REVIEWS TESOL Quarterly welcomes evaluative reviews of publications relevant to TESOL professionals In addition to textbooks and reference materials, these include computer and video software, testing instruments, and other forums of nonprint materials Edited by PAUL KEI MATSUDA Arizona State University doi: 10.5054/tq.2010.222475 English as a Lingua Franca: A Corpus-Based Analysis Luke Prodromou London, England: Continuum, 2008 Pp xxix + 297 & Over the past quarter century, linguists—and computer corpora— have demonstrated the phraseological and idiomatic nature of language Pawley and Syder (1983) argued that native speakers of English memorize hundreds of thousands of sentence-length expressions Sinclair (1991) described the use of semi-preconstructed phrases as the idiom principle, which is used more often than the open-choice principle Hoey (2005) has described lexical priming—how every word is mentally primed for collocational use In the 1990s, Lewis (1993) popularized ‘‘the lexical approach’’ to language teaching, centered on raising learners’ awareness of multiword chunks Recently, however, other voices have argued that users of English as a lingua franca (ELF)—nonnative speakers communicating with other nonnative speakers—have no need to adopt native speaker norms, including their stock of collocations and idiomatic expressions, which are seen as unnecessary baggage rather than linguistic capital Jenkins (2007) and Seidlhofer (2001) have sought to identify characteristic phonological and lexicogrammatical features of ELF that need not reflect the codified features of standard native English Luke Prodromou doesn’t share the ELF position and believes that native speaker idioms might be useful to second language (L2) learners of English But he is aware that although idiomaticity and the holistic processing of chunks lead to fluency in one’s native language, these skills not come so naturally to L2 users In English as a Lingua Franca: A Corpus-based Analysis, he sets out to elucidate this ‘‘idiomatic paradox’’ (p xxxv), using data from his own 200,000 word corpus of what he terms TESOL QUARTERLY Vol 44, No 2, June 2010 399 ‘‘successful users of English’’ (SUEs, p ix): 42 proficient, professional nonnative speakers from 24 countries Prodromou discusses the use of corpora in relation to English as an international language (EIL) (Chapter 1), and the role of idiomaticity and fluency in ELF (Chapters 2–5) In Chapter he outlines his ‘‘dialogical stance’’ (p 79) The second half of the book consists of a minute analysis of the use of sort of and you see by the SUEs in Prodromou’s corpus The closing chapters reconsider idiom use in ELF and the implications for the language classroom Prodromou finds relatively little use for opaque, colourful, or metaphorical idioms of what he calls ‘‘the kick the bucket variety’’ (p 95) Culture-bound idioms probably require repeated exposure from an early age and depend on what Prodromou calls a ‘‘deep commonality’’ (p 58), which L2 users in multiple discourse communities not generally have Their use involves subtle webs of semantic, pragmatic, and discourse ‘‘prosodies’’ (p xxvi) They are also often pronunciation sensitive, requiring a particular stress, intonation, and tone of voice, and are consequently error prone But Prodromou also finds far less use of short pragmatic markers such as sort of and you see These, too, are fixed holistic phrases that cannot be analyzed in propositional terms The ways in which they can express attitudinal and pragmatic meaning are heavily dependent on sociocultural contexts of use Prodromou makes an extensive analysis of the meanings, uses, and collocates of these phrases, and shows that L2 speakers use them less frequently, and differently, than native (L1) speakers Prodromou argues that SUEs, including L1 users of EIL, adapt to communicative circumstances In Bakhtinian terms, they are sensitive to the dialogical nature of language L1 users will avoid unilateral idiomaticity, and although L2 users may not use culture-bound L1 idioms, they may well create their own: ‘‘When idioms appear, they will appear in modified form, taking on the shape of the mother tongue of the speaker and the pluralistic nature of the speech encounter’’ (p 251) Prodromou describes creative idiomaticity in ELF in terms of Bakhtin’s concepts of heteroglossia and, more importantly, carnival, which celebrates the transgression and transformation of norms But there are limits to how far one can go because, as Bakhtin insists, meaning is always jointly produced by speaker and hearer Prodromou concludes that given the incontestable presence of L1 users in EIL, and the sheer quantity of Standard English that is also shared by indigenized varieties in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, at least in their written forms, ‘‘it would be irresponsible to encourage the learners to assume that they can without standard forms of the language’’ (p 254) The promoters of ELF underplay the participation of the ‘‘small