English as an international language

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 28.1-28.16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Clyne ◽  
Farzad Sharifian
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Position Paper ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
International Language ◽  
The World ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Key Dimensions

In recent years, there has been a rapid evolution in the demographics of English speaking communities and individuals around the world, with an unprecedented growth in the number of users and learners of English. In the majority of cases, these learners and users are those who would traditionally have been classified as “non-native” speakers. This trend towards non-native speakers far outweighing native speakers in number is projected to pick up speed. The evolving nature of English in this context of its globalisation has called for a reassessment of a number of key dimensions in applied linguistic studies of English. Scholarly debates have surfaced about various political issues including the validity of the old distinction between “native” and “nonnative” speakers, what form English should – or is likely to – take as a language of international/intercultural communication (or lingua franca), and which groups are empowered and which ones disadvantaged by the accelerating prominence of English. Collectively, the essays in this issue of the journal engage with these issues in order to take the debate up to the next level. This article is a position paper which offers to open up the forum and to expand on some of some of these fundamental questions.

English as an international language

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 28.1-28.16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Clyne ◽  
Farzad Sharifian
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Position Paper ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
International Language ◽  
The World ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Key Dimensions

In recent years, there has been a rapid evolution in the demographics of English speaking communities and individuals around the world, with an unprecedented growth in the number of users and learners of English. In the majority of cases, these learners and users are those who would traditionally have been classified as “non-native” speakers. This trend towards non-native speakers far outweighing native speakers in number is projected to pick up speed. The evolving nature of English in this context of its globalisation has called for a reassessment of a number of key dimensions in applied linguistic studies of English. Scholarly debates have surfaced about various political issues including the validity of the old distinction between “native” and “nonnative” speakers, what form English should – or is likely to – take as a language of international/intercultural communication (or lingua franca), and which groups are empowered and which ones disadvantaged by the accelerating prominence of English. Collectively, the essays in this issue of the journal engage with these issues in order to take the debate up to the next level. This article is a position paper which offers to open up the forum and to expand on some of some of these fundamental questions.

scholarly journals Promoting English Speaking Confidence through Online Expanding Circle Communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 01010
Author(s):  
Arifumi Saito ◽  
Younghyon Heo
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
International Language ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Speaking Confidence ◽  
Reading Activities

This study explores how expanding circle communication (i.e., intercultural communication between “non-native” speakers of English) boosts the confidence of Japanese EFL learners by developing a positive attitude toward their own English. Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese university students participated in four sessions of online discussion. Since the idea of “English as an International Language” (EIL) is considered as a key to promote the learners’ positive mindset for what had been considered “non-native” English varieties and boost the confidence in their own English, it was introduced in the reading activities in each session. After the completion of four intercultural communication sessions, reflective writings on two questions asking 1) their self-confidence in speaking English and 2) their attitude about EIL were collected. The result shows that the expanding circle communication brought the Japanese participants to raise their confidence in speaking English in relatively high percentage (73%) of all cases. Regarding the attitude on EIL, on the other hand, students were divided into two groups with the negative (43%) and positive (57%) attitude. In this study, therefore, the gap in the percentage between the participants’ confidence in speaking English and attitude on EIL was examined and discussed.

scholarly journals THE TEACHING OF EFL LISTENING IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT: THE STATE OF THE ART

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Bambang Yudi Cahyono ◽  
Utami Widiati
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
International Language ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
The Status ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Teaching Of Listening ◽  
Listening Process

The status of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia necessitates the use of English native speakers' utterances as models of pronunciation and as standard of understanding messages in various contexts, be they academic or social. As recently English has developed as an international language that can be used as a means of communication between people from non-English speaking countries, the role of listening activities in the teaching of English cannot be neglected. This article highlights the importance of listening and reviews some of the issues in the research and teaching of EFL listening. It firstly presents a paradigm of the listening process, followed by a theoretical framework for teaching listening, especially in the broader context of English language teaching. It then discusses the teaching of and research on EFL listening in Indonesia. Finally, this article outlines some recommendations for more effective teaching of listening in EFL classrooms.

scholarly journals Non-Native English Teachers and Varieties of English: Ready, or Not?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-341
Author(s):  
Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
British English ◽  
International Language ◽  
The World ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Over Time

Language is dynamic. And thus, for English as an international language, it keeps on changing and developing over time. Now there are more non-native English speakers compared to native speakers around the world. Thus, intelligibility becomes fundamental in the world of Englishes. Besides teaching in the English accent (i.e. American or British English) as part of the educational policy given by schools, respectively, non-native English teachers must also be prepared to inform their non-native students of the Englishes around the world. Moreover, research in identifying the varieties of English spoken in different areas around the world are rapidly progressing. Especially in the field of acoustic phonetics, in which the studies here assist researchers and teachers to identify vowel distinctions among different group of English speakers and the extent of the first language (L1) influence. Specifically, the analysis in phonological variations can help teachers deal with variation in varieties of English. Understanding the varieties of English that exist today and having mutual intelligibility can improve communication with different people from different countries around the world.

