Linguistic imperialism in the ELT profession?

Abstract

During the last decade, the notion of Linguistic Imperialism has raised an important debate in the academic circles,with all the various issues it involves. Nevertheless, the opinions of those who actually speak English are very rarely taken into consideration. Furthermore, the different that the notion of Linguistic Imperialism has, and all the various issues mentioned in the scholarly debate, do not seem to reach far beyond the academic spheres. In this article, the perceptions of Linguistic Imperialism by speakers of English as a Second and Foreign Language are analysed, in order to find out whether they are aware of the various aspects that speaking English implies, according to the scholars. It is claimed that many changes should be considered in order to avoid the discrimination caused by English as an International Language. This implies, among other things, a better defence of Linguistic human Rights and a revision of many principles which are being applied in the ELT profession.