I recently spent four months teaching English in the Czech Republic, and my understanding of the once mysterious, “curtained” nation has increased tremendously. As a teacher in Prague, I was fortunate to meet a range of Czechs on a daily basis, thus enhancing my knowledge of the people, and their extraordinary culture. The country has a fascinating history, including the recent period of government by a communism regime. It was enthralling for me to see how the older generation has adapted to democracy and the convergence of globalisation.

As I walked into my first class, my initial surprise was the dominance of elderly students in the room. I was genuinely shocked to see so many over-50s eager to learn the English tongue. Blanka, an elderly retired secretary, turned out to be my most advanced student. Within four months, she was writing and speaking English at a highly proficient level. Not only was she assisting others, but she would also question me in an intelligent and coherent way. Despite her age, Blanka used English in her daily activities.

Because I encouraged an informal relationship between my students and myself, many of them felt at ease to converse with me about globalisation and the predominance of the English language across the world. Since modernity has arrived later for Czechs than in most of the rest of central Europe, there was a passion to participate in global issues. They were eager to keep up with the “advanced” part of the world. Ales, a civil engineer who had been learning English since his early teens, stated that Prague was adamant about keeping up with world trends in areas from fashion, to politics.

Since modernity has arrived later for Czechs than in most of the rest of central Europe, there was a passion to participate in global issues.

Martin, another advanced student of mine, who was a highly successful lawyer in Prague, described his life as an arduous one. Coming from a lower class Slovak family, he had to work for his English education. The ideology behind his desire for additional linguistic skills is fairly straightforward. In order to succeed in business, communicating in English is vital. Martin expressed his desire for the Czech Republic to conduct business with other countries, and therefore, improve its global relations. Thanks to his studies, Martin has recently increased his client range, and he now represents people in Italy and Germany, as well as in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic is likely to join the EU in 2004. Many native Czechs claim that this is the first major step in global participation, and will enable the country to maintain equality between itself and neighbouring nations. Walking through Wenceslas Square, it is difficult to ignore the difference between locals and tourists. But there is a no doubt that the increase of English-speaking Czechs is having an affect on the lives of people like my students, and they in turn, are affecting globalisation.




Contributed by Sima Kotecha, a communications intern for the MP of Toronto. Originally from the UK, she taught Business English in the Czech Republic for 5 months.

To read another Global Envision article about globalization in Europe see Globalization Moves Kosovo Toward Autonomy.