The Goal of English Language in Outer or Expanding Circle - Essay Example

To what extend do you believe that the goal of ELT in the Expanding Circle and/ or Outer Circle should be native-like use of English' Introduction This essay is made possible with the help of a number of people. They have contributed in improving this essay on the aspects of formulating and organising the ideas and concepts I had in mind through conversations. I am also extremely grateful to all the members of the faculty and staff for their at most co-operation to make this attempt a success and reality. The reach of English is world wide even well before the invention of the World Wide Web. As a colonial language and a chief vehicle of Western (neo)-colonialism in general and British (cultural) imperialism in particular, English has spread to almost the entire surface of the earth. At present, English could well be called as a multi-ethnic, multi-national and, multi-cultural language. It is still the connecting thread of the shrinking world, which is a product of advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs). English language teaching too has become a complex and controversial issue as the influence of English continues to grow. In this essay I am going to provide evidence that the goal of ELT in Outer or Expanding Circle should not be the Native-Like use of language. Since we are living with not only 'English' but indigenized varieties of 'Englishes' in today's world, this, in my view, is better understood with greater grasp of the concepts of World Englishes (WEs) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Later on, the paper will probe more to the conceptual similarities and differences of WEs and ELF and the very common controversies around these phenomena. Further, I would look more closely into the implications of WEs/ELF on Teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). This would be a segment where this essay deals with the association, inclusion and involvement of them both in today's ELT. Then, the paper will also deal with the (in)appropriateness of native Standard English in expanding and outer circles with arguments for and against the native norms. At the same time, the need to incorporate World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca in testing would be discussed. Finally, the paper will hold a critical view of the native versus non-native teachers of English. The traditional view had that the correct form of English was the language used by educated British or American natives the so called Native Speakers (NS). Thus, indicating that the learners of the English language, who are, in fact, Non-Native Speakers (NNS) must follow the norms of the NS. So, one began consider NS to be the best teachers of the language, as they were the best models of the language using and they had reliable linguistic knowledge. As a result, Parents were willing to pay huge amount for their children to be taught English by native teachers, while schools considered it as abetter investment to employ native English teachers than the local English teachers. However, now the scenario has widely changed, though Rinvolucri (2008) believe we should continue to use the current 'standard native' model in language teaching and learning, others, for example Barbra Seidlhofer (2004) and Jennifer Jenkins (2005) believe we must take stock of what is happening to English and its users, recognise the change and begin to describe and codify a new model such as a lingua Franca (ELF), which reflects how English is used by the majority of users in the world. The Concept of World Englishes (WEs) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) The history of world Englishes is backed to the end of the region of Queen Elizabeth I in sixteen century when English language was spoken by 'a relatively small group of mother-tongue speakers born and bred within the shore of British Isle' Jenkins (2003: 2) but nowadays it is spoken in almost all over the world. According to Jenkins (2003), the global spread of English has been viewed as two Diaspora. The first Diaspora involved migrations of substantial numbers of English speakers from the present British Isles predominately to North America, Australia and New Zealand. The English dialects which travelled with them gradually developed and resulted in new mother-tongue varieties of English. The second Diaspora of English, in the colonial contexts of Asia and Africa, involved transportation of the language by British traders, leading to the development of a number of second-language varieties like Pidgin and Creole languages which is often referred to as 'New Englishes'(Jenkins, 2003: 2-5). English belonged to the English, as the language originated in England where the language and the people were bound by history and morphology (widdowson 1993). While one accepts this fact, the other side of the coin cannot be ignored that a global diffusion has taken place as the English language and the natives of England are concerned. The knowledge about the spread of English has increased among the English teaching professionals around the world. This phenomenon can, in one way, be caused by the ever increasing number of WEs and ELF users who are already considerably more than the native speakers of the language. Jenkins (2006) acknowledges the claim of Bolton regarding the three different interpretations of the WEs such as (a) covering all verities of English world wide, (b) the new Englishes in Africa, Asia and Caribbean and (c) representing the pluricentric approach. It does not take much effort to realize that all these three interpretations are very closely knit. However, it proves the fact that English, with its new standard varieties, should not be compared with the inner circle native speaker varieties since it is no longer the sole property of native speakers but it is also the language of non native speakers who use and adopt it in their own sociocultural contexts. Thus, English becomes a means of international (Global or Bilateral) communication. Such a means of communication, which deals across the cultural and linguistic boundaries of those expanding circle. These variations in the norms of language are what encouraged the researchers prefer the term English as Lingua Franca. Jenkins (2006) referrers to Seidlhofer and Kachru to make the relevance of the term ELF very clear in the above said context. When WEs are an evolved form of English, which travelled out from the native as a part of the diffusion, integrated with local norms of culture and sociolinguistics, the profession of ELT has been led to a broader conception, in