order that can disenfranchise
speakers of other languages. They promote English to support the idea that this
language is the key and the only way to reach new opportunities. In this way, English's
imperialistic power remains in its former colonies, making people under its control
believe that the only way to improve their lives is to achieve a proficient English level.
G. The study of EAP (English for Academic Purposes) may lead to a negative impact
on student's mother tongue. After graduating from high school, many young students

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seek job opportunities by learning the English language in private institutions.
Similarly, others learn the language abroad by moving to a foreign country in which
English is the dominant language. As a result, their mother tongue may be affected by
constant exposure to the English language and weakening their roots and the language
that identifies them as members of their culture.
H. As teachers and educators of the English language, a very effective way to prevent
the weakening of students' mother tongue is to promote our national languages by
including meaningful material to our classes closely related to our own culture.
Consequently, we ensure that students learn the language in a friendly way by offering
them an appropriate model that satisfies their needs.
I. Harmer states that a prestigious variety of language (whether from the inner circle or
from anywhere else) will be an appropriate pedagogical model. The variety may
depend on the student's wishes, the type the teacher him/herself uses, and the
material available. When the students become more advanced, we should expose
them to the reality of World English and make them aware of the different
variations.
b. The importance of English IN and To your country. (Wedell &
Malderez, 2013, scan pages 63-77)
Read this article and determine:
· What languages are used in Argentina? What are they used for?
· How important is English in Argentina? What is it used for?

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· Which second/ foreign languages apart from the medium of instruction
are taught in your schools? Why?
· Where is English used/taught in the education system? Why do you think
this is?
· Is Argentina a monolingual or a multilingual and multicultural society?
Support your answer.
· What is the importance of English in and to our country?
· Where is English taught in our education system?
In Argentina, Spanish is the national and official language; Spanish is being used
for all purposes. It is the dominant language of everyday communication including the
mother tongue used at home. It is also used for purposes of administration and
nationwide communication, medium of instruction at school at all levels, business,
official documents, among others. However, the English language is also present in
Argentinian society.
Apart from the medium of instruction, the teaching of the English language takes
place in primary and secondary schools. In addition, the language is a requirement at
academic levels as well. Most university's course of studies include English in their
subjects and its learning process becomes a demand for all their students. As David
Graddol states, 'Good English is an entry requirement for education in a global market
where English gives the user a competitive advantage'.
In Argentina, the English Language is being taught for different reasons. At
primary and secondary school levels, students learn GE (General English) since it may
become a useful tool in their future considering that a great deal of information in the
world is only available in English. Another variant is EAP (English for Academic

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Purposes) designed specially to help people who want to use their English in academic
contexts. Additionally, EFL (English as a Foreign Language) where students are
learning the language in order to use it with any other English speakers in the world;
they might be tourists or business people.
On the whole, the learning of English in Argentina is mainly for international
business communication where creates a bridge between other countries, for tourism
which provides people with the necessary tools for communication in foreign countries
and also for academic purposes preparing students for specific professions where they
are required to speak the language.
Even though English is being learned by students at all levels and many people
decide to study the language for specific purposes, Argentina is a monolingual society.
In other words, Spanish is used for every facet of life and no other language is needed
by their citizens.