Abstract Despite Iran’s increasing use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) and its growing position as a more open country to international relationships, Iran’s education policy is still culturally conservative and intercultural language education is absent from the national curriculum and hence classrooms. In response, this article presents the results of a ten-session course focused on implementing

Article Frontmatter was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

Article Philip Riley ‘in review’ – A tribute of thanks was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

Article Introduction was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

This article aims at examining the topic of ELF intelligibility from the interpreters’ perspective. Therefore, the focus is put on listener factors affecting intelligibility in settings typical for interpreting i.e. monologic settings. Data from various intelligibility studies are compared with results from a study that tested an ELF user’s intelligibility in a conference-like ELF setting and examined

The use of English as a Lingua Franca is a promising solution to the overcoming of language barriers in a wide variety of contexts and, despite being formally governed by the principle of multilingualism, the European institutions are no exception. This paper aims at shedding light on the perception on the use of ELF within the European Commission, by presenting the results of a questionnaire carried

Many factors can affect the translation and interpreting process, but the quality of source texts has been explicitly identified as an issue in surveys of professional translators and interpreters as well as in recent workplace studies. If translators and interpreters encounter resistance in carrying out their tasks, for example by difficulties in extracting meaning from non-native English input, then

This paper presents the results of an online survey on the spread of ELF in the translation and interpreting (T&I) industry in Italy. It follows previous perception studies based on a limited number of ad-hoc interviews or broader surveys including unsolicited comments on ELF. This study is the first attempt to carry out a large-scale, online survey among professional translators and interpreters specifically

The article reports on a survey of Spanish-based interpreters’ perceptions of ELF in simultaneous interpreting settings. The findings of the survey were then further explored through interviews with eight professional conference interpreters in order to provide a more accurate overview of the current situation of the Spanish conference interpreting market. Our research revealed the growing prevalence

This paper analyzes the translation of five child protection assessments and decisions from Finnish into English. Translators of such text have to make difficult decisions in relation to the linguistic resources of the end users, namely the child’s parents or custodians, because it is impossible for the translator to assess their linguistic resources. Therefore, it is difficult to strike a balance

Article Book review of ontologies of English: Conceptualising the Language for Learning, Teaching, and Assessment was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

Article ELF research methods and approaches to data and analyses: Theoretical and methodological underpinnings was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

Article English as a Lingua Franca: The Pragmatic Perspective was published on September 1, 2020 in the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca (volume 9, issue 2).

Toh’s (2016) Topic & Comment article Doing justice to an English as a lingua franca paradigm in this journal provides a sceptical appraisal of a couple of years following the launch of the Center for English as a Lingua Franca (CELF) programme within Tamagawa University, Tokyo, Japan. Having been established in 2013, CELF offers English education to all university departments across the humanities

Abstract This paper examines the learning process of users of English as a business lingua franca (BELF) from the users’ own perspective and proposes a working model as a framework to understand this process. The discussion is based on a qualitative analysis of interviews of Japanese business people who have been raised and educated in Japan and have used BELF for professional purposes. The interviews

Abstract This study examines linguistic feature selection and its relationship with repair sequences in a longitudinal corpus of Japanese–Filipino business ELF interactions. In the corpus, Japanese employees communicate once a month with Filipino employees via computer software to confirm infrastructure status at a Filipino company’s factories. Comparative constructions frequently appear in the corpus

Abstract Research into communication strategies and ELF is a thriving area of investigation, that has so far looked into cooperative strategies leading to successful communication and mutual understanding, or how miscommunication is resolved, above all in academic as well as business ELF (BELF) contexts, and, more recently, international students’ communities. ELF interactions have been shown to be

Abstract As ELF scholars warn us against treating linguistic productions of “non-native” English speakers as “errors” when they are sociolinguistically driven variation, it is necessary to investigate how speakers in Expanding Circle settings conceptualise, label and experience such uses themselves. This paper reports a qualitative study of the metalinguistic and evaluative practices of university

Although JELF is now in its 8 year, the Journal actually had its beginnings over 10 years ago, when I first decided that ELF research had reached the point that it needed, in the words of the editorial of the first issue, “its own forum so that it can develop in a more effective and focused way”. But then I had to get a publisher to take it on. Looking through the copious email correspondence at the

