28 dossier dossier

Education Permanente 2011-1 Weiterbildung international La formation continue : perspectives internationales

This is one of the few occasions you will nd an Education permanente article in English. It is
intended to be a subject of reection, as English is increasingly present in many educational
settings, as the new common language. In particular in higher education and adult education,
there are more and more programs being offered in English. International adult education has
a voice: and this voice speaks in English. But what is the impact of language on teaching and
learning situations, when English becomes a lingua franca?
English as a lingua franca (ELF) can be dened as
a contact language used between speakers who
do not share the same mother tongue(s) or cul-
tural backgrounds. It is a global phenomenon,
with a much wider range of people using Eng-
lish now as an additional language than native
speakers. Indeed, over 80% of interactions in
English worldwide are now estimated to be be-
tween non-native speakers (see Graddol 2006).
In this respect, native speaker competence may
no longer be relevant as a model to imitate or a
golden standard to reach (see Seidlhofer 2004).
Indeed, when ELF is used for education, the focus
tends to be on effective communication rather
than correctness (see Mauranen et al 2010).
This is particularly evident in speech which is
processed on-line, giving little time for reec-
tion on form.
Focus on teaching staff and adult educators
Teaching staff and adult educators may benet
from reection on the issues involved in teaching
in English, and practical support in dealing with
new challenges effectively. Three overlapping
elds can be identied in relation to teaching in
English in non-English speaking contexts (see
Hoekje and Williams 1992). These are the role
of English as a common language, the learning
and teaching situation, and an intercultural per-
spective. The interplay between these three areas
needs to be taken into consideration in course
planning and delivery. Teaching in English in a
non-English speaking context requires conscious
awareness of the new situation on the part of
the teacher. This is particularly so in relation
to language and culture and is also linked to
awareness raising amongst the students on is-
sues involved.
Alongside course planning, teaching staff need to
consider broader issues, notably sources of possi-
ble problems amongst the learners that may need
to be specically addressed, for example insuf-
cient language levels or feeling ill at ease with
different teaching styles. The learners themselves
need not only to understand course content in
English, but also accept approaches to teaching
and learning that may differ culturally from those
they are used to. Thus, alongside linguistic and
pedagogical issues, it is important to adequately
address different cultural perspectives that are
often present amongst course participants who do
not share the same linguacultural backgrounds.
Linguistic perspective
In our context, effective communication in Eng-
lish means promoting learning, but not neces-
sarily through adherence to standard models of
English. Today, diversity is a feature of global use
amongst both native and non-native speakers of
the language. It is also typical in contexts where
ELF is used that other languages are present.
These may fulll a range of functions such as aid-
ing comprehension or building social relations. In
the learning context, it is particularly important
to remain open not only to different Englishes,
but also to the presence of other languages. Mul-
tilingualism can represent added value, for ex-
ample in allowing course participants to explore
different views or understandings of concepts.
MARKUS WEIL
Dr. phil., Dipl.-Pd., Associate
at the Center for University
Teaching and Learning at the
University of Zurich
www.hochschuldidaktik.uzh.ch/
index_en.html
Contact: markus.weil@
hochschuldidaktik.uzh.ch
PATRICIA PULLIN
PhD., Head of English
University of Zurich and ETH
Language Center
www.sprachenzentrum.uzh.ch
Contact:
patricia.pullin@sprachen.uzh.ch
English as a lingua franca in education
Internationalisation speaks English
29 dossier dossier
Education Permanente 2011-1 Weiterbildung international La formation continue : perspectives internationales
Over 80% of interactions in English worldwide are now
estimated to be between non-native speakers. In this
respect, native speaker competence may no longer be
relevant as a model to imitate or a golden standard to
reach.
Bi- and multilingual speakers can draw and build
on a broader linguistic and cultural repertoire
than monolinguals. Meanings need to be explored
and negotiated to produce mutual understanding.
In international learning contexts, given topics
and concepts can be questioned and critically
examined from different perspectives, perhaps
leading to broader or deeper understandings (see
House 2003).
Attitudes to English are also changing through its
use and spread as a lingua franca. For example,
American or British pronunciation may not be
appropriate or deemed necessary. In teaching,
pronunciation must be clear, to ensure effective
learning. Both students and teachers also tend
to get used to and adapt to different accents and
uses of English with exposure to them. Similarly,
attention to correct forms is of less importance
than effective teaching and learning, for example
through the ability to create interaction in lessons
(see Suviniitty 2008). Also of key importance in
teaching in another language is visual support
for learning content. This should be straightfor-
ward and easily understandable. Such support
is essential for learners whose level of English
is weak.
Pedagogical perspective
In some elds, it may be necessary to rethink
the structure of teaching content, i.e. the way
it is organised and presented. The new use of
English and resulting changes may lead to a need
to modify particular traditions, models and con-
tent. For instance, examples provided to support
learning, need to be comprehensible to outsid-
ers from a range of contexts and backgrounds.
However, there are limits to such adaptations,
not everything can be illustrated through global
parameters. It is up to the teaching staff to decide
when the modications are worthwhile and these
should always be made in order to improve the
learning process and should never distract from
the main learning aims.
In an ELF context it is also worthwhile to consider
building on the range of perspectives present
amongst course participants and to choose learn-
ing formats in such a way that participants can
learn from each others experiences and also com-
pare different expectations. This approach can be
very time consuming, but it is clear that groups
concerned can benet in terms of awareness rais-
ing regarding intercultural aspects of learning and
teaching. Indeed, the ELF context lends itself to
the integration of intercultural content per se in
the classroom, for example through group work
based on the comparison of different cultural
approaches to learning and teaching or the de-
velopment of glossaries and wikis.
Summing-up
It is important to encourage interaction and cre-
ate a learning context that is comfortable for the
learners, allowing them to ask questions and clar-
ify difcult points. This is not always easy as par-
ticipants may have different levels of knowledge
and expectations, particularly in an intercultural
context. Different expectations should be explic-
itly raised to reach an understanding on possible
different assumptions. A challenge for teaching
staff lies in the recognition of their own use of
language and practice in adult education as a pos-
sible source of problems or misunderstandings.
This may be linked to weak English language
skills or lack of awareness of how embedded
course content is in local culture.
In an international context one needs to go be-
yond the idea of simply translating course mate-
rials so that intercultural and linguistic aspects
of teaching and learning can be linked to course
planning and delivery. This offers teaching staff
and adult educators the opportunity to be pro-
active in encompassing the complexities of the
situation in an appropriate and enriching man-
ner.
n
Sources:
Graddol, D. (2006) English Next. London: British Council.
Hoekje, B. and Williams, J. (1992) Communicative Competence
and the Dilemma of International Teaching Assistant Education.
TESOL QUARTERLY, 26, 2. 243-269.
House, J. (2003) English as a lingua franca: A threat to multilin-
gualism? Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7, 4, p. 556-578.
Mauranen, A.; Hynninen, N.; Ranta, E. (2010) English as an ac-
ademic lingua franca: The ELFA project. English for Specic
Purposes.
Seidlhofer, B. (2004) Research Perspectives on Teaching English
as a Lingua Franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics Cam-
bridge University Press: 24, p. 209-239.
Suviniitty, J. (2008) Good, poor, or excellent Students percep-
tions of lecturers English and comprehension of lectures. In F.
Welsch, F. Malpica, A. Tremante, J. Vincente Carrasquero, & A.