English as a lingua Franca : bridging the gap between theory and practice in english language teaching

Tese de doutoramento, Linguística (Linguística Aplicada), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2015

As the current global lingua franca, most interactions in English occur between non-native speakers, who use it both intra- and internationally. Still, English Language Teaching (ELT) has not quite adapted to this reality, as teaching methods have hardly considered learners’ languages (Alptekin 2002) as well as other varieties and cultures. The reason lies on educational systems’ policies being mainly centered on monolingual native speakers (NS), rather than on pluricentric users of English. As today’s needs comprise a plethora of domains, other skills besides grammar and lexis are vital. Change is needed for an approach more centered on intercultural communication, where cultural/social values can be explored. Teacher education programs are therefore the ideal way to introduce new approaches to ELT, as both theory and practice play a crucial role in the training and development of trainees. Bearing this in mind, this thesis begins by defining English as Lingua Franca (ELF) in contrast to English as a Foreign Language, followed by an explication of how ELT has developed. Key concepts, such as language, culture, intelligibility and (intercultural) communicative competence are also revised in light of an ELF viewpoint, which is offered as an additional approach for ELT. Since many ELT teachers resist change, pre-service teacher education programs are seen as the solution for training and developing ELT teachers with broader views. This results in the research questions that analyze trainees’ attitudes on English and ELT, and whether or not teacher programs influence their views on these issues. The study conducted between 2011 and 2013 considers pre-service teacher programs at five Portuguese universities and the main data sources are surveys and semi-structured interviews, which are supplemented with other documentation. The findings suggest there is some awareness of the international position of English; however, preference for NSs persists in certain areas. Hence, it is proposed that an ELF-aware transformative framework be applied in teaching programs; this way, trainees shall be encouraged to develop a critical stance and a wider worldview of English, employing and sharing these views with their prospective students, both learners and users.