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Teaching English with a Pluricentric Approach: a Compilation of Four Upper Secondary Teachers’ Beliefs

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Teaching English with a Pluricentric Approach: a Compilation of Four Upper Secondary Teachers’ Beliefs Faculty of Education and Society Department of Culture, Languages and Media Degree Project in English Studies and Education 15 Credits, Advanced Level Teaching English with a Pluricentric Approach: a Compilation of Four Upper Secondary Teachers’ Beliefs Att undervisa i engelska med ett pluricentriskt tillvägagångssätt: en sammanställning av fyra gymnasielärares föreställningar Agnes Rauer and Elena Tizzano Master of Arts/Science in Education, 300 Credits Supervisor: Vi Thanh Son 2019-06-09 Examiner: Anna Korshin Wärnsby Acknowledgements We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the upper secondary teachers who agreed to participate in our study, without them it would have been no study at all. We also want to thank Malin Reljanovic Glimäng for making us aware of how the English language is used in the globalized world and also for guiding our first steps in this field of research. And last but not least, we would like to thank our supervisor Vi Thanh Son for guiding and supporting us through this writing process. Contribution to the Synthesis This degree project is a result of a collaborative and equally divided effort. The research, collecting of data and the writing has been fairly distributed among the students/writers. The writing was carried out in a process made of virtual, as well as physical meetings, and facilitated by the use of Google Docs. By using this tool it was possible to follow each other’s creative process and give thorough feedback in order to improve the project. The workload was continuously discussed and adjusted throughout the writing-process and we both gained a deep knowledge of the contents of the text. Every paragraph was carefully discussed and processed by both authors. The stated above is certified by our signatures: Agnes Rauer Elena Tizzano ________________________ ________________________ Abstract One of our first courses at the teacher education program introduced us to how the English language could be taught with an approach we had not thought of before. In particular, the course discussed what it could mean for educators of English to implement a pluricentric approach in their teaching. As future teachers, we gained a whole new perspective on the implications of teaching an international language as English and the benefits it could have by doing so, such as the increment of intercultural awareness. However, during our internships we noticed that in-service teachers often have a rather monolithic way of teaching English, mostly targeting varieties in their teaching that originated from native-speaking countries such as, the United States and the United Kingdom. We conducted a qualitative research with the aim to investigate the beliefs of four upper secondary teachers of English, currently working at two different schools in Malmö, about teaching English with a pluricentric approach. To gather the data we used semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study show that on the one hand, most of the participating teachers express a desire to expose the students to different varieties of English and think of this as important. On the other hand, the investigation shows that the participating teachers prioritise other aspects in their choices, such as content, level and availability of the teaching material and consider variety not as a priority. Key words: pluricentric approach, varieties of English, English as an International Language, World Englishes, teacher beliefs. Table of Content 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................1 2. Purpose and Research Questions ...............................................................................3 3. Theoretical Background and Literature Review ......................................................4 3.1 Terminology ......................................................................................................... 4 3.1.1 The Pluricentric Approach............................................................................ 4 3.1.2 English as an International Language (EIL) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) ..................................................................................................................... 5 3.1.3 English as a Global Language (EGL) and World Englishes (WEs) ............. 6 3.1.4 The native speaker ideal ............................................................................... 7 3.1.5 Teachers’ beliefs ........................................................................................... 7 3.2 Theoretical Background ..................................................................................... 8 3.2.1 The exposure to many varieties of English .................................................. 8 3.2.2 The representation of a multiplicity of speakers .......................................... 9 3.2.3 The exposure to different cultural contexts ................................................ 10 3.2.4 The possibility to develop skills to facilitate intercultural communication 11 3.2.5 Identity and second language learning ....................................................... 11 3.3 The Curriculum for Upper Secondary Schools .............................................. 12 3.4 Previous Research ............................................................................................. 12 3.4.1 Different beliefs in the Three Circles ......................................................... 12 3.4.2 Native speakers’ norm in Iran, Australia and Chile ................................... 13 3.4.3 The Pluricentric Approach in China: an expanding circle country’s point of view ..................................................................................................................... 15 3.4.4 The importance of teachers’ beliefs for implementing a change ................ 17 4. Methods ......................................................................................................................19 4.1 The Participants ................................................................................................... 19 4.2 The Procedure ...................................................................................................... 20 4.3 Procedures for Analysis and Data Collections .................................................... 21 4.3.1 Instruments Used for Data Collection ........................................................ 22 4.3.2 Semi-structured teacher interviews ............................................................ 22 4.5 Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................... 24 5. Results .........................................................................................................................25 5.1 Varieties of English in Classroom Teaching ....................................................... 25 5.2 The Ideal Way of Teaching English .................................................................... 26 6. Discussion ...................................................................................................................29 6.1 To what Extent do English Teachers Expose their Learners to Different Varieties of English in their Classroom? .................................................................................. 29 6.2 In what Learning Situations are Different Varieties Used? What are the Reasons for that Choice? ......................................................................................................... 30 7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................33 7.1 Limitations ........................................................................................................... 34 7.2 Further Research .................................................................................................. 34 References.......................................................................................................................35 Appendix ........................................................................................................................40 Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................ 40 Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................ 42 1. Introduction The shift in the use and function of the English language, due to its worldwide diffusion as a consequence of globalization, has been accounted for by many scholars. They state that nowadays English is predominantly used by non-native speakers, rather than by native speakers (Graddol, 2006; Young & Walsh, 2010; Marlina, 2014; Bhowmik, 2015; Matsuda, 2018). Jenkins (2006) points out that English has become the mostly used lingua franca, and for that reason, she advocates for a pluricentric approach to the teaching of English. Her claims is that teachers should take into consideration the state of the language and aim to raise the learners’ awareness of the multifaceted reality of the English language today. This aligns with the suggestions of other scholars in the field who assert that to develop an understanding of the diversity of English it is necessary to enable the learners to successfully participate in international interaction. The learners who are exposed to English in a varied and pluralistic way will be better equipped to engage in
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