scholarly journals The Pluralization of Mass Nouns in European and Asian ELF

2021 ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Isabella Tinkel ◽  
Marie Deissl-O’Meara
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Coding System ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Contact Language ◽  
The Status

English has become a global lingua franca unlike any language before. This has led to the increased pragmatic use of English by an increasing number of non-native speakers and, consequently, English as a lingua franca (ELF) has emerged. It has become a contact language between speakers of different mother tongues which has led to the blurring of strict regulatory frameworks formerly established by native English varieties. ELF speakers use English in creative ways and influenced by their native languages and cultures and the imitation of the native speaker has been pushed to the background in favor of successful communication. In order to facilitate the examination of this new type of English, several ELF corpora have been established, two of which are used for this study. The Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) and the Asian Corpus of English (ACE) are both collections of spoken interactions between ELF speakers that have the same size and rely on the same coding system and search parameters, which make them readily comparable. While these corpora have already aided in the discovery of several common features of ELF in general, this study focuses on the lexico-grammatical feature of the pluralization of mass nouns by either adding the ‘s’ or some type of quantifier in European and Asian ELF. Results show that Asian ELF speakers are less likely to pluralize mass nouns than European ELF speakers. Yet, pluralization can be found in both types of ELF and this, along with other specific, non-standard features, raises questions for English language teaching and the status of native English.

ELF and Communication Strategies: Are They Taken into Account in ELT Materials?

RELC Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Vettorel
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
School Students ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Pragmatic Strategies

The complex and varied sociolinguistic reality of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has important implications for English Language Teaching (ELT). Besides questioning the validity of the ‘native speaker model’, the complexity of Global Englishes raises several issues, both at a theoretical and at an applied level, particularly for teaching. A plurilithic rather than a monolithic (monolingual/monocultural) perspective is called for, one that can make learners aware of the different roles, contexts, linguistic and functional varieties of English, so that they can be prepared to effectively interact with speakers of different Englishes and in English as a Lingua Franca contexts. Communication strategies have been shown to have a particularly significant role in English as a Lingua Franca communication, that is characterized by negotiation and co-construction of meaning; in these encounters, where different linguacultures meet, ELF speakers employ a range of pragmatic strategies to solve, or pre-empt, (potential) non-understandings often drawing on their plurilingual repertoires, too. Communication strategies can thus be said to play a fundamental role in effective communication, particularly in contexts where English is used as an international Lingua Franca. In this light, it would seem important for ELT materials to include activities aimed at raising awareness and promoting practice of communication strategies, so that they can become an integral part of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom practices towards the development of communicative ‘capability’. This article will illustrate a study investigating whether ELT materials addressed at Italian upper secondary school students include activities and tasks related to communication strategies. The examination of textbooks published by Italian and international publishers from the 1990s to 2015 shows that, apart from a few interesting cases, consistent attention has not been given to this important area. Implications for further research on the inclusion of communication strategies in ELT will also be set forward.

scholarly journals "To ELF or not to ELF?" (English as a Lingua Franca): that's the question for Applied Linguistics in a globalized world

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Robert Schmitz
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Globalized World

The realization that there are today more nonnative speakers than native speakers of English in the world with institutionalized and nativized varieties as well as their own specific communicative, cultural and pragmatic competencies has led to the rethinking of present-day practices in teaching, teacher preparation, and the writing of textbooks. Jenkins' publications (2000, 2003) dealing with the phonology of English and material for teaching English as an international language along with her book English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) (2007) call for the disengagement of the language from Anglo-American native speaker norms. This line of research presents serious questions for Applied Linguistics (AL) and English Language Teaching (ELT) that will, if implemented, entail major changes in that endeavor. The winds of change may indeed be beneficial for some and a threat to others. I argue in this paper for an open mindset with respect to the issues and to the new state of affairs in this globalized world today.

scholarly journals A study of Taiwanese university students’ English use, learning goals and attitudes toward English as a lingua franca

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-794
Author(s):  
Wen-Hsing Luo
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Attitudes Toward English ◽  
Learning English

 This study investigates Taiwanese university students’ experience of English use, aims of learning English and attitudes toward English as a lingua franca (ELF). The notion of ELF has been researched in the field of English language teaching. However, English teaching practice targeting native-speaker (NS) norms is still prevailing in English classrooms. To better respond to learner needs of using English in the age of globalization, this study explores learners’ English learning and use in relation to their attitudes toward ELF. Research methods including interviewing and questionnaire survey were employed to collect data from English majors at a university in Taiwan. The study finds that the learners were aware of the communicative value of ELF and actually used ELF in intercultural communication. The learners’ use of English in context affected their attitudes toward ELF and aims of learning English. It is found that the learners preferred English conforming to NS norms; yet, they wished to learn local variation of English concerning accents and word use. In light of the findings, the author suggests that English teachers incorporate an ELF perspective into English instruction and help learners develop intercultural awareness and competencies.

