English as a lingua franca and the Standard English misunderstanding
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Kurt Kohn
Abstract
This article adopts a social constructivist and developmental perspective on English as a lingua franca (ELF). On this basis and with reference to the My English condition, it explores the conflict generally perceived between non-native speaker-learners’ claim of ownership of English and their preference for Standard English target models. The conflict is shown to result from a conceptual misunderstanding caused by the conflation of Standard English as an object of linguistic description and Standard English as a cognitive, emotional and social construct by the speaker-learners themselves. With the constructivist reconciliation of ownership and target language preference, the role of Standard English in second language learning and teaching appears in a new and refreshing light.
Abstract
This article adopts a social constructivist and developmental perspective on English as a lingua franca (ELF). On this basis and with reference to the My English condition, it explores the conflict generally perceived between non-native speaker-learners’ claim of ownership of English and their preference for Standard English target models. The conflict is shown to result from a conceptual misunderstanding caused by the conflation of Standard English as an object of linguistic description and Standard English as a cognitive, emotional and social construct by the speaker-learners themselves. With the constructivist reconciliation of ownership and target language preference, the role of Standard English in second language learning and teaching appears in a new and refreshing light.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Acknowledgement xi
- The dynamics of English in a multilingual Europe 1
- The increasing role of English in Basque education 15
- English language testing 31
- When comprehension is crucial 51
- English as a lingua franca and the Standard English misunderstanding 71
- The early acquisition of English as a second language 95
- “The more languages, the more English?” 113
- Conceptualizing ‘English’ for a multilingual Europe 133
- English as a foreign language 147
- Index 167
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Acknowledgement xi
- The dynamics of English in a multilingual Europe 1
- The increasing role of English in Basque education 15
- English language testing 31
- When comprehension is crucial 51
- English as a lingua franca and the Standard English misunderstanding 71
- The early acquisition of English as a second language 95
- “The more languages, the more English?” 113
- Conceptualizing ‘English’ for a multilingual Europe 133
- English as a foreign language 147
- Index 167
