9th International

ELT CONFERENCE
Global English,
So English for All

What does Sociolinguistics

World
offer the Language Teacher? Englishes
Contents
01 Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics definition, differences between
microsociolinguistics vs macrosociolinguistics

02 English as Global Language

Definition and examples to show why English is considered a
global language nowadays.

03 Standard English
Definition of standard English, and social consequences of
teaching this variety of English.

04 World Englishes
Varieties of English, Kachru-s three concentric circles, inner,
outer and expanding circles

04 A balanced Approach to ELT

The importance od using an alternative approach to the
teaching of English
Sociolinguistics
 Sociolinguistics
2016 Microsociolinguistics Macrosociolinguistics

The study of the The study of the society

language in relation to in relation to language
society Centers on the study of
The aim is to investigate society and how we can
the structure of understand it through the
language and the way study of language ( how
society with its different we can understand
aspects from social sociolinguistic behavior by
classes and culture, to means of the study of
gender ethnicity , linguistic features)
influences the kind of
linguistic structures we
use in the way we talk.
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistic Approaches to World Englishes
Four types of studies:
1. The sociology of language (Fishman, Cooper, &
Conrad, 1977; Fishman, Conrad, & Robal-Lopez,
1996);
2. “Features-based” approaches to world English(es)
(Cheshire, 1991a; Trudgill & Hannah, 1994, etc.);
3. Kachruvian studies (Kachru, 1992, etc.); and
4. Pidgin and creole studies (Todd, 1984, etc.).
English, a Global Language
English as a Global Language
English has acquired the title of the world’s leading “global
language” (Crystal 2003, 1)
Why is English labeled as a Global Language?
• One billion people speak English today.
• 400 million people speak English as their first language.
• For the other 600 million people English is a second or
a foreign language.
• Used as a lingua franca, intercultural communication.
• The language of business, science, etc.
English, a Global Language
Standard and non standard varieties of English
How would you establish a difference between these to
concepts?
Standard English is the dialect of English language that is
used as the national norm— the standard language—in an
English-speaking country, especially as the language for
public and formal usage
Standard English
EFL teaching and English as a Global Language
Bearing in mind the fact that English is a Global language,
and the definition of “standard Language”, what English
variety do you teach or would you teach? Standard or
non-standard? Consider the following:
• What is a standard of usage that everyone may agree upon?
• What about English spoken in other parts of the world?

The issue seems not to be as straightforward as we may think

Do you know why?
Standard English
The meaning of Standard English
The term Standard English suggests that we all share a
similar understanding of exactly what this means, yet it is
not easy to define.
One reason for this is that there is no world-recognized
governing body that dictates what should and should not
be included in such a standard.
World Englishes
Features of Standard English
McArthur (2003, 442) - Standard English
1. It is easiest to recognize in print because written
conventions are similar worldwide.
2. It is usually used by news presenters.
3. Its usage relates to the speaker’s social class and
education.
Standard English
Think it over!
Has the rapid change in the status of English as a global
language left the classroom practices of many English
language teachers aside learners’ desires or even their
needs?
What inconveniences do you think the teaching practices
may have on students?
World Englishes
Negative Consequences of teaching Standard English
(Tollefson 2002)
• Standard English is a native-speaker
model which may be unattainable for many second
language learners.
(Cook 1999, 187).
• It may be unrealistic to use a native-speaker model for
language learners who, by definition, can “never
become native-speakers without being reborn”
World Englishes
Negative Consequences of teaching Standard English
(McArthur 2004; Qiong 2004)
Insisting on Standard English can devalue
other varieties of English that exist around the world.
For example, so-called non-standard varieties, such as
Singlish in Singapore are often considered illegitimate
because they are believed to be failed attempts at being
Standard English.
World Englishes
Negative Consequences of teaching Standard English
Anything that is different from a standard is considered
inferior.
By idealizing Standard English, and consequently
devaluing non-standard varieties, some governments and
language teachers may in effect be actually devaluing their
own local varieties of English.
World Englishes
Negative Consequences of teaching Standard English
(Tollefson 2002, 150)
Teaching Standard English may promote
discrimination.
Some employers may discriminate against speakers with
different accents (American or Irish), given that accent is
often “an implicit code for race or ethnicity” discrimination
and a form of racism.
World Englishes
World Englishes
If Standard English is supposed to be an example of only
one norm of the English language, then the term World
Englishes would be the norm that includes all varieties of
the language.
Kachru (1985) categorizes the usage of English into three
concentric circles: the inner circle, the outer circle, and the
expanding circle.
World Englishes
The inner circle represents the more traditional
bases of English that are used in the places
where English is a first language.

The outer circle includes countries which “have

gone through extended periods of colonization,
essentially by the users of the inner circle
varieties”

Unlike the outer circle, the expanding circle

does not have the same effects of colonization
as the inner circle; in the expanding circle,
English is used mainly for business and
international purposes.
World Englishes
World Englishes
Kachru (1985, 14)
Considering the large population of English speakers
located in various parts of the world, English now
comprises “a unique cultural pluralism, and a linguistic
heterogeneity and diversity.”
World Englishes
World Englishes
Taking into account this ever-expanding outermost circle of
English language usage, it might be important to
reexamine the use of inner circle Standard English as the
target of instruction in classrooms worldwide and consider
the inclusion of global Englishes as somewhat appropriate
within the EFL classroom in this new global context.
World Englishes
World Englishes
Widdowson (1994, 381)
Inner circle Standard English
“is not simply a means of
communication but the
symbolic possession of a
particular community,
expressive of its identity, its
conventions, and values.”
World Englishes
World Englishes
(Crystal 2003, 22).
Similarly, World Englishes speakers
use English in their own way as an
expression of their identity and their
cultural values because language is
“a major means of showing where
we belong, and of distinguishing
one social group from another”
World Englishes
A balanced approach to English language instruction
If English usage is taken to be a means of identity, then the
question is:
Which variety of English should be taught as a second or
foreign language?
What type of English to emphasize? How to sort it out?
World Englishes
A balanced approach to English language instruction

