单项选择题

It is certainly surprising to find people from abroad involved in education attending seminar, institutes, and conference on American Studies in American universities. People go to the United States to learn about the issues which helped shape the American history, literature, or language. But even more surprising is to find that most of those events do not include a measurement on the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Language. Perhaps this may have come about because the TESOL profession has extended widely and information is already readily available through a variety of means. However, what is more noticeable about this omission is that the force of the English language which has been transformed into the primary source for the formation of values and attitudes in a very large number of cultures-is itself being overlooked.
As far as American Studies as a discipline is concerned, the growth and spread of the English language has proved to be not only a multiplying factor, but also the natural means through which most foreign countries get to know about the American people, their values and characteristics. Hence, neglecting a place to the teaching of English as a vehicle of the spreading of culture can place limitations on the researchers and learners alike. And this is even more relevant if we consider that most of the theoretical issues at stake in the TESOL profession have emerged due to the work and influence of American scholar.
The TESOL profession was born mainly through American’s involvement in a series of world conflicts that served to boost English to its current status as an international language. At present over seventy percent of the world’s population receives education in or through English, either formally or informally, as most TESOL programs base their practices on American standards. TESOL professionals should thus be aware of the culture upon which their practices are based. At the same time, the field of American Studies should devote itself to finding the potential effect. American culture can have through language instruction on foreign cultures. It is implied that the most serious harm done to the American Studies by neglecting the importance of English instruction is ______.