Microsoft Word 217 Winn Myintzu doc Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN 978 604 82 2981 8 682 ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA (ELF) IN ASEAN COUNTRIES Winn Myintzu Lecturer, Department of[.]
Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA (ELF) IN ASEAN COUNTRIES Winn Myintzu Lecturer, Department of English, National Management Degree College, Myanmar & Ph.D Student, English Applied Linguistics Programme, University of Szeged, Hungary, email: winnmyintzu@gmail.com INTRODUCTION In most of the countries in Southeast Asia, the role of the English language has become more vital in all aspects than before especially after becoming members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as English is the sole language to communicate with other member countries Today, the study of English is highly demanded among the general population in ASEAN countries, and many people, not only young people but also not so young ones, are continuing to learn English as they feel that the mastery of English is the key to be better off Therefore, the demand for English language education is extremely high ENGLISH AS AN ASEAN LINGUA FRANCA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Center for Global Education (2018) stated that “[A] distinctive feature of Southeast Asia is its cultural diversity Of the six thousand languages spoken in the world today, an estimated thousand are found in Southeast Asia.” That must be the reason why English is used as the common language among people in the region According to Lourdes, Bautista & Gonzalez (2006), the status of English is growing, used in education, commerce, trade, and international relations with other countries Because of its linguistically diverse nature among the ASEAN member states, the common language used is English It is mentioned in the ASEAN Charter that “[T]he working language of ASEAN shall be English” For these reasons, today, it has been the trend in the region to include English as early as possible in the primary school curriculum, often as a medium of instruction (Kirkpatrick, 2012) According to Seidlhofer’s (2011) definition of ‘ELF (English as Lingua Franca)’ as “any use of English among speakers of different first languages for whom English is the communicative medium of choice, and often the only option”, the role of English is a lingua franca among people in Southeast Asia For Jenkins (2015), ELF is a “multilingual communication in which English is available as a contact language of choice” although it was defined once as ‘a contact language used by people who don’t share a first (and often any other) language’ ELF AND ELT No one can deny that English has spread across the world as a lingua franca Many scholars asserted that the majority of English speakers today are not native speakers, but non-native speakers of English Khodorkovsky (2013) estimated that almost 80 percent of the language users are nonnative “ELF is simultaneously the consequence and the principal language medium of globalizing process” (Jenkins et al., 2011) Sifakis et al (2018) suggested a change in the field of English language teaching (ELT) since it has been shown in research that “learners begin to acknowledge the role of ELF as a valid ingredient of their language learning experience” It is time for 682 Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 teachers to reflect critically on ELF and consider its “effect as a catalyst for change in established ways of thinking” (Widdowson, 2012 quoted in Sifakis et al., ibid) However, Jenkins (2016) argued that it is not time yet “to talk about an ‘ELF pedagogy’ but an ELF pedagogy will need to be very different from traditional foreign language pedagogy.” She also said in an interview that the idea of ELF and non-native English speaker teachers should be discussed during teacher training courses Only when teachers understand ELF well, they will be “in the position to prepare their learners for the vast majority for communication in English in which they’re likely to be involved in their future lives.” Jenkins and Seidlhofer (2001) suggested the change in the attitudes of teachers and students towards ELF and ELT should focus on the relevant contexts which the learners will use English in the future Seidlhofer (2011, quoted in Alptekin, 2012) also suggested “a shift from a focus on NSbased learner proficiency to a focus on L2 learners and the learning process, with a corresponding adjustment in teacher education to focus more on the learning process and less on instructional methodology, more on awareness and less on certainty, and more on intercultural communication and less on NSNS and NS-NNS interaction These are all stimulating insights for a fresh conceptualization of ELT pedagogy that may be eye-openers for many teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum designers, and other ELT professionals irrespective of their level of interest in ELF in particular.” Jenkins (2012) pointed out that ELT practitioners should pay attention to “decide whether/to what extent ELF is relevant to their learners in their context.” Dewey (2012, quoted in Jenkins) confirmed that helping teachers to explore the possibilities of an ELF approach is fruitful Another interesting point is Ranta’s (2010, quoted in Jenkins) finding of younger non-native English speakers’ awareness They know that “the English they are taught in their ELT classrooms, both the idealizations and the ‘real’ native English, often does not reflect the kind of English they need to communicate in their intercultural lives outside.” Sifakis et al (ibid) suggested things to know if ELF is integrated into ELT, including the needs and wants of the learners in their English language learning, and their target of learning English Seidlhofer (2004) also suggested