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MODULE 8: English as International Language

Overview:
- The concept of EIL: English as an International English
- Englishes
- Attitudes towards EIL
- Implications for English language learning and teaching

1. The concept of EIL


- > 01 billion speakers of E
- 3 groups of speakers: native, ESL, EFL (the last is the faster growing)
- Status(es) of E around the world
+ EFL: English as a foreign language
+ ESL: English as a second language
+ ELF: English as a lingual franca
+ EIL: English as an international language

English as an international language


- EIL refers to the fact that English has become an international commodity used by
different people in different ways
- E is not a commodity of the British or the American.
- E has become a neutral commodity
- There are different variety of English or Englishes.

2. Englishes: Kachrus Thre Circle model of World Englishes (1985)


- Expanding

- Outer

- Inner

Criticism
- Does not capture the heterogeneity and dynamics of English using communities
- Does not allow for the possibility of countries moving from one classificatory
circle to another
The three circles model do have relevant for the current reality of world
englishes
A representation of dominant ideology that constrains speakers performativity
in English in local context

3. Attitude toward EIL (Watch video)


4. Implications
- Watch video
- When watching, take note several examples of the implication of EIL for English
language learning and teaching.

Video 1:
- How and where English used worldwide
The number of people that use E across of the world as their first language and the
number of E speakers
+ 375 million speakers of E as a firsr language
+ 69% live in the US
+ Other countries where English is a first language: UK, Canada, Australia, South
Africa, New Zealand
+ Worldwide number of English speakers: 1 billion people
- What are people using E for:
+ globalization ( a process of operating a business in a lot of countries all over the
world) economic barriers between countries are disappearing
+ use of technology
create the need for a common language - English
- Some of the different reactions that people have to the spread of English
Opinion about E
1. Good (good for the world) English is a superior language. It has the largest and
most expressive vocabulary of any of the other
languages in the world a better language for
communicating ideas.
2. Its a benefit because its English can exist with other languages (eg: India with
neutral 33 different regional languages)
3. Harmful/ Dangerous English changes/ affects local languages. It makes it
less pure important to actively protect the local
language from the influence of E.
4. Used for political and English will lead to loss of uniqueness. Most of the big
economic goals governments and corporations in the world use E as
their main language. Everyone speaks the same
language, works for the same company, buy the same
product individual countries will lose their special
and unique quantities

Video 2:
- Different way of thinking about the role of English
In the past: E as a property of E-speaking countries
Nowadays: E as a world commodity
The parties involved may both be learners of English as second language and users of
English as a second language.
English becomes a neutral commodity and becomes something that anybody can use
according to their needs and circumstances.
When learning E, do not necessarily need to master E as it is spoken by native speakers
because the way you use and speak L reflects your cultural identity.
Implications
- Ss hear different variety of English to be comfortable using E with the fluency they feel
comfortable
- Ss do not feel that theyve failed to learn E because they use E with a local pronunciation
and some features that may be transferred from their mother tongue.
- In teaching we need to be careful in terms of our attitudes towards the kind of E our Ss
hear and produce.
- be more flexible, tolerant; acknowledge the fact that E is an IL and can be used by
different people according to the circumstances and the purposes.

Video 3 (Penny Ur)


ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE: WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT
MAKE?
Initial Concepts and Assumptions
Probably between two and three billion people speak English to an acceptable level.
These may be defined according to Kachrus three circles: inner, outer, expanding
(Kachru, 1985).

But today the majority of English speakers are located in the outer or expanding
circles, using English for international communication.
It is used for: academic purposes; political negotiation; tourism; entertainment;
business and finance; information; interpersonal relationships.

Most educated speakers of other languages are at least bilingual (English-knowing


bilingualism (Pakir, 1999)).

Both centrifugal and centripetal trends are developing: an increase in the number of
local Englishes, side by side with a generally comprehensible standard variety.

Some general implications


The user of English as an international language: may be either native or non-
native; is typically bi- (or multi-)lingual, or bi-dialectal; is likely to be skilled in
communicative and comprehension strategies.

