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English has become essential to exploring the modern world. Education, employment, earnings – it’s the cornerstone of success in many global endeavours. As our world becomes smaller, English language proficiency, much like technology, plays a pivotal role in blurring the borders between countries and cultures – enabling movement and fostering deeper connections.
It’s worth noting that the world today is home to the largest generation of young people in history. Where at least? The world’s population is under 30 years of age as per UNESCO. These young people are inheriting a radically changing world – a world where technology has a more prominent role than ever before, where collaborating across borders is the norm, and where we have shared apocalyptic problems to solve.
Rashi Dhanani, Head of Business Development, Duolingo English Test has shared the role of English in a tech-driven world.
This generation of youth is also seeking new ways to be empowered. A large portion of this population consumes global entertainment content, the volume of study abroad aspirants is on a remarkably high upswing, and this can also be seen as more people plan to immigrate across the globe. The youth of today are seeking exposure to other cultures and opportunities.
They are willing to take risks and immigrate for more secure futures, and are willing to invest in continuing their education through their workplace as they respond to a more competitive world and feel the need to signal quality for success. Language fluency, especially the English language, remains critical for achieving success as people seek upward mobility.
These global trends ring true for India too. English is an official language in the country – in courts, hospitals, academia, government offices, the private sector, the gig economy, entertainment (even previously Hindi-first Bollywood), English is more often than not the default language for official and unofficial communications.
ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
In fact, the idea and aspirational dream around English has become so pronounced now that parents often select whether to enroll their children in a private or public school based on how well the child may learn English in either school – and not as used to be the case – affordability and expenses around schooling. Outside of school, a plethora of options and modalities exist to improve language fluency.
Let’s look at the study abroad market in India for a moment. Owing to a rapidly expanding middle class, more than 2 million Indian students aspire to pursue higher education abroad each year, and it is predicted that the market for overseas education in India will reach $100 billion by 2025.
Amid this transformation, the demand for credible, reliable, user-friendly testing systems is paramount.
Historically, language testing has been a barrier, rather than a bridge, to future opportunities. A considerable proportion of the Indian population grapples with limited access to testing facilities. Traditional brick-and-mortar test centres fail to adequately meet this demand, and their vulnerability to conflicts, natural calamities, and health emergencies is evident.
However, technology has ushered in a new era, enabling the development of resilient, trustworthy, and secure digital assessments for evaluating language proficiency.
In an era where technology has already made the world smaller and more connected, English proficiency becomes a pathway to upward mobility. Leveraging technology meaningfully for English learning and assessment such that one can provide personalised, and user-friendly experiences is crucial. This can support both language acquisition and demonstration, and ultimately more easily empower the ambitions and dreams of today’s youth.