The Social Role of ELF to Enhance Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Citizenship in ELT

Contemporary studies in the area of English as a lingua franca (ELF) and in the area of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) have run parallel to each other, the reason being that the former is centred on the variability of English when it is used as a global language in intercultural communicative settings, while the latter is mainly concerned with the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL). The aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of devising a blended approach to English language teaching (ELT) whereby the multilingual and multicultural reality of ELF, and the development of learners' ICC may converge within a comprehensive pedagogical framework. In this perspective, it seems appropriate to stimulate teachers' critical thinking about the nature of ELF in the highly controversial age of globalisation and consider the potential of English as a pedagogical lingua franca to enhance education for intercultural citizenship.