A shift in ELT perspective: World Englishes and ELF in the EFL classroom (p.7-18)

In the last few decades World Englishes (WE) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) have represented two extremely vibrant research areas, and particularly so in their implications for applied linguistics. The spread of English, its pluralization and the findings from the above research areas have significant implications for English language teaching, both in terms of teacher education and of approaches to classroom practices, materials and activities. The diversification of World Englishes, and the role of English as a lingua franca for communication among speakers of different linguacultures imply a significant shift in perspective in ELT, that would include approaches aimed at fostering the development of language and (inter)cultural awareness, as well as of effective communicative strategies (e.g. Seidlhofer 2011). This shift in perspective would provide learners with tools to become effective communicators in a variety of English speaking contexts. Recent research analyses of ELT textbooks have shown a tendency to introduce aspects related to global Englishes, particularly in sections aimed at developing (inter)cultural awareness or CLIL as well as awareness of the sociolinguistic diversity of English (Gray 2002; Phan 2008; Vettorel 2010; Lopriore and Ceruti 2012; Vettorel and Corrizzato 2012; Naji Meidani and Pishghadam 2013; Vettorel and Lopriore 2013). In teacher education and in academic settings approaches taking into account recent findings and research studies in the fields of World Englishes and in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) have recently been set forward (Alsagoff et al. 2012; Matsuda 2012, Cogo and Bowles forthcoming; Vettorel in preparation), These approaches highlight the need to foster awareness of current developments in ELT teacher education programs, in course-books and in curriculum development. An overview of the most recent literature on approaches aimed at the inclusion of WE and ELF perspectives in ELT, as well as exemplifications of how existing materials and activities can be exploited and developed will be illustrated in the first section of this contribution. Approaches, as well as exemplifications of activities and tasks aimed not only at fostering awareness of the current role of English in its plurality, but also at developing effective (intercultural) communication in such a diversified reality not least taking advantage of the manifold opportunities of contact with the language in the environment, will be presented in the second section. Implications for teacher education courses, curriculum renewal and the development of appropriate teaching material will be presented and discussed.