Publications

Publication details [#14439]

Sifakis, Nicos C. 2019. ELF Awareness in English Language Teaching: Principles and Processes. Applied Linguistics 40 (2) : 288–306. 19 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Place, Publisher
Oxford Academic

Abstract

This paper advances a proposal of integration of ELF (English as Lingua Franca) into ELT (English Language Teaching), not only in pedagogy, but also in teacher’s training, in the development and evaluation of materials and policies, and in the assessment and testing phase. The concept brought to the fore here is awareness of ELF, which mainly concerns a set of principles to be integrated with the knowledge, attitudes, and skillset developed by ELT stakeholders and products. These involve issues and concerns arising from research in ELF, including research in English as an international language and World Englishes, and to what extent these topics may be relevant for local ELT contexts. The author proposes that ELF awareness is not a unique instructional, pedagogical approach, rather it integrates the approach of ESP (English for Specific Purposes), which is learner- and learning-centered, and which was firstly illustrated by scholars in the 1980s, and subsequently largely accepted in ELT. Lastly, ELF awareness is depicted as a continuum that incapsulates the gradual transformation of stakeholders’ attitudes, so that local contexts and stakeholders’ needs and wants are catered for.