Slides from the Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers course

1. English in the classroom
Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers
Lecture 10, WS2016-2017
Dr. Achilleas Kostoulas
KARL-FRANZENS-UNIVERSITÄT GRAZ
UNIVERSITY OF GRAZ

2. Lecture Outline
1. The global dominance of English
2. Dealing with diversity in language
education
3. The Native English Speaker Teacher
debate

3. THE GLOBAL DOMINANCE
OF ENGLISH
1. What is a lingua franca?
2. Advantages of having a global language
3. Effects on language ecologies

4. What is a lingua franca?
 A language that is used systematically
to enable communication among
people who do not typically share a
first language.
 A lingua franca is often, but not
necessarily, a simplified form of the
language from which it derives.
 Lingua francas typically emerge
naturally, i.e., they are not formally
regulated or externally imposed.

5. Examples of lingua francas:
1. Koine Greek
"Hellenistic Greek" by Davius (Own work. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hellenistic_Greek.png#/media/File:Hellenistic_Greek.png

6. Examples of Lingua Francas
2. Latin
Wikipedia

7. Examples of Lingua Francas
2. Latin
Wikipedia
Duncan Hall @ Flickr [CC-BY]

8. Examples of Lingua Francas
3. Sabir / Mediterranean Lingua Franca
Wikipedia

9. Examples of Lingua Francas
4. French
Getty Images

10. Examples of Lingua Francas
4. French
Getty Images
Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz / Kunstbibliothek, SMB / Knud Petersen

11. Examples of Lingua Francas
5. English

12. Examples of lingua francas
 Koine Greek
 Latin
 Lingua Franca (Sabir)
 French
 English
What do you think?
Is there something
these languages all
have in common?

13. Language and Power
 A global language comes into being
when one linguistic community has
disproportionate power (military,
political, religious, economical, etc.)
 A global language also perpetuates
this power imbalance.

14. Language teaching and foreign
policy
“The [British] Council’s aim is to create in
a country overseas a basis of friendly
knowledge and understanding of the
people of this country, of their philosophy
and way of life, which will lead to a
sympathetic appreciation of British
foreign policy, whatever for the moment
that policy may be and from whatever
political conviction it may spring”.
http://www.britishcouncil.org/organisation/history (Emphasis added)

15. The English Effect
“English gives the UK a competitive
edge. For the UK today, it provides a
strong competitive advantage in culture,
diplomacy, commerce, media, academia
and IT, and in the use and practice of soft
power.”
15
www.britishcouncil.org

16. Economic importance of ELT
 Students coming to UK to learn English
contribute £2 billion per year approx. to UK
economy
 Importance of English for global business
expansion
 British Council sponsored provision of UK
exams and qualifications worth £60 million in
export earnings for UK exam boards.
 Textbook industry
16
www.britishcouncil.org

17. Reflect and Discuss
 What are some advantages for us as
users of a language that is globally
understood?
 In what ways might any negative
impact of English be addressed?

18. DEALING WITH DIVERSITY
IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION
1. The Standard Language Ideology
2. World Englishes
3. English as a Lingua Franca in education?

19. Which of these varieties should we
teach?
McArthur, T. (1998)
The English Languages.
Cambridge: CUP (p. 97)

20. The Standard Language
Ideology
The Standard Language ideology
acknowledges linguistic diversity, but
holds that it is pedagogically desirable
to teach to a clearly defined and socially
acceptable standard.
“the real English, Anglais real, Royal English,
Queen’s English, or (for those unsympathetic to the
monarchy) Oxford English, the vintage language”
(Widdowson 2003: 35)

21. The ‘Quirk concern’
“It is neither liberal nor liberating to
permit learners to settle for lower
standards than the best, and it’s a
travesty of liberalism to tolerate low
standards which lock the least fortunate
into the least rewarding careers” (Quirk
1990: 9)What do you think?
If we encourage students to
use non-standard forms,
what will the impact on their
future lives be?

22. World Englishes
 The Standard Language ideology
assumes that ‘non-standard’ equals ‘sub-
standard’. Sociolinguistics has
challenged this position.
 Some regional varieties of English have
become institutionalised. These are
more appropriate for international
communication in those regions.
 The World Englishes perspective is that
regional varieties (e.g. Singaporean
English, Indian English) are legitimate
target varieties.

23. Reflect and discuss
Randolph Quirk had argued that we need
to learn the standard language, because
the goal of language instruction is to
facilitate communication with native
speakers.
“This, of course, is only partially true. The
reality is that in its localized varieties, English
has become the main vehicle for interaction
among its non-native users, with distinct
linguistic and cultural backgrounds – Indians
interacting with Nigerians, Japanese, Sri
Lankans, Germans with Singaporeans, and so
on”. (Kachru 1991: 10).
Is English as a Native Language still useful
in communication among non-native

24. English as a lingua franca
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) or
English as an International Language
(EIL) is “any use of English among
speakers of different first languages, for
whom English is the communicative
medium of choice, and often the only
option” (Seidlhofer 2011: 7)

25. ELF pedagogical recommendations
ELF linguistic research has made few
concrete pedagogical
recommendations. Some include:
 Focus pronunciation teaching on core
features that impact intelligibility
 Emphasise the teaching of
communication strategies from which
language emerges, rather than
language forms

26. Reflect & Discuss
 Some ELF researchers have noted
that the third person marker is
redundant, i.e. it does not contribute to
intelligibility. For them, “Thomas play
tennis” is a legitimate ELF
construction.
 How do you feel about a teaching
paradigm that does not correct such
constructions?

