Multiple Perspectives and Interpretations of Learner Narratives on Multilingualism: A Case Study

During the first decade of a new millennium, interest in English as a lingua franca (ELF) increased dramatically. Therefore a lot of research has been done at a range of linguistic levels, such as lexis, grammar, pronunciation and pragmatics as well as on the morpho-syntactic properties of ELF interactions and the communi-cation strategies used by ELF speakers in order to facilitate communication and avoid misunderstandings. This has also been reflected in the approaches and attitudes towards English as a lingua franca in English Language Teaching. That is why we might need to rethink not only how English is taught, but also which kind or variety of English. We should take into account a wide range of global trends and the current transformations that English is undergoing. In this article we pay attention to the definitions and features of ELF. We also deal with the reasons why English has become a global language. We concentrate on the global nature of English, the process of globalization, and the results of various empirical research which have raised profound questions about current principle and practice in English language teaching. According to the pedagogic implications of ELF, it is necessary to take into account the key areas in particular: the nature of the language syllabus, teaching materials, approaches and methods, language assessment and the knowledge base of language teachers. Apart from this, we would like to highlight that the main aim of this article is to demonstrate the communicative advantages of an ELF approach and to raise awareness of ELF among teachers.

Single case analyses of two overlap sequences in casual ELF conversations from a multimodal perspective: Toward the consideration of mutual benefits of ELF and CA

English as a lingua franca (ELF) is a complex contact language, which accounts for the most widespread use of English in today's global communication. Like contact languages in general, ELF is used when speakers do not share a first language. It is neither codified nor regulated but emerges in encounters between multilingual speakers. Research seeks to uncover how English gets shaped and negotiated in such multilingually based communication. The most natural option for compiling corpora to represent language use of this kind is (a) to start with spoken language, specifically with dialogic interaction and (b) to include bi‐ and multilingual speakers from a wide variety of linguistic backgrounds. The first and most widely used ELF corpora are accordingly drawn from speech and comprise speakers from dozens of L1 backgrounds. Research on these corpora utilizes and complements qualitative analyses of spoken interaction and throws light on emerging patterns and phraseological preferences. ELF scholars have delved into issues of structural and lexical simplification in ELF or, indeed, lack thereof, and investigated morphological regularization and productivity. In this way, corpus work also elucidated similarities and differences between ELF and other Englishes and supports observations on L2 processing in relation to L1 processing. Methodologically, ELF corpus work highlights aspects of small, specialized corpora, corpus comparability, and distribution patterns. This chapter goes through some of the main questions in ELF corpora and suggests new directions for the research.

This is a qualitative study of nonnative English speakers who speak English as a lingua franca (ELF) in their graduate student dormitory in the United States, a community of practice (Wegner, 2004) comprised almost entirely of second language users. Using a sequential analysis (Koshik, 2002; Markee, 2000; Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson, 1974; Schegloff, Koshik, Jacoby, & Olsher, 2002), the study investigates how these ELF speakers successfully manage their intercultural communication through accommodation strategies (e.g., Jenkins, 2000, 2006) used to address differences in pronunciation and familiarity with a range of ELF speech styles. Drawing on my own experience as a member of this community, I investigate how speakers display equality and legitimacy as English language users in the ELF community in face‐to‐face interactions when they negotiate understanding in spite of their different accents. ELF speakers exhibit a wide variety of pronunciations as a result of first language cross‐linguistic influence, and those phonological differences may hamper intercultural communication, more than any other linguistic feature. For this reason, I have chosen to focus on phonological issues for this study. I argue that sequential analysis of the interactions among speakers of English as a lingua franca may provide useful examples of successful communication among these groups. Data from such analysis should be included in English language teaching as a model of successful interaction strategies directed toward students who will face these situations. The analysis of this ELF data will also be useful as a model for the study of other languages that are often used as lingua francas.