My first encounter with the concept of English as a lingua franca occurred in a very timely way for me professionally – at a point when, as a fairly early career teacher educator working as a tutor on initial language teaching awards, two very connected (though I had not fully realised this yet) strands of my thinking started to come together. First, I had begun to observe in teaching practice sessions

Abstract ELF research has demonstrated that English users employ various communication strategies (CSs) to achieve mutual understanding and deal with uncertainty in ELF conversations. Thus, implementing various CSs is said to be important for learners in ELF interactions. Although a list of CSs might indicate which strategies English learners may ultimately need, it is not necessarily helpful for low-proficiency

Abstract As the use of English as a lingua franca increases in a range of contexts, one question that has received recent media attention is that of whether native or non-native speakers are more effective communicators in these contexts. The native/non-native question resists a straightforward answer, but taking account of the views of people in the business world is a necessary step towards understanding

Abstract This study investigates the degree of intelligibility of Croatian and Croatian speakers’ English for native Slovene listeners. For the purposes of the present experiment, 18 native speakers of Croatian were recorded narrating two short films in their mother tongue as well as in English. Each of the 135 participants, whose L1 is Slovene, listened to a recorded Croatian speaker retelling one

Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine how nurses in family clinics use language, and clients’ perceived English proficiency in particular, when categorizing their non-Finnish-speaking clients in their talk. Through membership categorization analysis (Schegloff, Emanuel A. 2007. A tutorial on membership categorization. Journal of Pragmatics 39(3). 462–482), this study shows that perceived proficiency

Abstract This paper examines attitudes of Japanese business people towards English by interviewing Japanese construction company employees working on international projects in Asian countries, where English is used as a lingua franca (ELF). The engineers took part in an intensive English course provided by their company before being transferred to overseas offices. Conducting individual/focus-group

Abstract This study investigates the uses and functions of laughter and humour in a corpus of nine PhD defences/vivas. The data include the PhD defences in their entirety, including monologic and dialogic talk by participants from a variety of research cultures. The defences were video-recorded and transcribed, and laughter episodes analysed according to who laughed, who the source of “the laughable”

Abstract This paper focuses on the under-researched genre of PhD supervision meetings (but see Vehviläinen, Sanna. 2009a. Problems in the research problem: Critical feedback and resistance in academic supervision. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 53[2]. 185–201; Vehviläinen, Sanna. 2009b. Student-initiated advice in academic supervision. Research on Language and Social Interaction 42[2]

English has long been the lingua franca of academic settings. As many readers of this journal will know, since World War II, English has established for itself a solid place as the dominant lingua franca of science through which most academic and scientific activity takes place (Crystal 2013). In Europe, its position got even more stabilized after the Bologna Declaration in 1999 when an agreement was

Efforts to internationalize higher education in many parts of the world today has meant that increasing numbers of universities are adopting English as the academic lingua franca (Jenkins 2014). To accommodate students and academic staff of different national and first language backgrounds, English is replacing local languages as the main medium of instruction in the classroom. Further, to facilitate

Abstract This study qualitatively examines possible communicative functions of laughter in English-as-a-lingua-franca (ELF) interactional contexts. It particularly focuses on the sequences when students and their instructors deal with miscommunication in multilingual writing classrooms at a US university. Adapting perspectives from the multimodal turn, I conceive of laughter as part of the diverse

Formentelli, Maicol. Taking Stance in English as a Lingua Franca: Managing Interpersonal Relations in Academic Lectures. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4438-8638-3. Hb. (x)+ 219 pp. Salvi, Rita and Judith Turnbull (eds.). The Discursive Construal of Trust in the Dynamics of Knowledge Diffusion. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017.

