秋田大学工学资源学部研究报告,第28号,2007年10月.PDFVIP

37秋田大学工学資源学部研究報告，第28号，2007年10月 1 Varieties of Modern English Language Kolawole Waziri OLAGBOYEGA, PhD.** Abstract The incorporation of English language practice into the curriculum of the Graduate School of Engineering and Resource Science of Akita University, requires a cursory study of the nature of the language. Therefore, this article focuses on the sociolinguistic situation of English language around the world and the unprecedented depth and range of uses among native and non-native speakers. It maintains that this versatility and ubiquity of English demonstrate that the language cannot be conceived as a monolithic entity. 1. Introduction In the 2007 academic session, the Graduate School of Engineering and Resource Science of Akita University incorporated a course entitled “Presentation Techniques” into the curriculum of the graduate students. The medium of instruction, of assessment and of communication on this programme is English language. The stage was then set for anxiety, apprehension and trepidation. However, within a few weeks of the programme, the initial apprehension of the students on this programme soon evaporated as it becomes apparent that they could use the language to express themselves in their own unique ways. The purpose of this article is, therefore to exemplify the status of English language around the world with the hope that it will remove some of the trepidations that non-native speakers of the language have. ** Dr. Kolawole Waziri Olagboyega is a Full-time Associate Professor of English Language and Applied Linguistics at Akita International University. He also Teaches (Part-time) in the Graduate School of the Faculty of Engineering and Resource Science of Akita University, Japan. Due to the geographical expansion of the British Empire in the past and the predominance of the USA in the present, English has acquired the status of a world language. The sociolinguistic situation of English around th