Despite momentous developments in the sociopolitics of the teaching of English worldwide, targets have generally remained tied to nativespeaker norms. This paper argues that although this orientation is often recognized as inappropriate and counter-productive, it persists because discussions about ‘global English’ on the meta-level have not been accompanied by a necessary reorientation in linguistic research: very little empirical work has so far been done on the most extensive contemporary use of English worldwide, namely English as a lingua franca, largely among ‘non-native’ speakers. The paper seeks to demonstrate that this lack of a descriptive reality precludes us from conceiving of speakers of lingua franca English as language users in their own right and thus makes it difficult to counteract the reproduction of native English dominance. To remedy this situation, a research agenda is proposed which accords lingua franca English a central place in description alongside English as a native language, and a new corpus project is described which constitutes a first step in this process. The paper concludes with a consideration of the potentially very significant impact that the availability of an alternative model for the teaching of English as a lingua franca would have for pedagogy and teacher education.

https://www.univie.ac.at/voice/page/documents/seidlhofer_2001b.pdf

Closing A Conceptual Gap: The Case For A Description Of English As A Lingua Franca

This chapter shows just how deeply affected English has already been through its unprecedented spread, and the unique function it has as the world language. It argues, however, that it would be premature to launch into a discussion of the teaching of this lingua franca before certain prerequisites have been met. The most important of these are a conceptualization of speakers of lingua franca English as language users in their own right, and the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of, and indeed the need for, a description of salient features of English as a lingua franca (ELF), alongside English as a native language (ENL). The presentation summarizes the empirical research into the lingua franca use of English, which has recently gathered considerable momentum. It sets this research in relation to other relevant work in descriptive linguistics, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics for language pedagogy. Finally, it discusses the implications of this historically unique situation for potential developments in the pedagogy of English teaching and outlines some research questions that must be addressed if advances in the teaching of English as a lingua franca are to have a secure theoretical and descriptive base.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0267190504000145

10. research perspectives on teaching english as a lingua franca

The history of pronunciation in English language teaching is a study in extremes. Some approaches to teaching, such as the reformed method and audiolingualism, elevated pronunciation to a pinnacle of importance, while other approaches, such as the cognitive movement and early communicative language teaching, mostly ignored pronunciation (Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin, 1996). Currently, it seems clear that pronunciation deserves neither fate, either to be unfairly elevated to the central skill in language learning or banished to irrelevance. To a large extent, pronunciation's importance has always been determined by ideology and intuition rather than research. Teachers have intuitively decided which features have the greatest effect on clarity and which are learnable in a classroom setting. Derwing and Munro (this issue), recognizing this tendency toward teacher intuition in determining classroom priorities, make an appeal for a carefully formulated research agenda to define how particular features actually affect speaker intelligibility. That such an appeal is needed suggests, in Derwing and Munro's words, that pronunciation "instructional materials and practices are still heavily influenced by commonsense intuitive notions" and that such intuitions "cannot resolve many of the critical questions that face classroom instructors" (p. 380). During the past 25 years, pronunciation teachers have emphasized suprasegmentals rather than segmentals in promoting intelligibility (Avery & Ehrlich, 1992; Morley, 1991), despite a paucity of research evidence for this belief (Hahn, 2004). Recent carefully designed studies have shown some support for the superiority of suprasegmental instruction in ESL contexts (e.g., Derwing & Rossiter, 2003). Also, wider availability of software that makes suprasegmentals' discourse functions more accessible to teachers and learners will encourage work with suprasegmentals (Chun, this issue; Pickering, this issue). However, the importance of suprasegmentals for communication in English as an international language (EIL) is uncertain (Jenkins, 2000; Levis, 1999). It is also by no means clear that all suprasegmentals are equally learnable. Pennington and Ellis (2000), for example, found that although some

/pdf/changing-contexts-and-shifting-paradigms-in-pronunciation-4nn39hpt88.pdf

Changing Contexts and Shifting Paradigms in Pronunciation Teaching

TGG Contact info 3 This past October MSU and the Social Science, RCAH, Lyman Briggs and James Madison Colleges .had the privilege of hosting the 36th Annual AIS Conference, INTERDISCIPLINARY PUBLIC PROBLEMS, THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY AND DIVERSITY. Scholars, students and other professionals had the opportunity to present and learn about the field of interdisciplinary studies in many different contexts. Topics and discussions ranged from global warming to same –sex marriage to interdisciplinary teaching and learning, an interdisciplinary view at comics .

Dead aid: why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa

Opinion: Language Difference in Writing--Toward a Translingual Approach.

Torn between the norms: innovations in world Englishes

Mother-Tongue Medium and Scholastic Attainment in Nigeria.

Although development goals are usually set as targets that must be achieved in a development process, experience with development goals in Africa has tended to underscore underperformance either in terms of a shortfall in the targets attained or in terms of inadequate pursuit of specific goals. To illustrate this syndrome, the African Union's New Partnership for African Development and the Millennium Development Goals will be used as a case study. Neither of them includes language as a significant factor in the realization of the expected goals. In fact, most of the inadequacies observed are often attributed to socioeconomic causes. In this paper, I argue that these inadequacies cannot be fully accounted for without reference to the role of language coupled with attendant sociocultural constraints. By their very nature, virtually all the goals require participation by the populace, and the most effective means of ensuring their inclusion is the use of a language or languages which will facilitate and maxi...

The language factor in development goals

RESUMODemandoj por modelo de lingvo-planadoTiu ci artikolo ekzamenas la jenajn demandojn rilate al modelo de lingvo-planado: specoj de decidoj, la planada mekanismo, la rolo de faktokonstatado, niveloj de planado kaj la naturo de statusa, kontraste al korpusa, planado. La aǔtoro klasifas la decidojn kiel politikajn aǔ plenumajn, altnivelajn aǔ malaltnivelajn, raciajn aǔ arbitrajn. Li mezuras la planadan mekanismon laǔ postpolitika planado kaj rekonas tri specojn de faktokonstatado: antaǔpolitika, antauplenuma kaj dumplenuma. Li ankau atentigas při diversaj niveloj de planado. El tiuj konsideroj, li proponas, ke modelo de lingvoplanado ebligu hierarkian planadon, kiel ankaů kvar direktiĝajn eblecojn inter la elementoj de faktokonstatado, politikoformulado, pritaksado kaj plenumado.SOMMAIRELes problemes d'un modele de planification linguistiqueCet article examine les problemes suivants qui se rapportent a un modele de planification linguistique: les types de decisions, le mecanisme de planification, le role de l'etablissement des faits, les niveaux de planification, ainsi que la nature de la planification a base de statut par opposition a la planification a base de corpus. Les decisions sont classees selon leur appartenance a un programme ou a un mise en oeuvre, selon niveaux eleves ou bas, selon leur caractere rationnel ou arbitraire. Le mecanisme de planification se mesure par rapport a la planification post-programme et l'on reconnait trois types d'etablissement des faits: pre-programme, pre-execution et intra-execution. L'attention est egalement attiree sur les differents niveaux de planification. En considerant les problemes, l'on suggere l'idee qu'un modele de planification linguistique devrait offrir une planification hierarchique, aussi bien que quatre possibilites de direction parmi les elements d'etablissement des faits, formulation de programmes, evaluation et execution.

Ayo Bamgbose

Papers

Torn between the norms: innovations in world Englishes

Mother-Tongue Medium and Scholastic Attainment in Nigeria.

The language factor in development goals

Issues for a Model of Language Planning