Globalization and language teaching

Abstract

Globalization (generally written with a Z) has been de>ned by Giddens as 'the intensi>cation of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa' (Giddens 1990: 64).Although there seems to be a consensus that we are living in an increasingly globalized world, there is by no means agreement about related issues.Five such disagreements follow:1 Some believe that globalization began in 15th century Europe, when Europeans began to map and colonize the world; others see it as a phenomenon of the latter part of the 20th century.