Euro English A Debate and its Implications for Teaching English as a Foreign LanguageEuro English A Debate and its Implications for Teaching English as a Foreign LanguageEuro English A Debate and its Implications for Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Euro-English: A Debate and its Implications for Teaching English as a Foreign Language by Christine Raack A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Approved March 2012 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Elly Van Gelderen, Chair Karen Adams Carla Ghanem ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 UMI Number: 1508467 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion UMI 1508467 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the acceptability of a new variety of English among the English teaching community in Germany A number of linguists claim there is a new variety of English developing in continental Europe, also known as Euro-English Their research has surfaced multiple features that are unique to European speakers of English Twenty-one teachers participated in a survey They answered a questionnaire consisting of two parts Part one investigates the background of the teachers, their attitudes towards different varieties of English, and their awareness of the research regarding Euro-English Part two tests the acceptability of ten features that have been claimed to be specific for mainland Europeans Results of this study reveal that there is little awareness of non-native varieties and many find it hard to accept the features of Euro-English However, the teachers show a genuine interest in this topic Where there is a general preference in holding on to the guidelines of standard norms, many comments indicate that teachers think about issues of identity and how their teaching could be affected by a broader scope that exceeds traditional methods i TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Page INTRODUCTION 1 ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA (ELF) 6 English Worldwide 6 Defining English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) 8 Conceptualizing English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) 10 ELF Features 11 Phonology 12 Pragmatics 13 Lexicogrammar 20 ENGLISH IN EUROPE 24 The Role of English in Europe 24 The Role of English on a National Level 27 The Example of Sweden 27 The Example of Germany 28 Resistance to English 32 English as the EU Working Language 34 The European Identity 36 ii CHAPTER Page EURO-ENGLISH 41 The Term Euro-English 41 The Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) 44 Features of European Languages 45 Features of Euro-English 52 A New Variety or Learner Language 58 Native and Non-native Teachers of English 62 Teaching the Variety 64 THE STUDY 68 Survey of English Teachers 70 Participants 71 The Questionnaire 73 Results 74 Professional Opportunities for Non-native and Native Speakers 74 Identity 77 Awareness of other Varieties of English 78 Awareness of Euro-English as a Topic of Discussion 80 Student Age Groups and Motivational Levels 83 iii CHAPTER page Varieties of English: Availability and Preference 83 Acceptability of Euro-English Features 89 Discussion of Results and Comments 98 CONCLUSION 108 REFERENCES 114 APPENDIX A INFORMATION LETTER ABOUT THE STUDY 123 B QUESTIONNAIRE 125 C APPROVAL FOR EXEMPT RESEARCH 131 iv ... features that have been claimed to be specific for mainland Europeans Results of this study reveal that there is little awareness of non-native varieties and many find it hard to accept the features... of Euro- English as a Topic of Discussion 80 Student Age Groups and Motivational Levels 83 iii CHAPTER page Varieties of English: Availability and Preference 83 Acceptability of Euro- English. .. of a new variety of English among the English teaching community in Germany A number of linguists claim there is a new variety of English developing in continental Europe, also known as Euro- English