ELF and identity: A Hong Kong perspective

Abstract

In the growing English as a lingua franc (ELF) literature, scholars such as Kirkpatrick (2007) and Jenkins (2007) point to the importance of preserving ELF users’ identity when using English as a lingua franca, and one of the ways to do so is through their distinct accent. Drawing on data collected from focus group discussions with more than 40 students from a university in Hong Kong, this paper explores a group of students’ perspectives about the role of identity in the use of English as an international language. It was found that the participants did not see identity as important when they use English for communication purposes. The data suggests that there was little desire among the participants to express their own cultural identity with their localized accent, and that the local accent was perceived in a negative light. In addition, the participants were found to see native-speaker English as the ideal model for communication, which led them to approximate native-speaker English as closely as possible. This paper has implications for promoting ownership of English among Hong Kong students and for re-considering the relevance of identity in deciding which models of English should be adopted in ELT classroom.