ABSTRACT
All human activities are socially based and a number are highly influenced by political and economic events. Learning English is certainly social but it is an activity that might not seem to be unduly influenced by political and economic forces. In fact, it is. Why people learn English, where and when they learn it, how it is learned, who learns it and what they learn can be traced back to political and economic forces and in many cases deliberate decisions on the part of governments, institutions and groups. Such decisions may benefit communities but there are as many cases where differential access to English can divide societies (Canagarajah 2006).