27. THE NATIVE ENGLISH
SPEAKER TEACHER
DEBATE
1. The persistence of native-speaker models
2. Defining the native speaker
3. Native-speakerism

28. Warm-up tasks
1. In an Austrian school, where there
are two English language teachers,
one from Austria and one from
England, who is ‘native’?
2. What is a ‘native speaker’? Write a
two-three sentence definition.

29. Defining the native speaker
(1)
1. The native speaker acquires the L1 of
which s/he is a native speaker in
childhood.
2. The native speaker has intuitions (in
terms of acceptability and
productiveness) about his/her idiolectal
grammar.
3. The native speaker has intuitions about
those features of the Standard
Language grammar which are distinct
from his/her idiolectal grammar.Davies (1991/2003)

30. Defining the native speaker
(2)
4. The native speaker has a unique
capacity to produce fluent
spontaneous discourse, which
exhibits pauses mainly at clause
boundaries […] and which is
facilitated by a huge memory stock of
completed lexical items[…] In both
production and comprehension the
native speaker exhibits a wide range
of communicative competence.Davies (1991/2003)

31. Defining the native speaker
(3)
5. The native speaker
has a unique
capacity to write
creatively […]
6. The native speaker
has a unique
capacity to
interpret and
translate into the
L1 of which he/she
is a native speaker.
[…]
Davies (1991/2003)

32. Reflection task
 List three reasons why you wanted to
learn English. Tick those that relate to
communication exclusively with native
speakers of English.

33. The CEFR
Level Descriptor Austrian National
Curriculum
A1 Breakthrough
Unterstufe
A2 Waystage
B1 Threshold
Oberstufe
B2 Vantage
C1 Effective Operational Proficiency
University
C2 Mastery
Matura

34. Example CEFR descriptors
(1)
Independent User (B2)
Can understand the main ideas of
complex text on both concrete and
abstract topics, including technical
discussions in his/her field of
specialisation. Can interact with a
degree of fluency and spontaneity that
makes regular interaction with native
speakers quite possible without strain
for either party. (p.24)

35. Example CEFR descriptors
(2)
Independent User (Informal discussion
with friends)
Can with some effort catch much of
what is said around him/her in
discussion, but may find it difficult to
participate effectively in discussion with
several native speakers who do not
modify their language in any way. (p. 77)

36. Native speakers as teachers
(1)
052 A2 Englisch Grundstufe 4
ENGLISH CONVERSATION! An
opportunity to overcome your
shyness to speak English.
Conversation with a native
speaker on fun everyday themes.
(VHS Graz Umgebung 2013-14)

37. Native speakers as teachers
(2)
053 A1 Französisch Grundstufe 1
Bienvenue! Willkommen an alle, die mit
einem Native Speaker die französische
Sprache und Kultur kennenlernen wollen.
Spiele, Musik und Spaß ergänzen den
Unterricht. Ein Kurs für
FranzösischliebhaberInnen ohne oder
mit geringen Vorkenntnissen.
(VHS Graz Umgebung 2013-14)

38. Native Speakers as teachers
(3)
Essential qualifications:
• A first degree from a Department
of French Language and
Literature
• A Masters degree in French
Language Teaching or
Translation, or a PhD focussing
on French Language Teaching
• Linguistic proficiency at a native-
speaker level
• Proven professional experience in
creating learning materials for
teaching and learning English,
and/or assessing linguistic
proficiency (in print and/or in
electronic media)
Essential qualifications:
• A humanities degree
• Native speaker of English
• Proven professional experience in
creating learning materials for
teaching and learning English,
and/or assessing linguistic
proficiency (in print and/or in
electronic media)

39. Task
 List three advantages of having a
native speaker as a teacher
 List three areas in which native
speakers might be less effective as
teachers

40. A false dichotomy
 The distinction between native and non-
native speakers as teachers is, in many
ways a false dichotomy.
 Individual teachers have different
strengths; some connect to linguistic
background; many do not.
 Discussing individual strengths through
the lens of group membership is as
counterproductive as discussing the
relative strengths of male and female
teachers.
 The reason why we are having this
debate is the ideology of native-
speakerism.

41. Native-speakerism
“Native-speakerism is a
pervasive ideology
within ELT,
characterized by the
belief that ‘native-
speaker’ teachers
represents a ‘Western
culture’ from which
spring the ideals both of
the English language
and of English language
teaching methodology.”
(Holliday 2006: 385)

42. Native-speakerism (definition)
Native-speakerism is an ideology that
unreflectively combines the following
beliefs:
(a) a language is embodied, in an ‘ideal’
form, in users who have acquired it as
children
(b) all ‘native speakers’ use the same
variety of the language
(c) the variety used by native speakers is
superior to all other varieties
(d) native speakers, therefore, are
preferable language teachers

43. Native-speakerism
(problematisation)
 Native-speakerism is premised on
dubious linguistic and sociological
assumptions
 Native-speakerism is fundamentally
prejudicial
 Native-speakerism is associated with
racial prejudice