c:/3weng/21-3/09-friedrich.

3d 17/10/2 19:4 disk/mp

World Englishes, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 441444, 2002. 08832919

Teaching world Englishes in two South American countries

PATRICIA FRIEDRICH*

The study of attitudes works like a snapshot of the perceptions of a community with regards
to a certain topic in a given moment in time. As I write this text, the perceptions of the
Argentine students I have investigated are probably a reflection of the very particular and
difficult historical moment they are living. The stress generated by the political and economic
crisis unfolding in that country is bound to influence their attitudes about virtually every-
thing, and most certainly about language (see critical pedagogy in Canagarajah, 1999).
I had already had the opportunity of testifying to the relationship between the socio-
political scenario of a country and the perceptions of its population with regards to
language a few years back when I conducted the same study in Brazil. When faced with
moments of self-doubt and uncertainty, it is not uncommon for communities to look for
answers elsewhere. This search for solutions very frequently points to a path that involves
the international community and consequently an exchange with the global market, which
is, according the perception of many, conducted in English.
No wonder students have high hopes for English in their lives. But is the teaching of
English in regions such as South America taking into consideration such anxiety and high
expectations? Is it incorporating more than linguistic elements to the classroom practice?
Do the expectations of the students correspond to some attainable goal in ELT or is the
teacher responsible for bringing these expectations to a more realistic level?
To address these issues, I designed a questionnaire that aims at investigating English in the
life of Brazilian and Argentine professionals. The typical respondent is a man, between 25
and 40 years old with a higher education diploma and a monthly income of at least US$2,000.
The results of the round of research conducted in Brazil with a similar population have
already been published and details can be found in Friedrich (2000). In this study, I compare
the results obtained in Brazil to those obtained in the Argentine round of the survey. I then
discuss the implications these results have for the teaching of English in both countries while
highlighting why a world Englishes perspective can greatly enhance ELT in the area.
The survey which dealt with the three broad aspects of English in the world, English
within the local community, and English within the life of each respondent was a 25 item
questionnaire which targeted attitudes with regards to English and its varieties, English
and status, and the learning of English. So far around 300 respondents from both countries
have answered the questions. Although each of the questions in its own right would yield
an interesting discussion, for this particular piece, I have decided to focus on the areas
where I believe a world Englishes approach could have a more pronounced effect if
introduced in the curriculum of these students. In turn, a thorough analysis of the
questionnaire will be available in an upcoming publication.

* IAE Universidad Austral, Mariano Acosta s/n, y Ruta Nac. 8 Derqui, (1629) Pilar Buenos Aires,
Argentina. E-mail: Pfriedrich@iae.edu.ar

A Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2002, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
c:/3weng/21-3/09-friedrich.3d 17/10/2 19:4 disk/mp

442 Patricia Friedrich

Given the answers to the questionnaire, the aspects of greater interest are as detailed in
sections 17 below.

1. A lack of awareness in both communities in Brazil and in Argentina of the existence of

other varieties besides American and British English
In all of the questions where naming a variety was called for, only British and American
English were mentioned to the detriment of other native varieties and all of the non-native
ones. Varieties within the larger regional varieties were not acknowledged either. Even with
an attempt by book writers and publishers to represent more varieties in the textbooks, it
seems that a more active involvement of the classroom instructor would be necessary for
the students to thoroughly appreciate the varieties they are being exposed to. At this point
in time, the totality of the students sees British and American English not only as the two
target models, but also as the only possible ones. This has implications that go beyond the
attitudinal level into the intelligibility level, since a lack of familiarity often results in a lack
of intelligibility of the unacknowledged variety.

2. Little emphasis on the use of English with other EFL users

Related with the above-mentioned lack of awareness of other varieties, is the goal,
expressed by the respondents, of learning English to interact with native speakers. When
questioned how their network would expand once they ``knew English,'' a great majority of
the students responded by indicating they would be able to travel, live or work in the
United States or Britain. Very few had as a goal ``traveling abroad'' or ``conducting
business internationally.'' These results lead me to the conclusion that most of these
students still see English as a language of communication with native speakers of English
in Britain and the United States. Once more the lack of awareness of the rest of the
English-speaking world, both native speakers elsewhere and second and foreign language
users all over, made itself clear.

3. A privileging of the British variety in Argentina and of the American variety in Brazil
Although not very telling in itself, this finding, if analyzed, reinforces a point that I have
been making in other studies (Friedrich, 2001): the role of English has to be looked at from
the perspective of the local history of these countries. Although South American countries
are often lumped together in a process that homogenizes their differences, the individual
history of these countries and a systematic study of the influences they have embraced can
be very telling and helpful in their search for modernization and development. In the
particular case of Argentina, for example, a deep influence of British culture in the
nineteenth century has left lasting effects on their cultural and linguistic makeup. The same
cannot be felt in Brazil, where the current English phenomenon is a result of a much later
era of American influence dating back to the 1960s. These differences have shaped the
varieties learned, the habits incorporated, and certainly have other far-reaching conse-
quences in other aspects of Argentine and Brazilian life.

