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Item China's Confucius Institute Project: language and soft power in world politics(Common Ground, 2009) Gil, Jeffrey AllanThe Chinese language is an important source of soft power, and China conducts various activities to promote Chinese language learning throughout the world, the main one being the establishment of Chinese language and cultural institutions known as Confucius Institutes. This paper provides an overview of this aspect of China's soft power strategy.Item The double danger of English as a global language(Cambridge University Press, 2010) Gil, Jeffrey AllanLanguage learning in Australia has at times been a much debated and somewhat controversial topic. This paper examines the reasons why it is dangerous to view English as the 'global language'.Item ELT today: From dilemma to professional responsibilities(The Australian Council of TESOL Associations, 2009) Gil, Jeffrey Allan; Najar, Robyn LeeIn order to develop individual and community identities in a globalising world, pedagogies of connection are compelled to move beyond a ‘method’ approach to English language teaching (ELT). A postmethod pedagogy looks to facilitate context-sensitive, location-specific pedagogy which is based on an understanding of the local linguistic, sociocultural and political context. In this paper, implications of globalisation for ELT are discussed. Globalisation is defined and the ways in which it can be examined from a language perspective are explored. This exploration reveals that globalisation presents English language teachers with a significant dilemma: the domination of culturally based methodologies, such as communicative language teaching (CLT), which have accompanied the spread of the language itself. This paper argues that if this dilemma is seen as a professional responsibility we can derive some guidelines for an informed approach to ELT in a globalising world. The overarching goal of such an approach is to develop ways of teaching English that lead to additive bilingualism. In order to accomplish this goal, the researchers argue that English language teachers have three professional responsibilities to fulfil: 1) adopt a nuanced view of English as a global language; 2) focus on context; and 3) proceed in small steps.Item The Promotion of Chinese Language Learning and China's Soft Power(2008) Gil, Jeffrey AllanItem [BOOK REVIEW] Zhangxian Pan (2005). Linguistic and Cultural Identities in Chinese Varieties of English. Beijing: Peking University Press. 280 pp. ISBN 7-301-10261-5.(Department of Languages, Flinders University, 2007-08) Gil, Jeffrey AllanThis book focuses on how English is changing, and developing new forms and functions, through its interaction with China and the Chinese people, or what Pan calls Chinese Varieties of English (CVE). This is an important area of study because despite the explosion of research into new varieties of English since the late 1970s and the current push to learn English in China, CVE has received relatively little scholarly attentionItem English in minority areas of China : some findings and directions for further research.(Shannon Research Press, 2006-09) Gil, Jeffrey AllanThis paper discusses a neglected aspect of English in China, its impact on ethnic minorities and their languages. It begins with an overview of the current situation of the minorities and their languages then, based on fieldwork conducted in Jilin and Guizhou Provinces, it shows two trends: English currently has a limited presence in minority areas and there is a strong desire to learn it. However, achieving additive bilingualism is made difficult by lack of minority cultural content on the curriculum and lack of educational resources. It is argued that the Context Approach can be used to help overcome these difficulties and as a guide for further research. [Author abstract]