Chapter 2: For the Peace of Mind of Language Learners:Understanding Constraints on Learners in an EFL Environment

In a globalized world, it is considered essential to be able to communicate in a shared language, and proficiency in English is believed to be key to success in global business, education, information technology, communication, and various other areas of human society. World Englishes and English as a lingua franca are concepts of global English that promote equality and connectedness of people in the world by means of English. However, globalization and English also have the potential to cause inequality. English as a lingua franca may be a false assumption in that it supposes English as “neutral, free of cultural ties, and serves all equally well” (Phillipson, 2009, p. 338). However, a widely-discussed issue is linguistic imperialism (Phillipson, 1992), and the suppression of minority languages, mother tongues, indigenous languages, and varieties is even described as “genocide” (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2009, p. 340), therefore suggesting that English learning can be counterproductive when considering issues of equality and peace.