Speakers of English as a lingua franca (ELF) represent the largest contemporary group of English users around the world. Much empirical research into the phenomenon of ELF over the past 10 years or so has focused on identifying the linguistic regularities of their English in diverse contexts of use. More recently, research has demonstrated the extent to which ELF is characterized by extensive online variability, with speakers accommodating their English to an extent not found in other language use, so as to make it appropriate to the interaction in hand and the diverse interlocutors involved.The acknowledged variability of ELF has resulted in a dilemma for English language teaching and assessment. That is, grammatical and pragmatic norms conventionally associated with an idealized “standard” version of the native language no longer seem appropriate as benchmarks, because the majority of ELF use takes place among non‐native English speakers. English language assessment thus needs to develop new benchmarks that are able to evaluate the degree to which ELF users’ English is fit for purpose.This chapter begins by discussing ELF from the perspective of teaching and learning, and, in doing so, dispels the myth that ELF eschews any kind of standards. It goes on to explore the notion of “standard” English and the extent to which it is grounded in language ideology rather than appropriate use of language in context, as well as the ways in which this ideology is being reinforced by the powerful transnational English language testing enterprises and, in turn, diverting attention from the changes needed in English language teaching. Finally, taking note of work in the field of critical language assessment and paying attention to empirical findings regarding ELF‐mediated communication, the factors that need to be taken into account in order to enrich the agenda for future developments are considered.

The present study examines Korean adult English learners' perceptions about English as a lingua franca (ELF) and the common grammatical features of ELF.276 university students participated in this study through an online survey portal.The survey consists of two parts: part one asks participants' attitudes and perceptions about ELF statements, and part two is an acceptability judgement task for common grammatical features of ELF.Overall, the participants showed moderately positive attitude toward most ELF statements despite they manifested stronger preference for native speaker-oriented English learning on a few aspects.The results from the acceptability judgement task for 19 grammatical items consistently remained between neutral and slightly positive ranges.These results indicate that the participants already possess the concept of ELF, at least beyond a non-negative stance, and admit the features of ELF as acceptable forms of English for global communication.Participants' major, study abroad experiences, and experiences of communicating with foreign people did not cause consistent and significant difference in their attitude toward ELF, nor in their acceptability judgements.For timely and effective incorporation of ELF into English classrooms in Korea, further research need to be conducted with various learner groups regarding the perception about ELF, the development of teaching activities and materials, and the empirical data from on-site applications.

This chapter first examines the concept “lingua franca”, moving from an historical overview to the present status of English as a lingua franca (ELF). English as a lingua franca is today used in many domains across many different ethnic groups, nation states and regions, and it is steadily becoming more important as a default language in many parts of Asia. As a lingua franca, English is also the first truly global language in history. And it is this unrivalled position of English today which has thrown up massive criticism – criticism directed at the assumption of the cultural neutrality of English as a lingua franca, at the elitist nature of English in many parts of the world, and at its potential for harming local languages in Asia. These points of criticism will be examined in the chapter from a socio-cultural and economic perspective.

In this paper I first briefly define the notion of English as a lingua franca and then give an overview of research into the pragmatics of English as a lingua franca (ELF). Investigations into the phenomenon of ELF started during the last two decades of the previous century. ELF in oral interactions was characterized by interactants’ joint, collaborative action making the discourse robust and ‘normal’ in the face of interactants’ often non-normative use of the English language. Later research focused on how ELF interactants managed to accommodate to each other, how they negotiated meanings and co-constructed utterances often employing ELF-specific pragmatic markers. Researchers also investigated how ELF users turn to pragmatic transfer and code-switching whenever it is necessary to plug competence gaps arising in their use of English. Finally, I list several critical points of ELF research and make a few suggestions for the future of ELF research.

The internationalization of business has caused many local companies in Taiwan to adopt English as a lingua franca (ELF). When a Taiwanese metal fabrication business was purchased by a U.S.-based multinational conglomerate, the managers needed to quickly improve their English skills so they could communicate with their foreign bosses and co-workers. When the authors were called upon to serve as ELF trainers for 10 managers in fall 2013, we simultaneously conducted action research to explore best practices. This case study aims to (1) identify some issues of intercultural communication in international business, and (2) present pedagogical implications for teaching ELF in a business setting. Data were collected from personal stories told by the managers and correspondence they shared, which were transcribed and edited to serve as the main teaching materials for the class, allowing us to identify important areas of language and culture difference. Using actual workplace communication and stories about workplace issues proved to be a very useful pedagogical approach, allowing discussion of both English problems and cultural differences that had caused misunderstanding.

