©2006 Richard Watson Todd What model to use in teaching English for International Communication? Richard Watson Todd King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Some statistics about English use b Approximately 1.5 billion people speak English reasonably fluently b English is taught as the main foreign language in most countries b Over 1 billion people are learning English

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Who uses English with who? b Tourism in Thailand: b International tourist arrivals January-September 2001: b About 50% of tourists are from East Asia b Another 18% are from Asean countries b 27% are from Europe, the Americas and Australasia b Only a proportion of the last group are likely to be native speakers of English

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Why have a model? b Latin was the lingua franca of the Roman Empire b Now Latin has evolved into e.g. Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian b These are largely mutually unintelligible

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Why have a model? b Will English retain its mutual intelligibility? b Need a model as a reference point for intelligibility

©2006 Richard Watson Todd What model to use? b British English b American English b International English

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Aspects of language examined b Grammar b Vocabulary b Spelling b Pronunciation

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Grammar b British v. American English: b frequency of use of past perfect b have got v. have b International varieties: b frequent 'unusual' tense choices e.g. Indian English

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Vocabulary b British v. American English: b tap v. faucet b bonnet v. hood b pavement v. sidewalk b International varieties: b many examples of distinctive vocabulary in many international varieties

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Spelling b British v. American English: b colour v. color b organise v. organize b travelling v. traveling b International varieties generally follow either UK or US

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Pronunciation b British v. American English: b oregano b Within British and American English b e.g. How does Alan Shearer say "an away game"? b International varieties: b very noticeable differences between varieties leading to potential mutual unintelligibility

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Models to use b Grammar: any model b Vocabulary: British English b Spelling: American English b Pronunciation: selection of varieties of International English b BUT differences between varieties of international English mean that most varieties should be covered for all aspects of language

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Using International English as a model b Thai teachers or other non-native speakers (with reasonable competence) are valid models in teaching English for International Communication b need to raise students' awareness of differences between the varieties of International English

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Answers to the handout b 1. Singaporean b 2. Irish b 3. Indian b 4. Brunei b 5. Singapore b 6. Brunei b 7. Indian b 8. Irish b 9. Indian b 10. Irish

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Key points regarding the handout: b Only covers grammar and vocabulary. Need to also treat spelling, pronunciation, pragmatics, discourse etc. b There is a range of intelligibility in the sentences depending on their match with global norms

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Key points regarding the handout: b Need to consider initial intelligibility in deciding whether to use a feature as a focus (e.g. no. 5) b Only covers 4 varieties. Need to cover as many varieties as students are likely to come into contact with. b Includes varieties considered to be native speaker varieties

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Recommendations for teaching English for International Communication b The model used can be any generally intelligible variety of English (no need for NS teachers) b Exposure to a wide range of pertinent varieties, especially for pronunciation, is needed

©2006 Richard Watson Todd Recommendations for teaching English for International Communication b Efforts should be made to raise students' awareness of differences between the model used and the relevant varieties of English b For practical purposes, there may be times when a British or American model is used