Chinese University Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of and Attitudes towards ELF
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It has been widely acknowledged in the academic field that English is being used as a lingua franca among people from various first language backgrounds. However, the notion of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) does not seem to have been integrated into English classrooms, especially in China, a country from the Expanding Circle. As China has the largest population of learners of English as a foreign language, the current study aims to investigate university students’ and teachers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards ELF in the Chinese context. A total of 168 non-English major students and 30 college English teachers from a top university in Mainland China participated in the study. Two questionnaires were distributed to our student and teacher participants, respectively, and a semi-structured interview was organized afterwards. It was found that neither the students nor the teachers have sufficient knowledge about ELF, despite their awareness of the lingua franca function of English. Both the students and the teachers appear to be deeply attached to “Standard English” under the influence of “native speaker norm” in English teaching contents and methods. However, the students hold highly positive attitudes towards ELF and express their willingness to learn about it in class. Therefore, it is of vital importance for English teachers to reconsider their beliefs and teaching practices and try to incorporate an ELF orientation into English teaching.
Abstract
It has been widely acknowledged in the academic field that English is being used as a lingua franca among people from various first language backgrounds. However, the notion of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) does not seem to have been integrated into English classrooms, especially in China, a country from the Expanding Circle. As China has the largest population of learners of English as a foreign language, the current study aims to investigate university students’ and teachers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards ELF in the Chinese context. A total of 168 non-English major students and 30 college English teachers from a top university in Mainland China participated in the study. Two questionnaires were distributed to our student and teacher participants, respectively, and a semi-structured interview was organized afterwards. It was found that neither the students nor the teachers have sufficient knowledge about ELF, despite their awareness of the lingua franca function of English. Both the students and the teachers appear to be deeply attached to “Standard English” under the influence of “native speaker norm” in English teaching contents and methods. However, the students hold highly positive attitudes towards ELF and express their willingness to learn about it in class. Therefore, it is of vital importance for English teachers to reconsider their beliefs and teaching practices and try to incorporate an ELF orientation into English teaching.
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