Globalization and the Diaspora of English

One of the most distinctive features that characterizes 21st century is globalization. The sweeping power of globalization not only changes the material conditions of human beings but also radically modifies how people position themselves and what they can share in a newly-defined world village. Also, ground-breaking developments in technology bring us many revolutionary means to communicate with each other, and this has become the impetus for establishing new relationships among people. At the core of this process, the existence of a global language as a medium of communication has become a critical agenda. This study focuses on the relationship between globalization and the diaspora of English in South Korea. More specifically, this study investigates the attitudes of Korean students toward English in six different environments: social/cultural, economical, linguistic, pedagogical, technological, and globalizational environments. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this study illustrates the profile of English in the 21st century globalized Korea.