World Englishes and Language Teacher Education in a World in Migration: A Shift in Perspective pp. 69-91

The global diffusion of English as the major language for international communication, the growing varieties of Englishes as well as the continuous flow of migration that has changed the profile of the European school population are inevitably going to affect language teacher education, the English classroom practice and the production of teaching materials. It is not without conflict or tension as to which English to teach, which variety is more ‘correct’ or appropriate and which approach to use in a multilingual, multicultural class where English is being taught from the age of six almost always by non-native teachers and the country national language has become a second language for most students: language policies will continue to intersect with language and literacy practice. In Italian pre- and in-service English language teacher education programs, the issues of the current sociolinguistic reality of English, of the role and value of the non-natives, of the relation between language and identity, of the linguistic insecurity experienced by both teachers and students, of the relevance of language awareness education, as well as of the type of culture/s learners should be exposed to, require a shift in perspective by people who are involved at different levels in teacher education programs.