MY English: a social constructivist perspective on ELF

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Kohn
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The Social ◽  
Language Orientation ◽  
Constructivist Perspective ◽  
Target Languages

Abstract In this article, I address issues, concepts and empirical insights that have profoundly shaped my view of English as a lingua franca (ELF) and of the pedagogical lessons to be learned for English Language Teaching (ELT). Starting from discrepancies in my ELF identity as a speaker of English with ELT roots in a German secondary school, I argue for the social constructivist concept of MY English as a basis for understanding ELF competence development and the tensions surrounding the relationship between ELT and ELF. Continually shaped by speakers’ participation in ELF communication, relevant dimensions of their MY English profiles include linguistic-communicative-communal repertoires and requirements of performance, individual and social identity orientations, and confidence in their ELF creativity. Against this backdrop, I discuss topics I consider relevant for a much-needed pedagogical reconciliation of ELT with ELF. Special attention is given to teachers’ ELF apprehension and the distinction between a “strict” (quasi-behaviouristic) and an “open” (social constructivist) target language orientation, speaker satisfaction as a criterion of success in ELF communication, and teaching towards ELF competence from awareness raising to comprehension, production and interaction to non-native speaker emancipation. Successful ELF implementation in both ELT practice and ELT teacher education requires extensive and authentic involvement of students and teachers in ELF communication. Intercultural telecollaboration provides innovative means for creating a space for ELF communication in the ELT classroom. Pedagogical case studies about video and text chat conversations strongly support the assumption that using their common target language as a lingua franca significantly enables learners of English to develop an emancipated non-native speaker identity and thus to become speakers of English in their own right. And what is more, the pedagogical lingua franca approach can be successfully transferred to other foreign target languages as well. I conclude my article with a brief contextualization of the MY English concept in relation to translingual practice and ELF languaging.

English as a Lingua Franca: A New Approach for English Language Teaching in China?

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinghui Si
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business English ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Research On Teaching ◽  
English Program

Abstract Research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) has triggered a debate on whether English teaching should consistently conform to native-speaker Standard English or it should value the pedagogical implications of ELF. This article provides an overview of current research on teaching English as a lingua franca. It starts with research on the rationale to introduce ELF-informed teaching and comparisons between ELF-informed teaching and native-English-based teaching. Concrete proposals of how to incorporate ELF-informed teaching into English language teaching (ELT) classrooms are presented. Then controversies in the debate are summarized. They are: A lack of ELF-informed textbooks; a lack of ELF-informed assessment; and a lack of qualified teachers. It then reviews recent publications dealing with these controversies. This is followed by a discussion about the research on ELF-informed teaching in the Chinese context. This article argues that research on the practicality of ELF-informed teaching should start with prospective English users, such as students in China’s Business English Program. It concludes with some suggestions for future research and practice on ELF-informed teaching in China.

scholarly journals Investigating cultural contents in English language teaching materials through textbook evaluation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-145
Author(s):  
Amna Arshad ◽  
Syed Kazim Shah ◽  
Muhammad Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Cultural Understanding ◽  
Textbook Evaluation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Target Culture

Abstract The shift in the status of English as a lingua franca has challenged native-speaker culture in English language teaching and learning. That is why it is not enough to expose language learners through monoculture language teaching. Rather being communicatively competent, learners may require inter-cultural understanding. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the representation of cultures through different senses in Oxford Progressive English (OPE), Level-10 (Rachel Redford, 2016). As OPE caters the needs of Pakistani language learners, it is hypothesized that learners’ source culture prevails more than other two cultures (i.e. international, and target). To confirm this hypothesis, a detailed content analysis of cultural senses (prevailed in OPE) is carried out through Adaskou, Britten and Fahsi (1990). The results show that the frequency of reading texts in OPE is highly imbued with learners’ target culture that is followed by the international culture, and least by learners’ source culture. Moreover, culturally neutral texts lack in inter-cultural understanding, and appear to be disseminated to marginalize L2 learners from target and international cultures.

scholarly journals ‘A more inclusive mind towards the world’: English language teaching and study abroad in China from intercultural citizenship and English as a lingua franca perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 608-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan (Gabriel) Fang ◽  
Will Baker
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Language Education ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
The Status ◽  
World English