The fully competent speaker of English as an international language is a speaker


with a wide vocabulary, accurate grammar, easily understood accent, who may or
may not be originally a native speaker.

Perhaps it is more useful, therefore, to re-define the circles of users of English in


terms of their level of competence in the language rather than in terms of where
they live and whether or not they are native speakers.

Some implications for English teachers worldwide 1


The language to be taught
1. Various options:
2. One of the mainstream native varieties
3. Varied models: diversity
4. A world standard model
5. A native model
1. One of the native varieties
Advantages:

- Traditional, conventional model

- Prestigious?

- Plenty of reference and course materials available

- Easy to assess

Disadvantages:

- Not used by most fully competent English speakers


- Not appropriate for international contexts

- Difficulty of deciding which native variety to choose

- Full competence not usually achievable

2. Diverse, flexible models


Advantages:

- ideologically acceptable

- allows for local variation

- sidesteps need for codification and definition

Disadvantages

- no clear model or set of priorities

- very difficult to teach

- very difficult to assess

- very difficult to design syllabus and materials

3. A standard variety
Derived, basically, from one of the main native varieties, or a combination

BUT

1. Eliminating specific local idiom, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, grammar e.g.


fortnight, cheers, aluminum, billfold

2. Including variants that are acceptable worldwide e.g. zee, cellphone.

Advantages:

- a range of acceptable forms

- based on usages of fully competent speakers

- comprehensible / acceptable worldwide

- achievable

Disadvantages

- its existence is questioned

- ideologically unacceptable to many: rejection of imposed standards


- not (yet) defined or codified

Does it exist? Probably.

Evidence: Similarity of formal written texts from all over the world: vary according
to genre rather than place of origin; the fact that fully competent speakers can
intuitively usually identify which features of their own speech are and are not
internationally standard

Ideologically unacceptable?

Post-modernist reluctance to accept imposed standards and frameworks. But


standards are likely to be based on a consensus. Agreed standards are not
incompatible with diversity: on the contrary, they are arguably necessary for it: you
cannot diverge if you have nothing to diverge from.

Codification?

For the moment: standard American / British English reference books; but sooner
or later, there will be international standard English ones. A possible solution is a
wiki, which is based on consensus, has a large number of contributors, has built-in
change and updating, is constantly and readily available to teachers, learners,
materials writers and testers

A question: If we adopt such a standard, how rigidly does it need to be applied in the
classroom? Should teachers treat forms widely used by English speakers such as
she go, or the man which as acceptable variants rather than as errors? (Jenkins,
2006)

Some implications for English teachers worldwide 2: Culture and cultural


awareness
The English used for international communication is to a large extent culture-free:
a chameleon of a language, able to express the identity and culture of a variety of
users, with some international cultural norms developing.

Implications
English needs to be taught as expressing three types of culture: the home culture,
the cultures of all those who are able to speak English, the culture of English
speaking peoples (?)

The importance of intercultural competence: sensitivity to other cultural norms and


the ability to adapt and function appropriately when interacting with people from
other cultures.

Some implications for English teaching 3: The model English speaker: the
native-speaker or the fully competent non-native?
Many teachers and learners today still prefer a native speaker model. But native
speakers often speak a local dialect; more and more non-natives are today fully
competent; non-native fully competent speakers are good role models; and the
language level of the (non-native) fully proficient speaker is achievable.

Bottom line: irrelevance of native/non-native issue

What is important: level of competence, teaching ability, intercultural competence

Some implications for English teaching 4: Materials


Content: culture, situations, texts, characters

Culture: source and international, not just British/North American

Situations: more international

Characters: more likely to be international or home.

Texts: more adaptations of international or local sources, fewer inner-circle texts


or literature.

Language: based on international usages rather than any particular native dialect;
more acknowledgement and use of the learners L1.

To Summarize
The teaching of English as an international language rather than as a foreign
language implies

A change in the ultimate goals of English teaching: full competence rather than
native-like mastery
Acknowledgement of the place of the fully-competent user of English as the
model
A change in criteria for selection of language to be taught
A change in criteria for content of materials

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