which the notions of 'correctness', 'norms', 'mistakes' and authority an ethos characterised by 'transformative pedagogy', 'learner centeredness', 'awareness' and 'self reflection' (Seidlhofer 2001). Hence, the studies of world Englishes has been argued for non native varieties of English such as 'Indian English, 'Nigerian English' and 'Singaporean English' to be recognized and accepted as a new standard varieties in their own right and not only two worldwide versions (standard British and standard American English), traditionally believed, are 'legitimate' or 'appropriate'. In spite of all the criticism it has to withstand, WEs has emerged with remarkable standing in terms of teaching and learning during the past three decades. There have also been studies and researches on the teaching and learning of English on the outer and expanding circles. Seidlhofer (2005) defines ELF as part of the more general phenomenon of World Englishes. Kachru (1985:12) also describes the spread of English and classify World Englishes in terms of three concentric circles model: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle as representative of 'the types of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages'. that, the Inner Circle comprises of countries such as the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, consisting of 380 million users of English, dominated by mother tongue varieties, using English as a native language (ENL) where it is the primary language representing the traditional, cultural and linguistic of the communities. The varieties spoken in these countries are considered to be norm-providing since their users dictate what is acceptable in terms of language usage. The Outer Circle countries are former colonies of the UK or the USA, and have a history with the English users of the inner circle such as India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippine, Nigeria and Zambia, where English serves as a second or additional language (ESL). English in these regions has developed into a nativised language where it performs important local roles in the daily lives of large numbers of bilingual and multilingual speakers; it is officially used in education, business and government in a multilingual setting for both international and intra-national purposes. These countries with 300 million non native speakers are considered as norm-developing, since they are beginning to develop their own linguistic norms despite still being influenced heavily by Anglo-American attitude. Finally the Expanding Circle consisting of up to 1 billion users of English in countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Newly Independent Statues where English is used as a foreign language (EFL), and where performance varieties of the language are usually used, essentially in restricted contexts. In these communities English plays a role for specific purposes like in the reading of academic or scientific papers and technical materials as well as international communication. As we have seen the Seidlhofer (2005) definition WEs and ELF, in fact, are away from the inner circle, which, for some time, remained in connection with outer circle and expanding circle by the virtue of 'English as an International Language' (EIL), 'English as Global Language' and 'World English'. It is uncertain that all (including some of the native speakers) agree to the function of English as a global lingua franca. Thus Seidlhofer (2005) reminds one that 'English is being shaped at least as much by its non-native speakers as by its native speakers'. One has more reasons now, as the number of WEs and ELF speakers is on a constant increase, to believe more norms are set by the non-native speakers and if the native speakers are to be a part of the ELF users must adapt to the locale norms. Thus Jenkins (2006) concept of ELF becomes even more relevant when he said that ELF is when English used more for Interlinguacultural communication. He stated that "Speakers of European Englishes are typically also speakers of ELF, to the extent that they learn and use English more for interlinguacultural communication than to communicate with speakers who share the their first linguaculture". However, in addition to English learnt by speakers from the Expanding Circle countries, the uses of English internationally consist of speakers of English as a native language (ENL), English as a mother tongue (EMT) in all its dialects in Inner Circle countries, as well as speakers of New Englishes; indigenized, nativised varieties in Outer Circle countries, in other words, 'wherever English is chosen as the preferred option for cross-cultural communication, it can be referred to as EIL'. (Seidlhofer 2003:9). Based on Kachru's model more speakers who engage in ELF interactions are non native speakers who communicate with each other in Expanding Circle regions, and that the majority of them will be interacting with other NNSs of English using the language as a lingua franca (Crystal 2003). Although many efforts have been made so far by some scholars, for example, in terms of phonological Jenkins (2000) proposed Lingua Franca Core (phonological features) which is necessary for mutually intelligible pronunciation among non native speakers, and Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) by Seidlhofer (2004) to research and describe ELF, there is still not enough information to allow us to describe the language being used and the main reason is that there is no codification. While Seidlhofer the phenomenon of ELF has been existed for many years, and is developing parallel with 'native language', but in terms of description, it is a recent movement. So far many efforts have been made by some scholars (Jenkins 2000, Seidlhofer 2004) to research and describe ELF, mainly on the spoken language, including lexicogrammar, pragmatics, pronunciation, and academic English. For example, in terms of phonological Jenkins (2000) proposed Lingua Franca Core (phonological features) which is necessary for mutually intelligible pronunciation among non native speakers. At this point it is very appropriate to look at the implications of WEs/ELF for ELT or TSOL. "As soon as one accept the fact that English serves the communicative and communal needs of different communities, it follows logically that it must be divers" (Widdowson 1994). This linguistic diversity is definitely from the social and cultural diversity. The English in the particular locality is shaped and modified in accordance with the social and communal needs of that particular locality. That is the original language to a learner from that locality. Before we