With the status of English as a global lingua franca (ELF), English is no longer the sole property of its Anglophone native English speakers (NES) problematizing the current dominance of Anglophone cultures and NES in the field of English language teaching (ELT). The notion of intercultural citizenship education offers a critical alternative model in language education. To investigate how ELF, intercultural approaches and the concept of intercultural citizenship might be integrated within the field of ELT, a study was conducted in a university located in southeast China. Due to the large number of ELT learners and high degree of student mobility in China these are issues of much relevance in this setting. The research collected qualitative data through face-to-face interviews, email interviews and focus groups with students on study abroad programmes who have both ELT and first-hand intercultural experiences. Many students spoke positively about aspects of intercultural citizenship, but classroom instruction offered only limited channels for students to experience and understand intercultural communication and citizenship. In contrast, most of their understanding and experiences were gained outside the classroom during study abroad. Furthermore, many students spoke about the importance of English in their development of intercultural connections and citizenship. We conclude that more in-depth and critical approaches to teaching language, culture and intercultural communication in ELT are needed which foster and cultivate students’ sense of intercultural citizenship.

scholarly journals Culture and complexity through English as a lingua franca: rethinking competences and pedagogy in ELT

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Baker
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Pedagogy ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Meaningful Category

AbstractEnglish as a lingua franca (ELF) research highlights the complexity and fluidity of culture in intercultural communication through English. ELF users draw on, construct, and move between global, national, and local orientations towards cultural characterisations. Thus, the relationship between language and culture is best approached as situated and emergent. However, this has challenged previous representations of culture, particularly those centred predominantly on nation states, which are prevalent in English language teaching (ELT) practices and the associated conceptions of communicative and intercultural communicative competence. Two key questions which are then brought to the fore are: how are we to best understand such multifarious characterisations of culture in intercultural communication through ELF and what implications, if any, does this have for ELT and the teaching of culture in language teaching? In relation to the first question, this paper will discuss how complexity theory offers a framework for understanding culture as a constantly changing but nonetheless meaningful category in ELF research, whilst avoiding essentialism and reductionism. This underpins the response to the second question, whereby any formulations of intercultural competence offered as an aim in language pedagogy must also eschew these simplistic and essentialist cultural characterisations. Furthermore, the manner of simplification prevalent in approaches to culture in the ELT language classroom will be critically questioned. It will be argued that such simplification easily leads into essentialist representations of language and culture in ELT and an over representation of “Anglophone cultures.” The paper will conclude with a number of suggestions and examples for how such complex understandings of culture and language through ELF can be meaningfully incorporated into pedagogic practice.

scholarly journals English as a Lingua Franca: Lessons for language and mobility

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Sung-Yul Park ◽  
Lionel Wee
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds

Greater mobility of people in the globalising world foregrounds the inherent problemsof an ideology of language as a bounded entity and the unequal relations of powerthat shape experiences of mobility. In this paper, we consider how these problems canbe interrelated in research on language and mobility through a critical evaluation ofcurrent research on English as a lingua franca (ELF), particularly what we refer to asthe ‘ELF research project’, exemplified by the work of Jenkins and Seidlhofer. TheELF project aims at a non-hegemonic alternative to English language teaching byidentifying a core set of linguistic variables that can facilitate communication betweenspeakers of different linguistic backgrounds. We provide a critical examination ofthe project by problematising its narrow conceptualisation of communication asinformation transfer and its inability to address the prejudices that speakers may stillencounter because they speak the language ‘differently’. In our discussion, we arguethat investigation of language in the context of mobility requires serious rethinkingon the level of both theory and political stancetaking: a theory of language that doesnot take account of the fluid, dynamic, and practice-based nature of language willhave considerable difficulty in proposing a cogent critique of social inequalities thatpermeate the lives of people on the move.

scholarly journals THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AS A GLOBAL EMPLOYMENT SKILL: THE VIEWPOINT OF PAKISTANI ACADEMIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1071-1077
Author(s):  
Furrakh Abbas ◽  
Abdul Majid Khan Rana ◽  
Irfan Bashir ◽  
Azhar Munir Bhatti
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Employment Skills ◽  
The Status

Purpose of the Study: The current research aims at exploring the need of effective English skill as a global employment skill and its various reasons, as there are various Pakistani institutes which are dedicated to The English language teaching and reinforce its relationship with employability. The importance of the study being conducted in Pakistan becomes more evident as English enjoys the status of the second language in the country. Methodology: Current study uses a mixed-method research design and employs both questionnaires and interviews as research instruments. The questionnaire was administrated on a sample of 392 university students while a sample of 13 informants from university faculty participated in an interview for data collection. Main Findings: The study concludes that the importance of English was associated with increased connectivity due to globalization. The study also concludes that the importance of English for finding jobs and making a career was well-established. To conclude, it can be said that English language proficiency is amongst the top global employment skills in the viewpoint of Pakistani academia. Application of this Study: The study implicates that the importance of English for employment across the globe and a successful career will further lead to the formulation of English Specific courses for different professional and occupational groups in Pakistan. The originality of the Study: There is a scarcity of empirical evidence in terms of the importance of English as an employment skill though English is considered very important as an elite language and a status symbol. The study proposes to fill in the gap by providing empirical evidence, therefore, the research is being conducted to assess the status of English and its importance for global employment skills.

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