Insights from ELF and WE in teacher training in Greece and Turkey

Abstract

The paper describes a framework for the education of ESOL teachers that is inspired by principles grounded in research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) and world Englishes (WE). The essential feature of such a framework is that it involves interested teachers in a critical reorientation of their beliefs toward English language teaching, learning and communication. This transformative framework informs what we call the 'ELF-aware' teacher education component. We then present a framework for a transformative perspective for ELF-aware and WE-aware teachers and describe the phases of a teacher education project that attempted to put this framework into practice.

Fostering awareness of the pedagogical implications of World Englishes and ELF in teacher education in Italy

“…As for the participants in the teacher education project developed by Bayyurt and Sifakis (2015b, p. 131), dealing with WE and ELF issues represented for the participants in our study "an opportunity to receive new information about fascinating issues concerning the English language and a springboard for growing professionally as reflective teachers." In line with other research studies in different contexts (Bayyurt & Sifakis, 2015aMatsuda, 2009;Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2015;Vettorel, 2015), our findings show that, once informed, teachers do acknowledge the importance of dealing with topics related to the current developments of English and their pedagogic implications. This, as we have seen, can allow them to make informed pedagogical choices, actively reflecting on the need to promote an "ability to adapt, negotiate, and mediate communication in dynamic and context-sensitive ways" (Jenkins, Cogo, & Dewey, 2011, p. 17), and reflect on the need to move away from a predominantly norm-focused instruction towards a more communication-oriented and inclusive approach.…”

“…(Dewey, 2015b, p. 180) Similarly, Bayyurt and Sifakis (2015b, p. 119) summarize how a "contrasting picture" emerges from studies related to teachers' perceptions and beliefs: On the one hand, there is a willingness to find out more about ELF and non-native speakers' successful interaction strategies; on the other hand, there is confusion about what needs to be done to integrate the teaching of such strategies into established, EFL-bound practices" (cf. Blair, 2015; also Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2015).…”

“…In recent years several teacher education projects have been implemented with the specific objective to familiarize prospective and/or experienced teachers with the above issues and to foster reflection upon their implications for teaching practices, frequently including moments for experimentation with materials, too (e.g., Bayyurt & Sifakis, 2015aHall, Wikaksono, Qian, & Xu, 2013;Matsuda, 2009 for Japan; Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2015;Wicaksono & Schender Black, 2012). As importantly, concepts related to WE, Global Englishes and English as a lingua franca have to some extent been taken on board since 2008 in teacher training programmes like the Cambridge ESOL DELTA 1 (Dewey, 2012(Dewey, , 2014(Dewey, , 2015bDewey & Leung, 2010).…”

Global Englishes Language Teaching: Bottom‐up Curriculum Implementation

“…ELF instruction and familiarity with ELF had a positive effect, and the authors called for the inclusion of an ELF‐aware approach in practitioner education. Sifakis and Bayyurt's (, ) teacher education project raised participants' awareness of their deep‐rooted convictions and helped them explore new perspectives. Participants were enthusiastic, but many continued to resort to traditional methods when teaching.…”

“Because We Are Peers, We Actually Understand”: Third‐Party Participant Assistance in English as a Lingua Franca Classroom Interactions

“…Based on this study, I provide some practical implications for L2 teachers (here, teachers of English as the second language, specifically working with multilingual students) and pedagogical implications for L2 teacher education. Recently, Sifakis and Bayyurt () proposed ELF‐aware teacher education that enables English teachers to apply ELF concepts and research in their teaching contexts and that prepares them with a mindset for interacting effectively with multilingual students. Needless to say, today all English language teachers, regardless of their native or nonnative status, should be aware of linguistic and cultural complexities and be equipped with strategies for managing intercultural communication in multilingual classrooms.…”