Abstract The current study investigates the phenomena of “superficial intersubjectivity” occurring in English as a lingua franca (ELF) interactions at an international university dormitory in Japan. “Intersubjectivity” (Rommetveit, Ragnar. 1976. On the architecture of intersubjectivity. In Ragnar Rommetveit & Rolv Mikkel Blakar [eds.], Studies of language, thought, and verbal communication, 93–107

Abstract Formulaic sequences (e.g. on the other hand, for example, at the same time) are pervasive in natural language use and play an important role in differentiating socially situated practices. This paper examines formulaic sequences signalling discourse organisation in academic ELF lectures from a disciplinary perspective. Most previous studies of this kind employ a frequency-based approach; however

Abstract Academic group work can involve challenging pragmatic acts, and chief among these is, arguably, disagreement. There is little known, however, about how disagreement is realised in ELF academic group discussion tasks, where the tendency towards greater cooperation and mutual support in ELF communication may be at odds with the need to achieve task goals through the expression of an oppositional

Abstract This paper investigates the roles of disagreement and trust in multicultural teamwork on an English-medium master’s programme at an Austrian business university. The teamwork project – assigned by the content teacher – took place mostly outside the classroom and simulated business practice both in terms of the tasks and the multicultural context. Each team comprised two Austrian students and

Abstract The role of English at European universities outside English-speaking countries has recently been so dynamic and complex as to merit elaborate acronyms and frameworks of comparison to capture the actual diversity involved in each case of using English, for example in what Dafouz and Smit (Dafouz, Emma and Ute Smit. 2014. Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English-medium education in

Abstract In the past years, it has become generally accepted that the social dynamics of ELF cannot be captured by the notion of a speech community. Instead, the concept Community of Practice (CoP) has gained widespread currency in ELF research. While applications of the CoP framework have given rise to valuable insights, even ELF scholars who work with the concept often acknowledge its limitations

Abstract Ensuring linguistic operability in supranational organizations has led to the de facto imposition of an English-only policy in otherwise lingua-culturally diverse environments. This paper uses a combination of a literature review of military-related language policy documents and semi-structured interviews to explore the impact of those policies on the use of English as the working language

The 10th Anniversary Conference of English as a Lingua Franca, held in Helsinki on 12–15 June 2017, had an exciting theme: “ELF and Changing English.” The general call for papers of the conference made reference to the function of ELF as “a pivotal driver of change in English” and underlined the need to “push the boundaries and explore possibilities of cross-fertilisation between different approaches

Abstract In this article, I address issues, concepts and empirical insights that have profoundly shaped my view of English as a lingua franca (ELF) and of the pedagogical lessons to be learned for English Language Teaching (ELT). Starting from discrepancies in my ELF identity as a speaker of English with ELT roots in a German secondary school, I argue for the social constructivist concept of MY English

Abstract Despite the growing interest surrounding the use and role of the first language in the second language classroom, the vast majority of research in the field has been conducted in classrooms where English is taught as a second language in English-speaking countries. Very little research has investigated the role of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in other language learning environments, such

Abstract This article analyzes how code-switching (CS) is used as a key strategy in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interaction. We use data from CASE, a corpus of ELF Skype conversations in an informal setting between students from nine European countries. CS in our data is commonly used as a communication strategy. A quantitative analysis shows that it occurs in the majority of conversations and

This multilingual collection includes a very brief preface in English, German and French and 14 articles, of which six are in English, five are in German and three in French. Ten of the articles are by academics holding posts in Norway, two hold posts in Greece (Corfu), one in Finland and one in Scotland. The selection of topics is highly eclectic and, with the exception of the first, in which the

Abstract Many researchers agree that multicultural teams are a “double-edged sword” with the potential for high levels of creativity and production, but also conflict. This paper argues that effective communication is vital for developing “virtuous,” rather than vicious, circles and that research into (B)ELF offers an insight into what effective communication in multicultural and multilingual teams

Abstract This paper investigates how English as a lingua franca is used to manage adversarial moments in casual conversation among friends, using conversation analysis and politeness theory. It presents a single case analysis of face negotiation devices utilized in two cases of third-party complaint sequences, in which complaints are made about someone else who is not present. The two cases to be analyzed

Abstract This paper draws on the perception of English as a lingua franca (ELF) as an activity, rather than a variety, whereby speakers of different lingua-cultural backgrounds respond to the needs of the immediate communicative environment. Such dynamic and context-related nature of ELF involves collaboration and accommodative behaviour of all interlocutors. As the main focus of research on ELF has

