English as a 'H-Language'

     I had a lot of trouble when I began to learn Spanish. Well, I still do have a lot of trouble in Spanish. I would be able to function and understand it in class, though when I was taken out of that environment I was very hesitant about using it. None of my friends spoke Spanish, my family did not speak Spanish, and I was not in a location where people were bi-lingual. As my studies progressed, learning another language had gotten harder...much harder. This could be called selective functionality, or the ability to develop a lever of competence only to the level needed to fulfill a particular function in a particular setting. I knew how to ask the teacher a question, or to refer to the textbook, though outside of class I had no need to use it, so I never developed those skills. As it was also mentioned by McKay and Heng in chapter three, this had an effect on my learning.
     English is the number one second language learned in India. Though, there is also a certain linguistic culture, "beliefs about the antiquity, beauty, and purity..." that comes with the learning of English. With this also brings privilege to English.  Not everyone has access to English. It is then suggested that because English have been positioned as a H-language (high language) that it is also linked to "...the colonial legacy, the post colonial democratic governments response to that legacy, and globalization." As education increases the use of English has increased in such places like India.