1 GLOBALIZATION AND TEACHING/LEARNING OF URHOBO LANGUAGE IN DELTA STATE AND DIASPORA Efe Francis Ejedafiru and Ogheneruemu Lucky Ejobee Abstract The pervasive state of language subordination in this era of globalization generates a syndrome of self – relegation or self – rejection, and continues for as long as the so-deemed Urhobo elites prefer to conveniently ignore the wealth of unique language civilization originally invented, patented and bequeathed by autochthonous Urhobo sieges before external language imposition. Hence the paper examines the impact of globalization on the teaching and learning of Urhobo language. The paper argues that little has been achieved in the teaching/learning of the language, this could be traced to poor policy formulation and implementation, lack of adequate teachers, poor infrastructure, lack of organized orthography, inadequate written history and literature and lack of interest on the part of the owners of the language. The modest proposal of this paper is therefore, the projection of the teaching/learning of Urhobo and other Nigeria languages as an option that creates linguistic disposition for national development, integration and better projection into this global era. Efforts are also made on the ways Nigerian languages can be protected from extinction as a result of the pervasive nature of globalization. Globalization is seen as a means to forge closer integration of countries and peoples of the world by affording them unrestricted transportation and communication and by eliminating economic barriers that restrict a free flow of goods, services, capital, and knowledge (Moshi, 2006). We all know that civilization no longer operates exclusively within a given shared language or national borders. Pescod, (2009) opined that increasing numbers of people across the globe – and not just in the developed world – can buy goods and services internationally, or share ideas with someone in another country as easily as well as someone in the same street. Globalization is also seen as a means to reduce the sense of isolation of those living in the developing world and also serves as a source for the world’s access to knowledge and innovations in technologies. Teaching and learning of Urhobo language in Delta State and Diaspora has been a thing some Urhobo sons and daughters at home and abroad had been show-casing. The Urhobo nation of about two million people is the most populous in Delta State and the territory is located in the tropical rainforest belt of the western Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The point to emphasize here is that the primacy of oral communication means that the bulk of literary activity in Urhobo territory is created in the oral media. There are numerous genres and traditions of stories, songs, poems, proverbs, and folk rhetorics stored in Urhobo language awaiting the diligent effort of researchers, collectors, translators, and interpreters. Language as a bridge that connects group of people, underscores the most valuable possession for dealing with changes in man’s environment. Language is a manifestation of culture and tradition which is the most enduring artifacts of any group. Many people in Nigeria and Multidisciplinary Journal of Empirical Research Volume 10 No. 1 April, 2012