Abstract This conversation analytic study explores the nexus of goal orientation and linguistic identity (particularly of L1 English speakers) in ELF interaction. While goal orientation constitutes a hallmark of ELF scholarship, the latter notion has received limited scholarly attention. To address this gap, this study examines a dyadic, institutional interaction between two students in the United

Abstract Responding to observations in ELF research that Anglophone-centric attitudes towards English are eroding among speakers of a younger generation, this paper demonstrates that attitudes towards English can in fact vary among youth of different social class backgrounds. Drawing on a case study of immigrant Filipino adolescents in Vancouver, this paper examines how class differences of these youth

Abstract This article describes naturally occurring interactions drawn from three disparate English as a lingua franca (ELF) settings, all in Japan but involving diverse multinational groups of users, each bringing with them repertoires of experiences, skills, strategies, and linguistic features. Adaptations were observed in the language practices, including well-attested strategies and non-selections

Abstract The present paper investigates PhD supervision meetings, using material from naturally occurring speech of ten hours by PhD supervisors and students who all use English as a lingua franca (ELF) for research purposes. The recordings have been transcribed in their entirety, with conversation analytical procedures and additional ethnographic interviews with the PhD supervisors. The present paper

Abstract International business communication is sometimes perceived as being culture-neutral; however, the speakers’ linguacultural repertoires may be exploited as communicative resources in English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF) interactions. Indeed, plurilingual phenomena can be inscribed in a view of ELF communication that sees such practices as a potential asset in intercultural communication

Abstract Over the last decade ELF has become a reality in European universities, but this is not reflected in the major international language tests designed for access to higher education and for university students. In this paper I describe an experiment in “co-certification,” a test of English set at level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), jointly developed by Trinity College

Abstract Sceptical attitudes towards the relevance of ELF research for language pedagogy and teacher education are prevalent and well-documented. Some of this resistance may result from a misunderstanding of key concepts and arguments, some from practical concerns and context-specific factors such as syllabus and assessment frameworks. A significant difficulty in persuading ELT practitioners to adopt

Abstract Previous studies have identified Japanese negative attitudes towards their English and ambivalent attitudes towards the language (e.g. Jenkins 2007, English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press; Matsuda 2003, The ownership of English in Japanese secondary schools. World Englishes 22(4). 483–496; McKenzie 2010, The social psychology of English as a global

Drawing on the concept of ideology proposed by Voloshinov (1929 [1999], Marxismo e filosofia da linguagem: Problemas fundamentais do método sociológico na ciência da linguagem. Trad. Michel Lahud; Yara Frateschi Vieira 9 ed. São Paulo: Editora Hucitec.) and on the notion of language ideology (Woolard 1998, Introduction. In Bambi B. Schieffelin, Kathryn A. Woolard & Paul V. Kroskrity (eds.), Language

Abstract The ASEAN Charter refers to English as the “working language of ASEAN,” a situation different from the EU that has a multiplicity of official and working languages. It has been argued that English, as a foreign “working language,” does not have an emotive value to it as it has merely a functional role. This, however, may change as many people in ASEAN speak a particular variety of English

What transpires from research is that most teachers have knowledge and personal experience of what is happening in and to English outside their classrooms but their awareness and disposition towards ELF vary considerably (Illés and Szatzker 2013; Jenkins 2007; Schekulin and Dorn 2013). Practitioners’ thinking is often fraught with conflicting views, uncertainties and ambiguities, which might have different

Abstract The fact that in the last few decades English has become the international language of scientific communication has brought with it an increasing pressure on non-Anglophone academics to disseminate their research internationally in English. Some disciplinary areas, such as Sociology, which have traditionally been dominated by Anglophone writers, are witness to an increasing number of non-native

Seldom is a university-wide English program launched at a well-established university in Japan without it being given a conventional name like “Intensive English,” “English for Communication” or a moniker like “English Shower.” Tamagawa University’s decision for its campus-wide English program to be an ELF-informed one was a reminder of Jenkins’ (2011: 927) observation about the rarity of universities

Abstract This paper reports on several studies whose common theme is the elicitation of the lexical preferences of speakers of English in localized and globalized settings. Findings from analyses of various corpora show that there exists a relatively small set of preferred words that speakers of English rely on regardless of where the interaction takes place, with whom they are interacting, and what