English Language Teachers: Why Teach English?
By Larry M. Lynch

"Why do we have to study English?" When your reluctant learners ask this dreaded question how do you respond? How can you motivate them to really want to learn and use English? Here is an approach I've used successfully.

Often when I give an academic presentation plenary speech or English teacher training session, I ask the audience, “How many countries have Spanish as the first language?” Since I live and work in South America you’d think the response would be swift and forthcoming. Usually it’s not. After the group has sweated it out for a couple of minutes or so I ask, “Would you like to see the list?” They do, of course so I project the 20 key Spanish-speaking countries, which are:

• Spain

• Mexico

• Honduras

• Guatemala

• Nicaragua

• El Salvador

• Costa Rica

• Panama

• Colombia

• Ecuador

• Peru

• Bolivia

• Chile

• Argentina

• Uruguay

• Paraguay

• The Dominican Republic

• Puerto Rico

• Cuba

The Fun Begins

Then the fun really begins. My next question is, “How many countries have English as a first or official language?” To twist the screw just a bit more I add, “You’ll all English teachers, so you should know where the language is spoken, right?” They agree that they should and for the next few minutes set about fathoming the English L1 list. More squirming, a few shouted out queries and I let the pressure off. “How many do you have on your list?” Rarely does the number exceed ten or fifteen. Take a moment; how many can YOU list?

Countries with English as the Official L1

“Would you like to see my list?” I ask. You know what the response unanimously is. “Do you think that is something that might be useful for an English teacher to know?” A resounding “Yes!” always follows.