4. A speculation that one would learn English even if it were not a language of wider
communication
Not very surprisingly, 100 percent of the respondents indicated that they consider
English to be an international language. However, in both communities a large number of
students indicated they would learn it even if it were not (44 percent in Argentina and 60

A Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2002

c:/3weng/21-3/09-friedrich.3d 17/10/2 19:4 disk/mp

Teaching world Englishes in two South American countries 443

percent in Brazil). My analysis of this response would be that since these students, given
their age group, have never lived in a world where English was not a language of
international communication, they find it difficult to dissociate the language from its
function. The maintenance of what is probably a myth of ``better language'' does not
reflect the fact that most of the time one learns a language not only for its beauty, but also
and mainly for its role in the world.

5. A privileging of proficiency over function.

Still in the realm of the functions of English, I was a little surprised to find a large
number of respondents whose goal of English learning is to become native-like (37 percent
in Argentina and 25 percent in Brazil). I would like to see the teaching of English in Brazil
and in Argentina focus some more on what one can do with English rather than how
proficient one manages to become. In my view, proficiency should be a consequence of
developing an ability to use English rather than the very objective of learning. One will
establish successful communication given one's command not only of grammar but also of
the other elements that form the overall communicative competence (Canale, 1983; Berns,
1990) of the individual (i.e. strategic, discourse and sociolinguistic competence). However,
the teaching of English and the perception of the students is still very focused on the
importance of the former in detriment of the latter. Expressions such as ``speaking with an
accent,'' ``bad English'' and ``grammar mistakes'' are too readily available for these
students, while whether or not one is successfully establishing communication takes a
secondary role. It is important to bring into the classroom the concepts of competence and
their relation to intelligibility (as understood by Kachru, 1992a) not only to motivate them
but also to guide students into a more achievable goal.

6. False expectations
Probably stimulated by this goal of becoming native-like and by the over commercia-
lization of English learning in the region, these South American students expect to learn a
lot in a very limited amount of time. In the sample from Brazil, for example, where 76
percent of the respondents have been studying English for fewer than four years, 88
percent want to become either completely fluent or native-like but only 15 percent believe
that such a process can take over six years to be accomplished. Frustration and
disappointment are sure to follow. Language teaching should be a process of realistic
goals and celebration of small achievements. Once more a focus on function rather than on
level of proficiency could stimulate students by making them realize and be proud of what
they can already do with the language instead of allowing them to have unrealistic
expectations.

7. Teaching English for Specific Purposes

Within this age group it becomes clear that the goal of these students is job related.
Almost the totality of the students who answered affirmatively to the question ``Do you
intend to impress anybody in particular by learning English?'' indicated an employer and/
or a potential employer as the target of their efforts. Nonetheless, English teaching in
urban areas of both Brazil and Argentina still relies heavily on the teaching of commu-
nication for social interaction only. Although social interaction is part of business
communication, a greater emphasis has to be placed not only on the language of business
but also most importantly on communication strategies in English. Learning to negotiate

A Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2002

c:/3weng/21-3/09-friedrich.3d 17/10/2 19:4 disk/mp

444 Patricia Friedrich

meaning, respect cultural differences and interact with members of an English-speaking

world are yet to be highlights in the English classroom.

The results of this survey show that the pluralism of English is, in many respects, yet to be
acknowledged by these students in Brazil and in Argentina. The varieties of English, for
example, are still restricted to two native models: American and British English. Not even
the complexities and the varieties within these large categories are readily available to the
students. The results are too often a feeling of frustration and failure when these students
are finally face to face with English in the real world. Thus, one of the central goals of
language teaching in communities in South America, which have a keen interest in
international communication, should be to prepare the students for the encounter with
all the Englishes out there. Although this does not mean that all Englishes will be
intelligible to all users, it does mean that students should be educated to (1) face the
challenges of global communication with objectivity and tranquility; and (2) be empow-
ered with communication tools that will allow them to negotiate meaning in as many
situations and with users of as many varieties as possible.
At this point in time students are still too anxious to learn what I call ``a whole
language'' so that they can, according to the words of many participants of the survey,
``communicate in every situation.'' They also want to equate a pattern of English that I
classify as both unrealistic and unnecessary: the so called ``native-like command'' of the
language, which was appointed by an average of 31 percent of all the respondents as the
goal of their learning. Ultimately there needs to be a change of paradigm, from a focus on
proficiency to a focus on functions of English.
This leads me to a final comment on what is the central point of this symposium: what
world Englishes can do for ELT, and in this particular case for ELT in South America.
Given the answers of these students, a world Englishes perspective added to the language
curriculum can be the catalyst of the above mentioned change of paradigm. By bringing
awareness to the different varieties of English that the students will encounter and by
teaching them to view these varieties as legitimate expressions of a language in constant
change and spread, a world Englishes approach can greatly facilitate learning. In turn,
once these varieties are legitimized in the minds of the students, they can finally learn to
appreciate the varieties they use as well as recognize that although modeled after native
varieties, their Englishes will too reflect the culture, the language and the history of the
people who speak and write with them. Finally, by privileging function over a prescriptive
standard of proficiency, a world Englishes perspective will be teaching tolerance, which is a
value much further reaching than the realm of language itself.

A Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2002