teachers adapt their teaching to reflect their students’ requirements It is in line with Fang’s (2016) aim “to raise language awareness on the global status of English and develop new attitudes towards it to put these new theories into practice” For these reasons, English language teachers should think about ELF and fresh conceptualization of ELT as Seidlhofer (2011) suggested The question here is how to approach it According to Fang (2017), “ELF is not a variety of English and that there is no specific norm or standard to follow.” Firth (1996, quoted in Seidlhofer, 2004) defined ELF as “a contact language for those whose L1 is different from each other and who not share the same culture” Sifakis and Bayyurt (2017) stated that “ELF is not a thing; it is a way.” For Jenkins (2012), it is “a means of communication between people who come from different first language backgrounds” ELF is also referred by (Jenkins et al., 2011) as “a means by which English is continually being re-enacted and reinvigorated through the inventiveness of its speakers as they respond to their immediate communicative and expressive needs” Fang (2017) argued that native-oriented teaching is not suitable for the current functions of English and for the needs and wants of the majority of English learners in their English language learning Ur (2010) also mentioned that most of the English users nowadays are non-native and they use English as a lingua Franca so that teachers should prepare for their learners to function effectively in ELF contexts “Being an ELFaware teacher means finding ways to 683 Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 empower one’s learners as competent nonnative users of English, essentially prompting them to become ELF-aware users themselves.” (Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2017) CONCLUSION In ASEAN region, English is used as a lingua franca, and we should be aware of this function of English in English language teaching and learning Teachers should be ELF-aware, and empower their students to become ELF-aware users Moreover, teachers should try to find out the possible strategies for ELF contexts and to explicitly teach the strategies their students need As Galloway (2017) suggested, it is time for ELT to prepare English learners to use ELF in global contexts It will be definitely worth emphasizing the strategies in English language teaching in ASEAN contexts that a proper conceptualization of ELF is bound to have for the English learners who will become ELF speakers REFERENCES [1] Alptekin, C (2012) Understanding English as a lingua franca ELT Journal, 66(2), 248-251 [2] Center for Global Education (2018, December 12) Retrieved from Asia Society: http://asiasociety.org/education/introduction -southeast-asia [3] Fang, F (2016) Mind your local accent: Does accent training resonate to college students' English use? Englishes in Practice, 3(1), 1-28 [4] Fang, F (2017) English as a lingua franca: Implications for pedagogy and assessment TEFLIN Journal, 28(1), 57-70 [5] Galloway, N (2017) ELF and ELT teaching materials In J Jenkins, M Dewey, & W Bakers, The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (pp 468-493) Routledge [6] Jenkins, J & Seidlhofer, B (2001, April 19) Bringing Europe's lingua franca into the classroom The Guardian [7] Jenkins, J (2012) English as a lingua franca from the classroom to the classroom ELT Journal, 66(4), 486-494 [8] Jenkins, J (2015) Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a lingua franca Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49-85 [9] Jenkins, J (2016, February 3) English as a lingua franca - Interview with Jenifer Jenkins (TEA, Interviewer) Retrieved from TEFL Equity Advocates and Academy: http://teflequityadvocates.com/2016/02/03/e nglish-as-a-lingua-franca-interview-withjennifer-jenkins/ [10] Jenkins, J., Cogo, A., & Dewey, M (2011) Review of development in research into English as a lingua franca Language Teaching, 44(3), 281-315 [11] Khodorkovsky, M (2013) How is English used as a lingua franca today? Beyond Words - Language Blog [12] Kirkpatrick, A (2012) English as an Asian lingua franca: The 'Lingua Franca Approach' and implications for language education policy Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(1), 121-140 [13] Lourdes, M., Bautista, S & Gonzalez, A (2006) Southeast Asian Englishes In B Kachru, Y Kachru, & C Nelson, The Handbook of World Englishes (pp 130144) Malden: Wiley-Blackwell [14] N Sifakis & Y Bayyurt (2017) ELF-aware teaching, learning and teacher development In J Jenkins, M Dewey, & W Baker, The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (pp 456-467) Routledge [15] Seidlhofer, B (2004) Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209-239 [16] Seidlhofer, B (2011) Understanding English as a lingua franca Oxford: Oxford University Press [17] Sifakis, N., Lopriore, L., Dewey, M., Bayyurt, Y., Vettorel, P., Cavalheiro, L., Siqueira, S & Kordia, K (2018) ELFawareness in ELT: Bringing together theory and practice Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 7(1), 155-209 [18] Ur, P (2010) English as a lingua franca: A teacher’s perspective Cadernos de Letras (UFRJ) 27, 85-92 684 ... Blog [12] Kirkpatrick, A (2012) English as an Asian lingua franca: The ''Lingua Franca Approach'' and implications for language education policy Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(1), 121-140... English and multilingualism in English as a lingua franca Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49-85 [9] Jenkins, J (2016, February 3) English as a lingua franca - Interview with Jenifer Jenkins (TEA, Interviewer)... development in research into English as a lingua franca Language Teaching, 44(3), 281-315 [11] Khodorkovsky, M (2013) How is English used as a lingua franca today? Beyond Words - Language Blog [12]