minority’’ of 400 TESOL QUARTERLY native speakers (Jenkins, 2007, p 116)— 380 million of them alive today, quite apart from all those who have left their mark on the language in the past—but Prodromou insists that ‘‘ELF encounters slip and slide from [nonnative speaker–nonnative speaker] to [nonnative speaker– native speaker] encounters in a matter of seconds, in real or cyberspace’’ (p 30) Prodromou is skeptical as to the possibility or the desirability of a codified, teachable ELF Unlike indigenized World Englishes, he argues, ELF shows no evidence of a grammatical common core; regular, standardized patterns of use; or widely accepted and codified norms He believes that his data show that SUEs are able to communicate, to achieve rapport with their interlocutors, and to promote their personal identity, or indeed to construct multiple identities as members of different discourse communities, while borrowing stylistic and cultural resources as needed This position recalls Canagarajah’s (2006) account of how ‘‘postmodern’’ subjects need English for ‘‘shuttling between diverse English-speaking communities worldwide’’ (p 201), and takes us beyond the ‘‘four legs good, two legs bad’’ (Prodromou, p 246) ELF versus native speaker norms debate Prodromou insists that ‘‘a reduced form of ELF’’ risks bringing L2 users ‘‘stuttering onto the world stage of ELF, i.e., with reduced linguistic capital The point, as Caliban failed to realize, is not to ‘burn’ Prospero’s books, the source of the master’s power, but to appropriate them’’ (p 250) Learners need to be exposed to ‘‘an amplified form of their own emerging English rather than a simplified English’’ (p 253) Prodromou’s argument will not convince those who believe that ELF must and will evolve with limited input from native speaker norms, but it should stimulate anyone interested in either idiomaticity or the potential futures of English as a lingua franca The book is engagingly and at times playfully written, and laced with phrases from Shakespeare and other poets There is now a paperback edition containing a substantial new preface in which Prodromou defends himself against what he sees as misrepresentations of his position by ‘‘the ELF supporters’ club’’ (p x), and discusses very recent work on ELF Contrary to Jenkins’ reification of ELF as a separate entity, Prodromou now illustrates it (p xiv) as existing in the intersection of all three of Kachru’s (no longer concentric) circles (1992), including the inner circle of native speakers: Imagine a circle sitting atop two others, but all three merging into each other, with ELF in the middle REFERENCES Canagarajah, S (2006) ‘‘Interview.’’ In R Rubdy & M Saraceni (Eds.), English in the World: Global rules, global roles (pp 200–11) London, England: Continuum BOOK REVIEWSS 401 Hoey, M (2005) Lexical priming London, England: Longman Jenkins, J (2007) English as a lingua franca: Attitude and identity Oxford, England: Oxford University Press Kachru, B B (1992) ‘‘Teaching World Englishes.’’ In B B Kachru (Ed.), The other tongue: English across cultures (pp 354–365) Urbana: University of Illinois Press Lewis, M (1993) The lexical approach: The state of ELT and a way forward Hove, England: Language Teaching Pawley, A., & Syder, F H (1983) Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like fluency In J Richards & R Schmidt (Eds.), Language and Communication (pp 191–226) London, England: Longman Seidlhofer, B (2001) Towards making ‘‘Euro-English’’ a linguistic reality English Today, 68, 14–16 Sinclair, J (1991) Corpus, concordance, collocation Oxford, England: Oxford University Press IAN MACKENZIE Universite´ de Gene`ve Geneva, Switzerland Cultural Globalization and Language Education B Kumaravadivelu New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008 Pp xiii + 272 & We live in world of increasing globalization, the effects of which are creating fundamental changes in the way we live and construct our identities Cultural Globalization and Language Education by B Kumaravadivelu and winner of the Kenneth W Mildenberger prize, is a timely and welcome addition to the scholarly literature examining the impact of cultural globalization on language education in the twenty-first century Drawing from multiple disciplines, Kumaravadivelu highlights the critical limitations of three Western cultural concepts that have so far informed the cultural component of foreign language education: assimilation, pluralism, and hybridity Kumaravadivelu argues that these concepts have ‘‘a limited and limiting relevance’’ (pp 6–7) to language education because of increasing cultural globalization The book is divided into twelve chapters, and includes a preface, references, and a topical index Kumaravadivelu’s blend of personal writing and Western and non-Western academic genres give the book its accessibility and credibility, its greatest strengths A benchmark of Kumaravadivelu’s writing style in this volume is to introduce each chapter with anecdotally driven prologues that illuminate