THE ROLE OF LINGUISTIC ASPECT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.T. ABDUKADYROVA ◽  
◽  
T.A. TSUTSASHVILI ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Scientific Understanding ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
The World ◽  
Linguistic Aspect ◽  
Different Cultures

The purpose of this article is a scientific understanding of the methodological and theoretical problems of the linguistic aspect in intercultural communication. The importance of this article is due to the fact that the focus is on the study of linguistic aspects that can affect communication between native speakers of different languages. The linguistic aspect is not limited to identifying semantic features of words in different languages. It also covers the comparison of various communicative situations, ways of dividing the world by language means, and the comparison of speech behavior of representatives of different cultures. The result of the research is the conclusion that the language aspect of intercultural communication should focus not on finding "equivalents", but on studying extralinguistic differences, taking into account that concepts in two different languages may differ. The "meaning" of a word is the thread that connects the language world with the world of reality for the speaker.

scholarly journals A mare in a pub? Nonnative facilitation in phonological priming

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kira Gor ◽  
Svetlana V Cook
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Unrelated Word ◽  
Phonological Priming ◽  
Lexical Competition ◽  
Sublexical Processing ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Prime Target

A phonological priming experiment reports inhibition for Russian prime-target pairs with onset overlap in native speakers. When preceded by the phonological prime /kabɨla/, the target /kabak/ ( кобыла – КАБАК, mare – PUB) takes longer to respond than the same target preceded by a phonologically unrelated word. English-speaking late learners of Russian also show inhibition, but only for high-frequency prime-target pairs. Conversely, they show facilitation for low-frequency pairs. In semantic priming (e.g. carnation – DAISY), facilitation is observed for the same two lexical frequency ranges both in native speakers and learners of Russian, suggesting that the primes and targets in the low-frequency range are familiar to the nonnative participants. We interpret nonnative phonological facilitation for low-frequency words as evidence for sublexical processing of less familiar words that is accompanied by reduced lexical competition in nonnative lexical access. We posit that low lexical competition is due to unfaithful, or fuzzy phonolexical representations: nonnative speakers are unsure about the exact phonological form of low-frequency words. Such unfaithful representations are not strongly engaged in lexical competition and selection. High reliance on sublexical rather than lexical processing may be a general property of nonnative word recognition in case when the words are less familiar and have a low level of entrenchment.

scholarly journals PARAMETRIC ADJECTIVES EVALUATION OF A HUMAN FIGURE IN THE RUSSIAN PICTURE OF THE WORLD ON THE BACK OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 148-158
Author(s):  
Zhang Hong ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Figure ◽  
Human Image ◽  
The Russian Language ◽  
Cultural Features

The article is devoted to the analysis of parametric adjectives of the evaluation of the human figure in the Russian language through the prism of the Chinese language. The author reveals the ethnospecific features of Russian parametric adjectives, the presence of which causes certain difficulties for native speakers of the Chinese language picture of the world. The comparative analysis of these lexical units in the two languages reveals the national-cultural features of the perception of the human image and the features of the fragments of the national linguistic picture of the world in intercultural communication.

scholarly journals Abstraction of phonological representations in adult nonnative speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alia Lancaster ◽  
Kira Gor
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Nonnative Speakers ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Perception Model ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Phonetic Cues ◽  
L2 Perception

Perception of nonnative contrasts by adult second language (L2) learners is affected by native language phonology. The current study contrasted predictions from two models of L2 phonological acquisition that focus on different representational levels as the origin of native language transfer: the abstract categorization level from the Perceptual Assimilation Model for L2 learners (PAM-L2; Best & Tyler, 2007) and the phonetic level from the Automatic Selective Perception model (ASP; Strange, 2011). The target phonemes were pairs of Arabic consonants that were equally similar on the abstract categorization level but unequally similar on the phonetic level—voiced and voiceless pharyngeal fricatives /ʕ/, /ħ/ and uvular fricatives /χ/, /ʁ/. Twenty intermediate-level English-speaking Arabic L2 learners and 10 Arabic native speakers (NS) completed auditory identification and discrimination tasks. We first conducted a discriminant analysis (DA) to quantify ASP predictions based on phonetic variables. L2 learners were generally more accurate when perceiving the pharyngeal consonants compared to the uvulars and when perceiving the voiced phonemes compared to the voiceless. These findings, and L2 learners’ perceptual variation across contexts, predicted by the DA, suggest that L2 speakers were able to track phonetic cues during L2 perception and thus favor the ASP. These results support the interpretation that L2 learners attend to the phonetic detail in nonnative segments; however, they do not build nativelike phonological representations for the segments with weaker phonetic cues. This ability to process low-level phonetic cues opens the possibility for learners to create more robust phonological representations.

scholarly journals Revisiting English As A Global Language

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Silfia Asningtias
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Global Era ◽  
International Language ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Language ◽  
Global World ◽  
Better Than

As English has become a powerful tool to ‘conquer’ the world, the needs to consider the issues arise English as an International language has become paramount. The arguments of who ‘own’ English sparks other related matters, such as the native speaker and non-native speakers as well as native speakers. In addition, it also standard and nonstandard English, that come up as the varieties of English blooming is unstoppable. On Norton’s statement of the issues of English in a global world provoke debate on whether the aforementioned is for better or for worse. This essay analyzes the perspective of experts in the dichotomy globally, meanwhile seeking the enlightenment of the situation in Indonesia locally. The discussion leads to awareness that English and the learner’s agency. As the needs of English in the global era is indispensable, English would be for better than for worse.

scholarly journals Native-speakerism revisited: Global Englishes, ELT and intercultural communication

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-129
Author(s):  
Fan (Gabriel) Fang
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
English Speaking

The English language functions as a global lingua franca, and as the number of non-native speakers of English surpasses the number of native speakers of English, the ideology of native-speakerism is challenged. Viewing from the paradigm of Global Englishes (GE), English is no longer the sole property of its native speakers. This paper first discusses and presents a general picture regarding standard language ideology and the ideology of native-speakerism, and links the notion to how such ideas would exert an influence on teacher recruitment and intercultural communication in English language teaching (ELT). This paper then employs narrative inquiry from Chinese ELT professionals who have education experience abroad to reveal how they negotiate their professional identities in relation to privilege and marginalization when working with native English speaking colleagues. This paper argues for the importance of moving beyond the idealized native speaker model from the GE paradigm to challenge the ideology of native-speakerism in various aspects of ELT, in particular, in expanding circle contexts.

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