look further into the originality of the language for a learner in the outer circle, let us have a look at , Kachru (1992:2) pointing to the changing demographic distribution of English language, as well as its new roles in terms of range of functions, and this will make the distinction between 'native' and 'non-native' linguistically questionable. For these reasons, he proposed the use of the term 'World Englishes' to symbolise 'the functional and formal variations, divergent sociolinguistic contexts, ranges and varieties of English in creativity, and various types of acculturation in parts of the Western and non-Western world'. Although Kachru's model seems oversimplified, the great advantage of his model is that 'first, that it makes English plural so that one English becomes many Englishes. Second, the model does not suggest that one variety is any better, linguistically speaking, than any other. The spread of English has resulted in the development of many Englishes and not the transplanting of one model to other countries' (Kirkpatrick 2007:28), and provides a good framework for the study of ELT. Coming back to the originality of the language, Widdowson (1994: 386) reminds us that "Over recent years, we have heard persuasive voices insisting that the English presented in the classroom should be authentic, naturally occurring language, not produced for instructional purposes". As far as a native teacher is concerned his/her competence must be correct. Cook (1999) suggests that though, ultimate attainment in learning a non-native language shows that even fluent bilinguals can be distinguished from monolinguals in grammaticality judgments, but, studies have demonstrated that some non-native language users are nevertheless indistinguishable from native speakers in syntax and phonology. This only shows that most of the time the competence a native teacher has can be of intuition rather than from a distinguished as well as articulately clear knowledge of it as he learns it by nature and culture. Some may argue against it, saying a valid ultimate attainment is phrased with reference to the native speaker's competence, but in the case of WEs users each one using the language becomes a native user in a very deferent and particular way as he/she is the one born to the same social, linguistic and cultural community. Thus the native speaker's competence can eventually be a strange non-native competence for an ELF learner. Jenkins further talks about the implications of WEs and ELF for TESOL. She emphasises the critiques of Seidlhofer (2005) of the weakness in the monocentrist centrifugal perspective. Seidlhofer makes a strong case for the rights of expanding as well as outer circle speakers to develop their own norms rather than continuing to defer to those of the so-called educated native speaker. An important development in this respect is recent work demonstrating how teachers and students accommodate other varieties of English into their multilingual classrooms. Nevertheless, a sense of native speaker ownership persists in both native and non-native users. The concept is still true among the teachers of the language, teacher educators and the even among the sociolinguistics. However "With standard American or British English being the only varieties considered worth learning in many parts of the world, then equally, those considered best-placed to teach English in those places are its native speakers. It is this perspective which informs the so-called English villages recently established in Japan and Korea, where learners are immersed in native speaker English for weeks at a time. It also underlies schemes to bring native speaker teachers to parts of East Asia, for example, the NET scheme (Hong Kong), the JET scheme ( Japan), and similar schemes being devised for Korea and Thailand. Such teachers may have little or no training other than a short preservice course, and few have experience of teacher education. As a result, their knowledge of the language and their teaching skills can compare badly with those gained in lengthy university degrees by non-native teachers" (Jenkins 2006: 172). But the reality now would be the native teachers in the given scenario may find it a challenge to meet the needs of the learners with their competence in the language as the learners of English in the outer and expanding circle have their unique needs of the language which is far beyond the daily use of the native, conditioned competence. Conclusion The spread of the language has changed English from a monocentric dialect into pluricentric global phenomenon. The ownership of the language, in its dramatic evolution, slipped into the hands of the verities of English users to a great extent. While the use of English for a native speaker is to use the language for everything including the day today operational activities in the outer and expanded circles the use of English is much different as their social and cultural requirements differed. Thus teaching the language in those circumstances requires teachers who are eligible and familiar to those conditions. At the same time, An important factor in this context to remember is that "If students and teachers see English learning as a battle that they are fated never to win, little wonder they become dispirited and give up. English learners' battle to become native speakers is lost before it has begun. If students are convinced of the benefits of learning an English as second language and recognize their unique status as standing between two worlds and two cultures, more students may go on higher levels of English use; those who do give up may feel more satisfied with the level of English use they achieve" (Cook 1999: 204). Cook said it regarding the learner but this realization will make the learner to realise the worth of bilingual teachers. References Cook, V (1999) Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL quarterly Vol. 33, No. 2 Jenkins, Jennifer (2006). Current perspectives on Teaching World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. TESOL Quarterly 40.1: 157-81 Jenkins, J (2003). World Englishes: A rsource book for students. London: Routledge. Jenkins, Jennifer (2005) The ABC of ELT Kirckpatrick, A (2007). World Englishes: Implications for international communication and English language teaching. Cambridge University Press. Seidlhofer, B (2001) Closing a conceptual gap: the case of a description of English as a lingua franca. Blackwell publishers LTD. Seidlhofer, B (2005) English as a lingua franca. ELT journal volume 59/4 Widdowson, H.G (1994) The ownership of English, TESOL quarterly Vol. 28, No. 2 Read More