Elsevier

Journal of Pragmatics

Volume 43, Issue 4, March 2011, Pages 926-936
Journal of Pragmatics

Accommodating (to) ELF in the international university

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2010.05.011Get rights and content

Abstract

This article takes as its starting point the fact that the majority of universities in which English is the medium of instruction perceive themselves to be deeply international. Firstly, the article considers the implications of being ‘international’ for academic language policies and practices, but observes that despite the diverse international composition of university student (and to a lesser extent, staff) populations, university language policies and practices are still grounded in largely national (British and North American) English norms. The article goes on to explore the relevance of the findings of research into English as a(n academic) lingua franca for multilingual academic communities, as well as for international academic journals. Finally, it considers the implications of ELF research for native English academics, and argues that as ELF gains acceptance, particularly among younger multilingual speakers, and as multilingualism becomes the global academic norm, native English speakers, especially the monolingual majority, are at risk of becoming disadvantaged when communicating in international settings.

Section snippets

Jennifer Jenkins is Professor of Global Englishes at the University of Southampton, where she teaches undergraduate/postgraduate courses and supervises doctoral research in global Englishes. She has researched ELF since 1989 and published copious journal articles and chapters on the subject, along with two monographs, The Phonology of English as an International Language (OUP, 2000) and English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity (OUP, 2007), as well as a university course book, World

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    Jennifer Jenkins is Professor of Global Englishes at the University of Southampton, where she teaches undergraduate/postgraduate courses and supervises doctoral research in global Englishes. She has researched ELF since 1989 and published copious journal articles and chapters on the subject, along with two monographs, The Phonology of English as an International Language (OUP, 2000) and English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity (OUP, 2007), as well as a university course book, World Englishes (Routledge, 2nd ed. 2009), and two co-edited volumes: Reconfiguring Europe (Equinox, 2006, with Constant Leung) and Global Englishes in Asian Contexts (Palgrave, 2009, with Kumiko Murata).

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