the universal through the personal For example, in Chapter 3, ‘‘Cultural Globalization and Its Processes,’’ the reader is greeted by Sandy (pseudonym), who represents thousands of young Indians employed in a new global enterprise known as call centers The book follows a consistent pattern: a lead, a preview of the 402 TESOL QUARTERLY main concepts, a central discussion divided into several subheadings, the relevance of the topic to language education, and a concise summary Illustrations are dispersed throughout the book to create interest and enhance comprehension The book can be divided into three major sections The first of these, Chapters 1–3, serves to ground the reader in key terms and concepts Chapter 1, ‘‘The Lay of the Land,’’ is the gateway where Kumaravadivelu maps out the structure of the book and gives a preview of his main arguments The challenges and rewards of teaching culture in a world in which every culture is inherently hybrid comprises the focus of Chapter 2, ‘‘Culture and Its Complexities.’’ In Chapter 3, ‘‘Cultural Globalization and Its Processes,’’ Kumaravadivelu examines the tensions between the dual forces of cultural homogenization and cultural heterogenization and introduces a major theme, the notion of glocalization (a fusion of local and global concerns), which he believes holds promise for language education In Chapter 4, Kumaravadivelu builds on his 2003 article, ‘‘Problematizing Cultural Stereotypes in TESOL’’ (here titled ‘‘Cultural Stereotypes and Its Perils’’) In doing so, he provides a brief but informative review of the literature in applied linguistics on how Asians have been (mis)represented in the TESOL community, exposing TESOL’s claim to ‘‘widespread sensitivity to cultural diversity’’ (p 53) This critical review of Asian stereotypes segues into what I perceive to be a second major section, Chapters 5–7 (‘‘Cultural Assimilation and Its Delusions,’’ ‘‘Cultural Pluralism and Its Deceptions,’’ and ‘‘Cultural Hybridity and Its Discontents,’’ respectively), where Kumaravadivelu takes issue with the Western cultural concepts of assimilation, pluralism (a.k.a multiculturalism), and hybridity Illustrating the ways in which cultural groups in the United States have assimilated selectively and how their ethnic affiliations have remained durable over time, Kumaravadivelu maintains that these factors, together with the mainstream community’s failure to accommodate non-European cultural groups, have rendered the kind of melting pot envisioned by classical cultural assimilationists ‘‘more a myth than a reality’’ (p 80) His critical unpacking of the concept of cultural pluralism reveals the exclusivity, superficiality, and inequality of multiculturalism and its failure to address issues of sociopolitical inequality between mainstream and minority communities Kumaravadivelu’s comprehensive overview of how the notion of hybridity has been treated in the discourses of colonialism, postcolonialism, and cosmopolitanism (Chapter 7) is extremely helpful for enhancing our understanding of this difficult concept He maintains that cultural hybridity is unequal, elitist, gendered, neglectful of linguistic power inequalities, and does not, as Bhabha (1994) argues, lead to ‘colonial erasure’ in all contexts’’ (as cited in Kumaravadivelu, p 129) Although he applauds the efforts of teachers BOOK REVIEWSS 403 to apply the theoretical insights of cultural hybridity in their language classrooms, Kumaravadivelu claims that because hybridity is still very much an abstract concept, it ‘‘poses serious challenges to any meaningful implementation of a hybridity-based transcultural approach to language education’’ (pp 137–138) There are, nonetheless, aspects of cultural hybridity that the chapter does not dwell on, such as its organic nature (Bakhtin, 1981) and the creative mixing of languages for humorous and satirical effect (see, e.g., Sebba’s 2007 discussion of the Ali G phenomenon) Thus, there is room, I would argue, to celebrate hybridity In the third major section, Chapters 8–11, (‘‘Cultural Realism and Its Demands,’’ ‘‘Cultural Realism and Pedagogic Principles,’’ ‘‘Cultural Realism and Instructional Strategies,’’ ‘‘Cultural Realism and Intercultural Communication,’’ respectively), Kumaravadivelu highlights an ‘‘alternative guiding principle for the construction of individual identity that draws from global cultural consciousness’’ (p 7)—the concept of cultural realism Beginning with a review of the complex notion of identity through modern, postmodern, and postcolonial lenses, he posits four synergic realities—global, national, social, and individual—that must be taken into account in order to develop a deep, transformational, global cultural consciousness in the second language (L2) learner To this end, he describes five shifts in pedagogic priorities designed to foster global cultural consciousness in learners For teachers looking to inject some cultural realism into their curriculum, Chapter 10 offers practical suggestions for raising L2 learners’ global cultural awareness via reflective tasks and exploratory projects These tasks are innovative, creative, and practical Kumaravadivelu concludes this section (Chapter 11) by highlighting the shortcomings of two traditional approaches that continue to influence the teaching of intercultural communication: the Sapir–Whorf connection and the Eurocentric orientation Drawing from the field of cultural studies, he examines these ‘‘discursive formations’’ (p 218) through a poststructural/postcolonial lens In the final chapter, ‘‘The Map of the Territory’’ (Chapter 12), Kumaravadivelu concludes the way be began, evoking the metaphor of travel, and urging his readers to chart a new cultural map based on ‘‘the twin path of rootedness and openness’’ (p 237) Cultural Globalization and Language Education challenges long held assumptions about the role of culture in language teaching Although written for a wide audience, the book will especially resonate with graduate students, language teachers, and researchers In an era in which the forces of globalization push and pull in ways that can make the construction of identity difficult, Kumaravadivelu’s call to develop ‘‘global cultural consciousness’’ (p 164) in learners grounded in the notion of cultural realism is a welcome move toward greater cultural understanding in a global society 404 TESOL QUARTERLY REFERENCES Bakhtin, M M (1981) Discourse in the novel In M Holquist (Ed.), The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M M Bakhtin (pp 259–434) Austin: University of Texas Press Bhabha, H (1994) The location of culture London, England: Routledge Foucault, M (1970) The order of things: An archaeology of human sciences (A M Sheridan-Smith, Trans.) New York, NY: Pantheon Kumaravadivelu, B (2003) Problematizing cultural stereotypes in TESOL TESOL Quarterly, 37, 709–719 Sebba, M (2007) Identity and language construction in an online community: The case of ‘‘Ali G.’’ In P Auer (Ed.), Style and social identities: Alternative approaches to linguistic heterogeneity (pp 361–392) Berlin, Germany: Mounton de Gruyter TIMOTHY MOSSMAN Simon Fraser University Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Language Teacher Identities: Co-Constructing Discourse and Community Matthew Clarke Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, 2008 Pp xiii + 214 & This timely volume presents a longitudinal study through which the author–researcher explores the teacher identity construction of student teachers who are the first cohort of a newly established bachelor’s in education program in teaching English to young learners at the Higher College of Technology (HCT) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) The significance of this volume, in this respect, is twofold First, Clarke presents his readers a constitutive study by exploring student teachers’ co-construction of knowledge and identity within a community of practice Second, its critical setting, the Middle East, also contributes to the virtues of the study The significance of this setting, its rich oil reserves as well as its geopolitical importance connecting East–West relations, has been acknowledged globally with its many struggles and invasions, yet these have not impeded the country’s industrialization and modernization Thus, in a context of both conflict and development, Clarke addresses the following question: ‘‘In what ways are the social and educational discourses that have shaped the contemporary UAE context and the HCT’s teacher education programme taken up by the students as they construct their identities as teachers within an evolving community of practice?’’ (p 10) Clarke presents a well-organized synthesis of the existing literature on discourse, identity, and communities of practice Through these lenses, BOOK REVIEWSS 405 he offers a window on very real struggles in teacher education, more specifically, in the way student teachers construct their teacher identity He also provides fascinating insights into the texture of teacher education that is relevant not only in the UAE but also in different parts of the world where English is a foreign or second language The book is coherent and reader-friendly with well defined concepts and discussions and can be read as a whole or selectively Chapter 1, ‘‘Discourse, Identity & Community,’’ provides a thorough discussion of the key terms discourse and identity, and Chapter 2, ‘‘The Discursive Context,’’ introduces the background of the study while establishing a base for the presentation of the findings with a discussion on the participants, context, data collection, and analysis Chapter 3, ‘‘The Formation of a Community of Practice,’’ sheds light on the findings of the study from a communities-of-practice perspective by elaborating on the notions of act of belonging, engagement, and shared discourse repertoire On the other hand, Chapters 4, 5, and approach the findings from the perspective of how student teachers construct their language teacher identities in the dynamic society in which