Nicos Sifakis Hellenic Open University ELF can help us raise interesting questions... 1

2 “ Without US leadership, it would have been difficult or impossible for other nations to slash their barriers and open their markets. Such widespread opening has contributed to the best half-century of world economic growth at least since the time of Christ, and probably ever.” (Bradford et al., 2006: 893) “So just as ‘the business of America is business’, manifestly English for business is business for English.” (Phillipson, 2001: 190-1)

The “special” role of English

4 Terminology World English World Englishes Global English English as an International Language English as an Intercultural Language English as a Lingua Franca Lingua franca: “languages usually used by people whose mother tongues are different with a purpose of simplifying communication between them” (UNESCO, 1953)

5 Implications WHOSE English we teach defines WHAT English we teach Native SpeakerStandard English ESL, EFL Non-Native Speaker English as Lingua Franca EIL, ELF Combinations of the above?

How do we “feel” about English? 91%: E. the most useful language after MT (Eurobarometer 2001) 42%: self-acknowledged sufficient knowledge of E. Cambridge ESOL Exams (2006): –FCE: Greece 50 th (out of 67 countries), 57% success rate –CPE: 31 st (out of 31 countries), 46% success rate 6

How do we “feel” about English? How well do we believe we know E? 24% “very well” (Eurobarometer, 2001) Confidence vs. Competence: mismatch? 7

8 Question: Which of the following descriptions best suits your current (or most recent) teaching situation? (1) FOREIGN LANGUAGE (2) EXAM-ORIENTED (3) INTERNATIONAL (ELF/EIL) (4) MULTICULTURAL (MATE) orientation: Multicultural awareness through English

What English do we learn? In the FL classroom –Curriculum –Coursebook –Additional material –Computer lab Outside the FL classroom –Social media (e.g., Facebook) –Gaming (online, offline) –Mobile technology (e.g., iPhone, iPod, PSP, etc) 9

A two-tiered proposal A.E. as subject-matter:  School literacy  “Standard English” B.E. as communication skills:  Successful usage in diverse communicative domains (written, spoken)  Competent, autonomous intercultural “non- native” user “owning” the FL 10

Teacher preparation Teacher autonomy Teacher empowerment Going beyond the coursebook 11

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