Raising learners' awareness of English as a lingua franca : an empirical study in a Chinese university

Abstract

Since the 21st century, English has become the unprecedented global lingua franca and is used dominantly in international arenas, with non-native English speakers considerably outnumbering native English speakers. This has challenged the traditional English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching paradigm that primarily focuses on native English. Scholars have advocated for changes in English language teaching practices to respond to this evolving landscape. One area of research is English as a Lingual Franca (ELF), which examines communication in English among speakers with diverse language backgrounds (Jenkins, 2007). ELF studies reveal that ELF communications are inherently varied, fluid, and transient (Jenkins et al., 2011). To prepare learners for dynamic ELF communication, it is crucial not only to shift pedagogical focus towards intelligibility and communicative strategies but also to raise awareness of ELF to promote transformed mindsets on English learning (Sifakis, 2019). Previous studies have suggested that many second language (L2) learners tend to hold conservative attitudes towards English and English learning. The factors leading to this conservation and the potential for changing these attitudes are under-researched. This study aims to address these gaps and contribute to the discussion on developing ELF-oriented teaching in L2 classrooms. It explored the influence of an ELF-oriented teaching program on students’ awareness and attitudes in a Chinese university. The program, designed under Sifakis’s (2019) ELF awareness framework and the transformative approach, includes in-person instructions and online ELF practices. The intervention program was implemented twice. Through the cyclic process of action research, modifications were made to the second implementation based on data collected during the first implementation. Data were mainly collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires and interviews, recordings of students’ in-class discussions and performances in ELF practice, and the teacher’s journals. The findings highlight the necessity and significance of ELF-oriented teaching in raising students’ awareness of ELF and emancipating learners from the norm-bound native-speaker-centered attitudes. By unpacking the factors influencing the changes, this study, based on transformative learning theory, illustrates the pattern of changes in awareness and attitudes. As reflected in the program design, the findings underscore the significance of gaining real ELF experience in promoting attitudinal changes. The study contributes to the discussion on ELF program design by proposing a model for transforming learners’ attitudes and offering practical suggestions for developing learners’ ELF competency. These suggestions encompass various elements, such as reflective activity design, teaching materials development, instructions on pragmatic strategies, and designing ELF practice sessions. The study highlights the need for future research to describe specific competencies required for successful ELF communication, including the skills needed for each dimension, to provide practitioners with a skill-based framework for instruction design.