Orienting to the spread of English as an international lingua franca: voices from the Spanish-speaking world

The study presented in this PhD thesis is concerned with the exploration of symbolic, perceptual and ideological aspects of the global spread of English as an international lingua franca. In particular, it investigates the ways in which university students from a variety of Spanish-speaking contexts conceptualise and position English as a global language, and the ways in which they label and evaluate the variability emerging from its lingua franca use (ELF).English has come to be known as the worlds’ international language par excellence as a result of complex social, historical, political and globalisation processes. Learning more about the global use of English has led scholars to problematize long-standing theorisations of language and their suitability to explain the observed phenomena. Since language globalisation processes are not only affecting the ways in which we use English, but also the broader ways in which we think about it, it is necessary to explore the theorisations and representations of language with which (non-linguist) English users operate nowadays, how these may relate to their linguistic experiences and expectations, and how they may affect their future trajectories.In this thesis, I provide qualitative insights into the views of Spanish-speaking undergraduates from Chile, Mexico and Spain. I examine how students construct their experiences, conceptualisations, attitudes and beliefs, by analysing elicited talk about English. Attention is placed on the functions and meanings that are associated with the language between global and local spheres of use, and on conceptualisations and evaluations of ELF interactions in relation to issues of intelligibility, linguistic variability, and identity expression. The findings introduce the multiple and conflicted interpretative repertoires with which participants construct their evaluations and the complex uses made of key language and communication-related notions. The analysis also showcases the multifarious ways in which students recreate, challenge and/or negotiate broader ideologies of language in metalinguistic practice. Overall, the study highlights the need to address the sharp contrasts existing between the ontological complexity and multidimensionality with which students view this language, and the one-sided, standard and native-speaker-oriented representations that typically dominate principles and policies of English Language Teaching (ELT). To conclude, the thesis considers the pedagogical opportunities that talk about language has to offer in itself for ELT

"It's more fashionable to speak it badly": indexicality and metasemiotic awareness among users of English from the Spanish-speaking world

As ELF scholars warn us against treating linguistic productions of “non-native” English speakers as “errors” when they are sociolinguistically driven variation, it is necessary to investigate how speakers in Expanding Circle settings conceptualise, label and experience such uses themselves. This paper reports a qualitative study of the metalinguistic and evaluative practices of university students in Chile, Mexico and Spain. It explores how they ascribe (un)desirable meanings to different ways of speaking English as an additional language (i. e. indexical relations), whether these symbolic associations are seen to influence students’ own linguistic use, and the extent to which such indexical relations are theorised as inherent in language form or as symbolic and negotiable (i. e. metasemiotic awareness). The analysis of more than 53 hours of elicited interview talk reveals a complex web of available social meaning relations and multidirectional accounts of the effects that such meanings have on students’ linguistic and semiotic practices. Although many students display awareness of the contextual variability of social meaning-making processes (Coupland. 2007. Style: Language variation and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), only a minority were able to directly challenge dominant indexical associations and stereotypical trait attributions. The findings underscore the need for English language teachers to understand their students’ semiotic goals and interpretative repertoires, firstly to avoid discriminating against sociolinguistically motivated variation in students’ English use and secondly, to provide them with additional tools to negotiate their position as speakers of English as an additional language. The paper also reflects on the implications that these findings have for how we explain variation and attitudinal ambivalence in ELF research.ResumenDado que el estudio del inglés como lengua franca (ELF por sus siglas en inglés) nos alerta contra la penalización de variación sociolingüística producida por hablantes ‘no-nativos’ del inglés, es necesario entender cómo usos que tradicionalmente han sido mal-llamado ‘errores’ en contextos del Círculo Externo son conceptualizados, catalogados y evaluados por dichos hablantes. Este artículo presenta una investigación cualitativa de las prácticas metalingüísticas y evaluativas de estudiantes universitarios de Chile, México y España. El estudio establece las formas en las que los estudiantes asignan significados (no) deseados a diferentes formas de hablar el inglés como lengua adicional (i. e. associaciones de indicialidad), explora si estas asociaciones simbólicas parecen influir en comportamientos lingüísticos de estos hablantes, e investiga el punto hasta que asociaciones de indicialidad son conceptualizadas como inherentes a ciertos usos del inglés o como simbólicas y negociables (i. e. conciencia metasemiótica). El análisis de más de 53 horas de entrevistas revela una compleja red de evaluaciones semióticas disponibles y la multidireccionalidad de los efectos que dichos significados parecen tener en las prácticas lingüísticas de los estudiantes. Aunque muchos estudiantes demuestran tener conciencia de la variabilidad contextual en los procesos de semiotización identificados (Coupland. 2007. Style: Language variation and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), solamente una minoría cuestiona asociaciones de indicialidad dominantes entre atribuciones esterotípicas de personalidad o competencia y usos ‘no-nativos’ del inglés. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad que tienen los profesores de inglés de comprender los objetivos semióticos de sus estudiantes para a) evitar discriminar usos motivados por procesos de identificación y b), para proveer a sus estudiantes de herramientas con las que negociar su propria posición como hablantes del inglés como lengua adicional. El artículo también reflexiona sobre cómo estos resultados pueden transformar las explicaciones ofrecidas por investigadores de ELF sobre procesos de variación y de ambivalencia atitudinal observados entre estos hablantes del idioma

Exploring language attitudes in English as a Lingua Franca research: contrasting approaches in conversation

With reference to two recent doctoral research projects on ELF, the present article examines the characterisation of language attitudes as either stable or variable evaluative phenomena, and provides a detailed account of methodological practices that may be favoured from each ontological position. The durability of language attitudes is more specifically conceptualised as a stable (but not enduring) construct directed to a linguistic phenomenon in one thesis, and as variable and emergent forms of evaluative social practice around a language-related issue in the other. With these two different approaches in conversation, the authors consider the extent to which stability and variability of language attitudes may be two sides of the same coin, and question whether it is safe to assume a priori the inferability of stable language attitudes from the observation of evaluative practice. This article evidences the need for ELF researchers working in this area to contemplate what and how it is being researched in the name of language attitudes while having awareness of possible alternatives in any given study

Companion website to Jenkins, J. Global Englishes: a resource book for students

This website was designed to provide readers with supplementary resources to expand their understanding of English in the world.The panel presents an overview of additional exploratory activities, which are organised according to the eight strands identified in the book, with at least two activities provided per strand. We recommend that you read the content of the strands before approaching the web activities, although this may not always be a requirement. All activities aim to encourage readers to develop their own critical thinking by questioning and evaluating a variety of key aspects in the field of Global Englishes, rather than seeking predefined ‘correct’ responses.In addition, the website offers flashcards to help you revise main concepts, definitions, and acronyms that appear in the book. You will also find two historical timelines of the introduction and development of English in the contexts of Spain and Taiwan, and four audio files containing a series of recordings undertaken during the ‘lunch breaks’ of a group of postgraduate students at an international university. The provided timelines and audio files are simply examples of development of English in specific contexts and intercultural exchanges among speakers from various lingua-cultural backgrounds. They are not inclusive samples of potential English use due to the immense possibilities for variation that may occur depending on speakers, contexts, and purposes for which it may be taught, learned, and used