Creating Global Citizens through Bilingualism and Education. Teaching English as a lingua franca in the Middle East

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2016 in the subject Sociology - Work, Education, Organisation, grade: 90.5, , language: English, abstract: In the past decade, higher education's evolving interest in internationalization has intensified. The notion of civic education and engagement has expanded from constituting from a national focus to an international one. Consequently, civic responsibility has become a notion which extends beyond national borders, as well as beyond the scope of one state. Global Citizenship is not new in discourse; however, both the notion as well as the term seems to be witnessing more attention lately as they are both being highlighted across discussions in higher education. Several institutions make reference to global citizenship in their mission statements, as well as make it a goal of theirs in their quest for more liberal education and internationalization efforts. A number of institutions also have centers for global citizenship and provide programs under this umbrella. In our day and age, there is wide debate revolving around the question of what truly constitutes a global citizen , just as there is an evolving debate in the areas of the concept of globalization as a whole. Language, and English in particular, has a major role to play in the conceptualization of these definitions and in bringing them closer together.