PERCEPTIONS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AROUND THE WORLD IN AN INCREASINGLY GLOBALISED CLIMATE (original) (raw)

аннотация. Рассматривается современное положение английского языка в условиях глобализации. Исследуются причины становления английско-го языка как языка международной коммуникации. Освещаются вопросы мотивации студентов. Делаются общие выводы об актуальности изучения английского языка в современном мире. ключевые слова: английский язык; английский как лингва франка (АЛФ); глобализация; межкультурная коммуникация; мотивация. Nowadays, more than ever, the English language is becoming more and more widely used in areas of knowledge and human development. It can be said that it is the language of the modern world. It is, in the era of globalisa-tion, the great international language, the "lingua franca" which has had repercussions on all fields and professions, having begun to acquire importance during the colonial era and now being the language which is most spoken as a second language [1, 2]. Knowing English can no longer be seen as a luxury, but as a necessity [3]. In fact, it can even be said that those who do not know English are at a disadvantage [4]. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the reasons why that is the case, examine the perceptions of English around the world and give an insight into the motivational factors that encourage students to learn English. First of all, it is the tool that allows communication with people from different countries within the globalised world in which we live. It cannot be put into question that English is the most spoken official language in the world, as well as the fourth most widely spoken native language in the world. It has official status even in nations where it is not the primary spoken language. It is either the official language, or has a special status, in 75 countries of the world. Recent estimations suggest that 354 million people speak Eng-lish as their first language, and estimates about second language speakers of English vary greatly between 150 million and 1.5 billion [5]. This figure will continue to grow at least until 2015, the year in which 2 billion people in the world could be learning it. In one way or another, within little more than one decade three billion people will speak English, that is to say, half of humanity. The consequences of this linguistic tide moving forward are immeasurable. Within a few generations, for the first time in the history of homo sapiens, the majority of our species will be capable of communicating with one another in one language. This expansion will cause a real earthquake in the history of