By considering a
balanced approach to
the teaching of English.
World Englishes
A balanced approach to English language instruction
Such an approach would include three key considerations:
1. Teachers need to carefully consider their teaching context
(McKay 2002).
2. After choosing their target of instruction based on that context,
teachers should value their learners’ current English usage (El-
Sayed 1991).
3. Teachers need to prepare learners for future international English
encounters by exposing them to other varieties of English
(Matsuda 2003) and by teaching them strategic competence
when interacting with speakers who speak other varieties of
English.
World Englishes
Consider the teaching Context
(McKay 2002, 128)
The key to following a balanced approach is “to be
culturally sensitive to the diversity of contexts in which
English is taught and used”
The variety of English emphasized should be based on the
teaching context, the teachers (including their own
teaching abilities and style) as well as the learners’
educational and cultural needs, and other variables.
World Englishes
Consider the teaching Context
(Christenson 1992).
With so many variables to consider when choosing the
target of instruction, it is important to remember that there
is no single correct choice for all contexts.
(El-Sayed 1991; Qiong 2004).
Choosing to teach British Standard English in Doha can
Be just as appropriate as choosingto teach China English
in Beijing
World Englishes
Consider the teaching Context
(Petzold 2002).
The point is for teachers to choose the model based on
context and learners’ needs; as a result, the decision will
potentially be different for every teacher
World Englishes
Value Leaner’s English
The second important aspect of a balanced approach is
that, regardless of the English variety being taught,
teachers should help their learners understand that the
chosen variety is just one type of English, and that the
learners’ own English is valuable even though it may differ
significantly from what is presented in class.
World Englishes
Value Leaner’s English
(El-Sayed 1991, 166)
Teachers should encourage learners to “refer to idiomatic
expressions of their own language and enrich the
communicative dialect of English with exotic and poetic
elements” (in such event, there is no need to correct the
speaker or to provide an alternate English expression
within that context).
World Englishes
Value Leaner’s English
(Cook 1999).
Rather than being thought of as unsuccessful Standard
English speakers, these learners would be considered
successful English language users who make contributions
to their speech community
(Cook 1999)
This change in perspective would positively affect learners’
ability to acquire the TL since it would increase their
confidence and desire to communicate in English
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
(Crystal 2003) - English, a global language
All English language learners need to be prepared for
future encounters with speakers of varieties of English that
differ from their own (Jenkins 2000, 2006).
How to assume that challenge?
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
• By exposing learners to different varieties of English
• By focusing on teaching both strategic and intercultural
competence skills
Think of some positive outcomes…
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
Exposition will help learners be able “to adjust” their
speech in order to be intelligible to interlocutors from a
wide range of backgrounds.
Strategic competence skills will help learners negotiate for
meaning in a communication breakdown; these skills are
consciously and explicitly employed.
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
Exposition will help learners be able “to adjust” their
speech in order to be intelligible to interlocutors from a
wide range of backgrounds.
Strategic competence skills will help learners negotiate for
meaning in a communication breakdown; these skills are
consciously and explicitly employed.
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
Allowing students to maintain and explain their cultural
differences will decrease misunderstandings because it will
foster greater tolerance for the uniqueness of human
cultures.
Teaching such meta-pragmatic awareness skills will help
prepare learners for the intercultural interactions that are
likely to occur in the existing global village (Jenkins 2006).
World Englishes
Implications of WE for ELT
The roles of NS and NNS teachers in WE contexts
• NS teachers tend to have high prestige and credibility (at least,
in EFL contexts)
• NS teachers may (or may not) be trained in applied linguistics
and/or in ELT
• Even when they do have AL/ELT training, the language
varieties, technologies, methodologies and textbooks NS
teachers bring with them may (or may not) be locally
appropriate
World Englishes
Implications of WE for ELT
• NS teachers tend to be expensive to hire and maintain
• NNS teachers tend to have lower prestige and credibility than NS
teachers (at least, in EFL contexts)
• NNS teachers’ personal communication skills, even in a local
variety of English, may be limited, encouraging an excessive focus
on teaching the formal aspects of grammar and vocabulary, and a
de facto concentration on rote reading and (perhaps) writing skills
World Englishes
Implications of WE for ELT
• On the other hand, NNS speakers are much more likely to have
some training in ELT than NS teachers
• NNS speakers understand local expectations of what constitutes
“good” or “appropriate” ELT practice
• NNS teachers − particularly those who are well trained and have
good communication skills in English − are cheaper to hire and to
maintain than NS teachers
World Englishes
Implications of WE in Language Teaching
The selection of an appropriate L2 variety and appropriate
texts (both written and spoken) as sources of instructional
input and language assessment takes on particular
significance in educational language planning at all
educational levels
World Englishes
Prepare Learners for Intercultural Communication
Now that we have reviewed the importance of having a
balanced approach to English language instruction,
consider the following questions:
1. Which variety of English do you consider suitable to teach?
2. How would you value the learner’s English?
3. How would you prepare learners for intercultural communication?
4. Does the textbook you are currently using consider the points
above? If not, how do you cope with them?
Thank you!!!