Standard English or World Englishes: Issues of Ownership and Preference

Subject Areas : Journal of Teaching English Language Studies

Ehsan Namaziandost ¹ , Soheila Tahmasbi ² , Arsh Hashemifardnia ³

1 - PhD Student, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran
2 - Departent of English, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran.
3 - Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

Received: 2019-01-21 Accepted : 2019-03-03 Published : 2019-03-01

Keywords: EFL Context, World Englishes, Standard English, Language Ownership, Expanding Circle,

Abstract :

The widespread use of English worldwide ended in Englishes which are plural when used by local language users. As these World Englishes, in contrast to that of Standard English, consider all realizations of English as equally valid, debates over non-native English norms, standards, and attitudes remain a question. Such diversities also level arguments against language ownership for communities in which English is their first language hence language models. In line with such arguments, the aims of this study were 1) to investigate, to what extent Iranian EFL learners, as a community positioned in the expanding circle of English users, present positive or negative attitudes toward World Englishes (WEs) and Standard English (SE) and 2) whether they claim ownership over English. Forty students majoring in TEFL were invited and their viewpoints were collected through three semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that most participants’ views skewed toward supporting WEs. Furthermore, they were more willing to call English as EFL learners’ property. Although they appreciated the prestigious stance of SE, they showed no negative views toward either WEs or SE. The study have pedagogical implications for teachers and practitioners.

References:

Bhatt, R. M. 2008. ‘In other words: Language mixing, identity representations, and third space’,
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 12 (2), 177 – 200.
Bolton, K. 2005. World Englishes. In A. Davis, & C. Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied
linguistics (pp.367-396). Oxford: Blackwell.
Bourdieu, P. 1977. The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information, 16 (6),
645–668.
Chuang, K. L. 2002. The politics of locality: globalization, postcolonial English, and the cultural
reconsideration of English teaching and learning. English Teaching and Learning, 27(2),
1-16.
Dornyei, Z. 2003. Questionnaires in Second Language Research, Construction, Administration,
and Processing. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah.
Georgieva, M. 2011. Global English in Bulgarian: code-mixing strategies in adult and youth
discourse. Retrieved from
www.researchgate.net/...English.../0c96052efb10951c2e000000
Graddol, D. 1997. The future of English. London: The British Council. Retrieved from
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/learning-elt-future.pdf
Higgins, Ch. 2003. “Ownership” of English in the outer circle: An alternative to the NS/NSS
dichotomy. TESOL Quarterly 37(4). 615–44.
Holliday, A. 2009. The role of culture in English language education: Key challenges. Language
and Intercultural Communication, 9 (3), 144–155.
Jenkins, J. 2000. The phonology of English as an international language: New models, new
norms, new goals. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. 1992. Models for non-native Englishes. In B. B. Kachru (Ed.), the other tongue
(2nd ed., pp. 48–74). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Kachru, Y. and L. E. Smith. 2008. Cultures, contexts, and world Englishes. Routledge: Taylor &
Francis: Routledge
Kubota, R., and L. Ward. 2000. Exploring linguistic diversity through World Englishes. English
Journal, 89(6), 80–86.
Matsuda, A. 2003. Incorporating World Englishes in teaching English as an international
language. TESOL Quarterly, 37 (4), 719–729.
Norton, B. 1997. Language, identity and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31 (3),
409–429.
Phan, L. H. 2009. English as an international language: International students and identity
formation. Journal of Language and Intercultural Communication, 9 (3), 201–214.
Pishghadam, R. and F. Sabouri. 2011. A quantitative survey on Iranian English learners’
attitudes toward varieties of English: World English or world Englishes?, English
Language and Literature Studies, 1 (1), 86-95.
Seilhamer, M. 2015. The ownership of English in Taiwan. World Englishes, doi: 10.1111.
Seidlhofer, B. 2004. Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual
Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 209-239.
Sharifian, F. 2015. Cultural Linguistics and world Englishes. World Englishes, 515-532, doi:
10.1111/weng.12156
Snow, M. A., L. D. Kamhi-Stein. , and D. M. Brinton. (2006). Teacher training for English as a
lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 26, 261-281.
Yan, J., and R. Su. 2008. Exploring the Myth and Controversial of English Education in Taiwan.
Chung Hsing Journal of Humanities.41, 201-214.
Widdowson, H. G.1994. The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 377–389