This article examines certain aspects of the debate surrounding English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). It argues that in some ways, neither ELF nor its opponents have come to terms with the complexities of English in a globalized world. By defining ELF according to how it differs from native-speaker language use, ELF researchers have tended to essentialize and exaggerate these differences, creating a false dichotomy between �ELF� and �non-ELF�. At the same time, the conservatism of language teaching and testing in many parts of the world also suggests that there is further scope for an enhanced awareness of language variation. A desirable outcome of the debate would be the realization that all language use�whether by native or non-native speakers�is variable, emergent, contextual, and subject to hybridity and change.

The last decade has witnessed a significant increase of research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) as today's world becomes progressively more globalized (Lei & Liu, 2018). However, studies on ELF in the Chinese contexts remain sparse although linguistic research in China has kept pace with the development of international linguistic academia. Moreover, many researchers studying ELF-informed teaching in China are either non-Chinese scholars or researchers working in countries other than China (Si, 2019). In other words, this newly emerged field of research has not yet been widely embraced by Chinese scholars, nor its paradigm has been promoted in English education while traditional native-English-based teaching has been challenged and initiatives have been taken to promote English education within the ELF paradigm in many countries in the expanding circle (see e.g., Sifakis & Tsantila, 2019). In this paper, we address the issue through identifying various hindrances to teaching ELF in Chinese classroom and analyzing the factors leading to the difficulties and problems with implementing the ELF-informed teaching in Chinese context. Following this, we explore the prospects for taking advantage of the pedagogical value of ELF research in the foreseeable future.

In academic research on intercultural communication (IC), students’ perceptions and experiences regarding English as a lingua franca (ELF) have been central to the discussion because they form the basis for English teaching policies and practices in multilingual and multicultural environments. Substantial theoretical research on ELF has called for a paradigm shift from emphasizing the over-simplistic correlation between language and Anglophone cultures to recognizing the legitimacy of non-native English learners’ home culture in English teaching pedagogy. Nonetheless, little empirical research has been conducted to examine how ELF speakers understand their home culture in ELF communications. Relatively fewer studies have investigated to what extent ELF users’ perceptions of home culture influence their IC practices. To address these gaps, this study aims to explore Chinese international students in a liberal arts university in the United Kingdom and their understanding of Chinese culture in authentic ELF interactions. In addition, the perceived effects of Chinese culture on students’ IC were explored in great depth. This study adopts a mixed-method approach, including a student questionnaire (N = 200) and follow-up semi-structured interviews (N = 10). Following descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the obtained data, the findings revealed that most participants lacked a thorough understanding of their home culture, while they considered home culture playing a significant role in ELF communications. The contribution of this study builds on work in English users’ awareness of home culture in IC to identify the significance of enabling the presence of English learners’ home culture in English language teaching (ELT) classrooms.

The sociocultural ontogenesis of international students’ use of pragmatic strategies in ELF academic communication: Two contrasting case studies

The present paper analyzes English as a lingua franca (ELF) from the perspective of Talmy’s (2000b) typology, which divides languages into S- and V-types. S-languages express the path of motion in a verb particle and the manner of motion in a verb, while V-languages encode the path in a verb and manner in an adverbial. Talmy’s (2000b) typology has been felicitously applied in research on standard languages. However, studies on dialects (Berthele 2004) have shown that a division into S- and V-categories may not be sufficient in the case of contact languages. To test this hypothesis, we apply Talmy’s (2000b) typological distinction to English as a lingua franca. Based on the results of a qualitative pilot study among Polish users of English, we demonstrate that although Polish and English are both classified as S-languages according to Talmy’s (2000b) typology, ELF – a contact language between them – reveals characteristics not yet classified as belonging to either S- or V-types. We thus conclude that Talmy’s (2000b, 2017) dichotomous distinction is in need of further refinements to be applicable in the context of ELF.

Globalisation has a great influence on the emergence of English as a lingua franca (ELF), particularly in tourism contexts. This paper reports on a piece of research that investigated variants and coinage in spoken ELF interactions between Thai locals and foreign tourists on Koh Lanta, Krabi. The nature of tourism encounters was brief and practical. That is to say, the primary focus was to exchange tourism information athough interactional encounters also occurred. In this study, the utterances in English produced by Thai locals when interacting with foreign tourists were collected and then analysed to identify distinctive features of pronunciation and lexicogrammar, including coinage which was used commonly. The findings provide that the forms of ELF in tourism contexts more or less vary from other contexts of ELF use. The findings of this study lie in the notion that the communicative practices of ELF are context-bound communication.