BUILDING AWARENESS OF WORLD ENGLISHES AMONG UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY STUDENTS

Main Article Content

Aybüke Demet Ören
Ali Öztüfekçi
Ahmet Cihat Kapçık
Ayten Kaplan
Çiğdem Yılmaz Uzunkaya

Abstract

The increasing number of non-native English speakers in the world has led to the use of varieties of English. Today, the number of speakers of English in the expanding circle has exceeded the number of speakers in the outer and inner circles. This has given rise to the scrutiny of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). In this regard, the research and studies in this particular area have increased over the last decades. The purpose of this action research was to build awareness of World Englishes (WEs) among preparatory students at a private university in Turkey. The study was mainly concerned with acquainting the group with the term and raising consciousness about this subject matter. The research was conducted in a private university in İstanbul, Turkey to 20 preparatory students aged 18-21 with A2 level English proficiency. Adapted EFL materials including videos, dialogues, reading and listening texts were utilized. The data were collected through questionnaires and reflective essays. With regard to the results, the students had an idea about the concept of WEs and they became aware of the varieties of English to some extent; specifically, they displayed consciousness about the status of English across the world and sympathy toward WEs.

Keywords: world Englishes, ELF, expanding circle, lingua franca

Article Details

Section
Articles

References

Bayyurt, Y., & Devrim, D. Y. (2010). Students' understandings and preferences of the role and place of culture in English language teaching: A focus in an EFL context. TESOL Journal, 2, 4-23.

Bektaş-Çetinkaya, Y. (2009). Languages of others: EFL students’ perception of and attitude toward English. Journal of Çukurova University Institute of Social Sciences, 18(1), 109-120.

Bektaş-Çetinkaya, Y. (2012). Teaching English as an international language and its reflections in Turkey. International Journal of Human Sciences, 9(2), 378- 391.

Breitkreutz, J. A., Derwing, T. M., & Rossiter, M. J. (2001). Pronunciation teaching practices in Canada. TESL Canada Journal, 19, 51–61.

Celce-Murcia, M. (2014). Teaching English in the context of World Englishes. In D. Brinton, M. Celce-Murcia, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 63-70). Massachusetts: National Geographic Learning, Heinle & Cengage.

Coşkun, A. (2010). Whose English should we teach? Reflections from Turkey. ESP World, 9(1), 1-20.

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Deborah, P. (2015). Longman preparation course for the TOEFL IBT test. New York: Pearson.

Demir, B. (2011). Undergraduate foreign language learners’ perceptions of native and non-native language instructors. The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 1(1), 01-29.

Deniz, E. B., Özkan, Y., & Bayyurt, Y. (2016). English as a lingua franca: reflections on ELF-related issues by pre-service English language teachers in Turkey. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 16(2), 144-161.

Derwing, T. M. (2003). What do ESL students say about their accents? Canadian Modern Language Review, 59, 547–566.

Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2005). Second language accent and pronunciation teaching: A research-based approach. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 379–397.

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.

Eales, D & Oakes, S (2016). Speakout-elementary book. New York: Pearson.

Fang, F. G. (2016). World Englishes or English as a Lingua Franca: Where does English in China stand?, English Today, 1–6. doi: 10.1017/S0266078415000668.

Gramley, S. (2002). The vocabulary of world English. London: Routledge.

Gramley, S. (2004). A survey of modern English. Oxfordshire: Routledge.

He, D. (2015). University students’ and teachers’ perceptions of China English and world Englishes: Language attitudes and pedagogic implications. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 65-76.

Jenkins, J. (2005). Implementing an international approach to English pronunciation: The role of teacher attitudes and identity. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 535–543.

Jindapitak, N., & Teo, A. (2012). Thai tertiary English majors’ attitudes towards and awareness of World Englishes. Journal of English Studies, 7,74 – 116.

Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk & H. G. Widdowson (Eds.), English in the world: Teaching and learning the language and literatures. (pp. 11–30) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kachru, B. B. (1992). The other tongue: English across cultures. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Karakaş, A., Uysal, H., Bilgin, S., & Bulut, T. (2016). Turkish EFL learners’ perceptions of native English speaking teachers and non-native English-speaking teachers in higher education. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 10(2), 180-206.

Kaypak, E. & Ortaçtepe D. (2014). Language learner beliefs and study abroad: A study on English as a lingua franca (ELF). System, 42, 355-367.

Kirkpatrick, A. (2008). English as the official working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Features and strategies. English Today, 94, 27–34.

MacDonald, S. (2002). Pronunciation: Views and practices of reluctant teachers. Prospect, 17, 3–18.

McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Platt, J. T., Weber, H., & Ho, M. L. (1984). The new Englishes. London, Melbourne: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Ploywattanawong, P., & Trakulkasemsuk, W. (2014). Attitudes of Thai graduates toward English as a lingua franca of ASEAN. Asian Englishes, 16(2), 141-156.

Saengboon, S. (2015). An exploratory study of Thai university students’ understanding of World Englishes. English Language Teaching, 8(11), 131-154.

Scales, J., Wennerstrom, A., Richard, D., & Wu, S. H. (2006). Language learners’ perceptions of accent. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 715–738.

Snodin, N. S. (2014). English naming and code‐mixing in Thai mass media. World Englishes, 33(1), 100-111.

Snodin, N. S., & Young, T. J. (2015). ‘Native-speaker’varieties of English: Thai perceptions and attitudes. Asian Englishes, 17(3), 248-260.

Timmis, I. (2002). Native-speaker norms and international English: A classroom view. ELT Journal, 56, 240–249.

Uygun, D. (2013). Attitudes of Turkish prospective EFL teachers towards varieties of English. In Y. Bayyurt & S. Akcan (Eds.), Proceedings of the fifth international conference of English as a lingua franca (pp. 190-197). İstanbul: Boğaziçi University Press.

Yılmaz, B., & Özkan, Y. (2016). An investigation into English language instructors' and students’ intercultural awareness. The Qualitative Report, 21(10), 1932-1959.