The Implications of Teaching English as an International Language (EIL)

1. The Implications of Teaching English as an International Language (EIL) Katie subra, M.A. TESL University of Minnesota U.S. English Language Fellow 5 February 2014 Minsk State Linguistic University subr0054@umn.edu

2. Who should learn English as an International Language? Why should English as an International Language be taught?

3. Acronyms and Growing Frameworks

4. Three circles (Kachru, 1992) 1) Inner USA, UK, Australia, Canada 2) Outer India, Singapore, Philippines, … 3) Expanding Russia, Japan, Brazil, China, …

5. Hierarchy of Language Language: Humans are able to create complex systems of communication. These systems are evident in the 3000+ languages that are spoken today. Dialect: This includes pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar Accent: This defines the specific pronunciation of a language and includes phonology (individual sounds) and prosody (rhythm, stress, and intonation). Jargon: This is the vocabulary used by a specific group. (Ex: Grammar class has a specific jargon, as do your major fields. sociolect, idiolect, slang, pidgins, lexicon, standard, non-standard, official…

6. What does EIL mean to you (and your students) in your teaching context?

7. (Talebinezhad et al. 2001) • Descriptive, not prescriptive • Reforming EFL/ESL models • Used by people, for communication • Universally used and adopted • All speakers on equal footing • Operational in different settings • David Crystal's claim (1992) 2/3 NNES • Language does not dictate culture • Language adapts to culture • Any combination of interactors EIL is… Descriptive Reformative Functional Non-Artificial Intervarietal Cross-Cultural Universal Multi-Cultural Intercultural Unpredictable

8. NNES NES NNES NES

9. Implication #1: Both Native and Non-Native Speakers of English Should have training in EIL "…though a good command of English grammar, lexis, and phonology is necessary to facilitate international communication, it may not be sufficient. Accordingly, both native as well as non-native English speakers should have assistance in their use of English for international communication because of the different functions of English across cultures." (Talebinezhad et al. 2001)

10. Corpora & EIL Practice in Speaking/Listening ICE – International Corpus of Englishhttp://ice-corpora.net/ Is it from Australia, East Africa, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, or The Philippines? The Ministry of Education has been asked to consider providing on the job training to untrained primary school teachers with long service instead of offering them places in teacher training colleges

11. Corpora & EIL Practice in Speaking/Listening ICE – International Corpus of Englishhttp://ice-corpora.net/ Is it from Australia, East Africa, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, or The Philippines? And nowadays everybody considers <,> this particular speech delivered by <,> Emerson as <,> uh the literary Declaration of Independence

12. Corpora & EIL Practice in Speaking/Listening ICE – International Corpus of Englishhttp://ice-corpora.net/ Is it from Australia, East Africa, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, or The Philippines? The tribunal granted MPs a ninety dollar a week pay rise <,> industrial commissioners one hundred and fifty dollars a week <,> and judges between one hundred and seventy-five and two hundred dollars a week

13. Corpora & EIL Practice in Speaking/Listening ICE – International Corpus of Englishhttp://ice-corpora.net/ Is it from Australia, East Africa, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, or The Philippines? The application of information technology in the clothing industry <,> are diverse and varied <,> and it is impossible to cover all the options in two days

14. other Corpora to consider

15. Know your Audience in Writing/Speaking • Generally speaking, written English standards are governed by fields of study and levels of formality. • Know your audience • Ex: Business English • North America: State your purpose right away and keep it simple: • Subsequent to the passage of the subject legislation, it is incumbent upon you to advise your organization to comply with it.* • After the law passes, you must tell your people to comply with it.*

16. Know your Audience in Writing/Speaking • Ex: Business English • Indian English: Keep it simple, but use face-saving techniques. • American: Since we have already gone far over budget on overtime hours, I am afraid that we will not be able to meet your request to finish the project by the 31st. • Indian: The project must be generating a lot of interest. We will try to have it completed by the 31st. • Visit Purdue Online Writing Lab for more examples https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

18. Consider the following questions: • What is "correct (standard)" English? • Is correct English the goal? Is it your goal? • Where do other Englishes fit? What benefit do these varieties provide? • Listen to Storycorps stories about Friendship • Do you hear errors? Do you hear emotion? • http://storycorps.org/ • Visit 'International Dialect of English Archive' IDEA • Read 'Comma Gets a Cure' & Record your own sample • Listen to world and regional examples of these • http://www.dialectsarchive.com/

19. Implication #2: Know your students' goals. Rarely is native-like English realistic or necessary • Factors that mark NNES's Speech and Writing: Preposition choice, Missing articles, adverbial misuse, Progressive tenses, Transitions, Parallelism. • I studied very hard ion math, reading, writing, and literacy skills when I was in schooling in China. • Study abroad is just one of the educational options; knowledge itself is the power to drive you to anywhere you pursue. • The sharing part has created a very positively and supportive dialogues between students and students, students and teachers