they live In Chapter 4, ‘‘The Discursive Construction of Systems of Knowledge and Belief,’’ Clarke explores the discursive construction of the community of practice among student teachers with respect to their ‘‘construction of reality as reflected in systems of knowledge and belief’’ (p 105) Insights gained through analysis of the discursive strategies revolve around how student teachers set up binary oppositions (e.g., traditional paradigm and old teacher versus new paradigm and new teacher) to describe their own community of practice In Chapter 5, ‘‘The Discursive Construction of Interpersonal Relations,’’ the author elaborates on the ways student teachers relate to each other (e.g., bolstering and support) through engaging in a joint enterprise, which again illustrates the emergence of a community of practice In Chapter 6, ‘‘The Discursive Construction of Intrapersonal Identity,’’ Clarke utilizes the lens of intrapersonal identity to examine the ‘‘discursive self-constitution on the interpersonal level of one of the student teachers as a member of the evolving community of practice’’ (p 180) Chapter 7, ‘‘Summary of Findings and Future Directions,’’ the final chapter, displays the summary of the results and indicates new dimensions for future research on language teacher identities With respect to the findings of the study, there is somewhat of a discrepancy between how the book situates itself in terms of discourse and culture and how some of the participating students distanced themselves from teaching the culture that the English language is based on, rather than adapting those cultural elements to their own culture as long as ‘‘they don’t conflict’’ (p 129) The discussion of the relationship between culture and language among the students mostly developed in 406 TESOL QUARTERLY terms of how the textbooks reflected Western culture In an era where the notion of culture has taken an important role in second language learning, most of the language learning studies (Kinginger, 2004; Norton, 2000) start from the assumption that ‘‘language learning and cultural learning are not separate areas of learning: cultural learning is language learning, and vice versa’’ (Roberts, Byram, Baro, Jordan, & Street, 2001, p 5) In this respect, the way in which some of these student teachers positioned themselves toward the cultural aspects of the English language also sheds light on the knowledge and belief systems that these student teachers constructed in their communities of practice Who does Language Teacher Identities appeal to? Simply, everyone concerned with English language teacher education The principles of the teacher education program at HCT and the findings of Clarke’s study will definitely capture the attention of all language teacher educators as well as curriculum and program designers The student teachers’ co-construction of their teacher knowledge, beliefs, and identity will appeal to all student teachers as well as experienced ones, and support them to reflect on their own process of co-constructing teacher identity The fact that the students enrolled in the teacher education program were Emirati women should attract not only women interested in education but also scholars in the field of women’s studies In this respect, the participants’ insightful reflections on ‘‘the suitability of teaching as a career for women in the eyes of their families’’ (p 183) make this volume engaging for those who would like to relate teacher education to women’s studies with more emphasis on feminism and poststructuralism Moreover, because some of the data were collected through online discussions using WebCT, this book will also be of value to any educator and/or researcher with an interest in computermediated communication and computer-assisted language learning The major contribution of this book lies in the way it reconceptualizes student teachers’ learning to teach as a process of co-constructing a new identity as a teacher, by drawing insights from discourse theory and communities of practice The depth of insight, level of detail, integration of theory with practice, and up-to-date bibliography render Language Teacher Identities essential for any academic, professional, or personal reference library dedicated to English language teaching and teacher education REFERENCES Kinginger, C (2004) Alice doesn’t live here anymore: Foreign language learning and identity construction In A Pavlenko & A Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiation of identities in mutlilingual contexts (pp 219–242) Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters BOOK REVIEWSS 407 Norton, B (2000) Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity, and educational change Harlow, England: Pearson Education Roberts, C., Byram, M., Baro, A., Jordan, S & Street, B (2001) Language learners as ethnographers Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters DENIZ ORTACTEPE The State University of New York at Albany Albany, New York, United States 408 TESOL QUARTERLY