20. Sociopragmatics & EIL Did you know…? Usually interesting has a positive connotation, but in Minnesota, when something is interesting, it is bad Bangers in the UK may be quite tasty (sausages); in the U.S. they are a distasteful crowd (gang bangers) When it is time to go somewhere in the non-urban U.S., one might say it's time to hit the road Depending upon the cultural setting of English use, you will find different accents, definitions, slang, face-saving techniques, metaphors, idioms, & so on…

21. Assessing Informal Speech Acts Sociopragmatic Speech Acts in Role Plays: Apologies Complaints Compliments/Responses Refusals Requests Thanks Practice using specialized grammar, polite phrasing, and indirect speech for these and other common face-saving situations (formal & informal speech).

22. Sociopragmatic Example: Apologies Taken from Carla, The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition, UMN (Cohen & Olshtain, 1981): • Can you guess how Americans would use apologies for the following purposes? Create the scene. • An expression of apology (e.g. I'm so very sorry!) • Acknowledgement of responsibility (e.g. It's my fault.) • Explanation or account (e.g. The bus was late.) • Offer of repair (e.g. How can I make it up to you?) • Promise of non-recurrence (e.g. It won't happen again) • Why are these speech acts important? When would your students use them? Think about the level of your students. What additional preparation would they need?

23. Sociopragmatic Example: Refusals Taken from Carla, The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition, UMN (Cohen & Olshtain, 1981): • Imagine that you have to make a refusal for the following situations. How could you do so while being polite? Would your language change if you were talking to your boss vs. friend? • Refusal of Request (e.g. additional work/helping a friend) • Refusal of Invitations (e.g. birthday invitation) • Refusal of Offers (e.g. offer to dry clean your coat after spilling on it) • Refusal of Suggestions (e.g. suggestion to change work habits) • Why are these speech acts important? When would your students use them? Think about the level of your students. What additional preparation would they need?

24. Steven Pinker The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature • Situational Language Types: • Bribes – Ex: Perhaps you'd like two free tickets to the game on Saturday. • Threats – Ex: You'd better not do that (or else...) • Solicitations – Ex: Wouldn't you like to be part of a network that provides shelter and food to over 200,000 refugees? • Seductions – Ex: Do you come here often? • Requests – Ex: Maybe if you aren't busy, you could stop over while I'm packing tonight.

25. Indirect Language – Reading between the lines Would you like to come up and see my etchings? [a sexual come-on] If you could pass the guacamole, that would be awesome. [a polite request] Nice store you got there. Would be a real shame if something happened to it. [a threat] We're counting on you to show leadership in our Campaign for the Future. [a solicitation for a donation] Gee, officer, is there some way we could take care of the ticket here? [a bribe]

26. Two Goals of Language • Convey Content • Negotiate Relationships • Anthropologist Alan Fiske's 3 Major Human Relationships: • Dominance – "Don't mess with me!" • Communality – "Share and share alike." • Reciprocity – "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." How do we teach pragmatically correct language?

27. Implication #3: Sociopragmatics needs to be taught through experiential language practice Exposure to idioms, slang, and field specific language, culturally diverse advertisements Content based language teaching Role plays, Mock interviews, Social Relationships, Formal and Informal Speech Practice, Exposure to diverse (NNES) literature Teach sociopragmatics in all skills and levels Keep doing it; you'll never be done And what else?...

28. Final Discussion What can a NES do better? A NNES? When is it easy for English speakers of different varieties to understand each other? Difficult? What are the pros and cons of teaching English as an International Language?

29. Resources & Questions subr0054@umn.edu Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. (2013). Description of Speech Acts. UMN. Retrieved from: http://www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts/refusals/american.html Crystal, D. (1992). An encyclopedic dictionary of language and languages. Blackwell. International Corpus of English. (10 November 2013). Sample Sound Files. Retrieved from: http://ice-corpora.net/ice/sounds.htm. Kachru, B. (1982). "Models for non-native Englishes." In B. B. Kachru (ed.) 1982. The other tongue. Urbana University of Illinois Press. Nunan, D. 1999/2000. "Yes, but is English?" TESOL Matters, p. 3. Pinker, S. (2007). The Stuff of Thought : Language as a Window Into Human Nature. New York: Viking. Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2013). English as a Second Language. Retrieved from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/5/. RSA Animate. 17 Feb. 2011. Language as a Window into Human Nature. Retrieved from: http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/rsa- animate-language-as-a-window-into-human-nature Smith, L.E.1983. (ed.) Readings in English as an international language. Pergamon. Talebinezhad, M.R. and Aliakbari, M. (July 2001). "Basic Assumptions in Teaching English as an International Language" The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VII, No. 7. Retrieved from: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Talebinezhad-EIL.html.