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A Plurilingual Approach to English Language Teaching from an Ecological Perspective

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A Plurilingual Approach to English Language Teaching from an Ecological Perspective Doctoral Programme in Applied Languages, Literature and Translation Universitat Jaume I Doctoral School A Plurilingual Approach to English Language Teaching from an Ecological Perspective: An international comparative study Report submitted by Alicia Chabert Ull in order to be eligible for a doctoral degree awarded by the Universitat Jaume I Alicia Chabert Ull Rosa María Agost Canós Castelló de la Plana, June 2020 To my husband, to my mother and brother, to my father. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After years of travelling the world and teaching in different countries, it was 4 years ago when I had the crazy idea to leave South Korea to go back home and start a journey that has been, at the same time, incredible and also the most difficult thing I have ever done. All those years in contact with different languages and cultures had sparked a curiosity and research desire that pushed me to start this dissertation. I can only thank my husband, Kristopher O’Hare, for joining me in this journey and supporting me every day to fulfil my dream. Without his continuous understanding and moral support when I needed it the most this difficult journey could have become unattainable. To Kris, thank you. To my director, Dr Rosa María Agost Canós, who believed in me despite the fact that I had left academia for years and I had no idea how to even start my dissertation. I could not believe that my favourite professor from university accepted to be my mentor and is now my friend. Thank you for your patience, your therapeutic supporting sessions, for opening the doors of your home and thanks for not giving up on me. To my university partner, Dr Robert Martínez-Carrasco, for your never-ending support and advice, for coming with me to the other side of the world and helping me achieve all my objectives. I also want to thank the Translation and Communication Department in the UJI and my colleagues, without which I would have gone insane during this process, especially thank you Laura, Núria and Paula. To the teams in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Shenzhen University for all their help during my research and for helping me get in contact with the schools, without which this project would not be possible. A special thank you to the Foreign Language Department in the NTNU for several years of support, in particular to Cèlia and Anne-Karine. I also would like to thank all the schools and teachers that participated in this research and made this study not only possible, but also very enjoyable. To my friends, who endured years of my monothematic conversations about my thesis. Thank you for sticking with me through this and still be with me for the next chapter of my life. Especially Neus, Maria F., Maria M., Clara, Marta, Jessica, Alexandra and Patri, for your support and friendship. Gràcies a la meua família, al meu germà i a ma mare. Mama, gràcies perquè t´has preocupat massa, perquè m'has fet dinarets, perquè m'has ajudat molt des de que he tornat a casa (i sempre). Te vull molt (i a tu també, Carlitos). Alicia Chabert Ull – Doctoral dissertation | 5 ABSTRACT The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the application of multilingualism and plurilingualism theories and the use of the mother tongue in the English classroom in primary education using a communicative teaching approach on a global scale. With this purpose in mind, we implemented our study in three very different contexts around the world: Spain, Norway and China. Based on the premise that the worldwide spread of English has resulted in significant consequences in education and language policies, throughout our dissertation we will focus on different factors affecting English language learning such as the context, the participants and the approach used, with the main objective of analysing the students response to a plurilingual communicative approach to English Language Teaching (ELT) compared to a traditional monolingual one. Our position aims to present an ecological approach to ELT that views English as a real international language that is a tool in our multilingualism and not a threat. In order to achieve our objectives, we carried out quantitative and qualitative research methodologies that allowed us to obtain a wide range of data through the use of different instruments such as questionnaires, a quasiexperimental study, class observations and interviews. Alicia Chabert Ull – Doctoral dissertation | 7 RESUM L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és investigar d’una manera global l'aplicació de les teories multilingües i plurilingües amb l'ús de la llengua materna en l'aula d'anglés en l’educació primària mitjançant un enfocament d'ensenyament comunicatiu. Amb aquest propòsit hem dut a terme la nostra investigació en tres contextos molt diferents del món: Espanya, Noruega i la Xina. El nostre punt de partida és la idea que la difusió de l'anglés a tot el món ha tingut importants conseqüències tant en l'educació com en les polítiques lingüístiques. En aquesta investigació ens hem centrat en diferents factors que afecten l'aprenentatge de l'anglés, com el context, els participants i l'enfocament utilitzat. L'objectiu principal ha estat el d'analitzar la resposta dels alumnes a un enfocament comunicatiu plurilingüe de l'ensenyament de l'anglés en comparació amb un enfocament tradicional monolingüe. La nostra posició té per objecte presentar una visió ecològica de l’ensenyament que considera l'anglés com una veritable llengua internacional; una eina en la societat multilingüe en la qual vivim i no una amenaça. Per tal d’aconseguir els nostres objectius, hem utilitzat metodologies de recerca quantitatives i qualitatives que ens han permés obtenir un gran ventall de dades mitjançant l'ús de diferents instruments com a qüestionaris, un estudi quasi-experimental, observacions de classe i entrevistes. Alicia Chabert Ull – Doctoral dissertation | 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES & TABLES.............................................................................................................. 17-19 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 21 Chapter 1. English as a Lingua Franca: a Worldwide Demand ................................................. 29 1.1. The Current Status of the English Language ....................................................... 29 1.1.1. English in Science ................................................................................................ 31 1.1.2. English in Business .............................................................................................. 33 1.1.3. English in Education ............................................................................................ 35 1.2. World Englishes and ELF ..................................................................................... 36 1.2.1. English Varieties .................................................................................................. 38 1.2.2. English as a Lingua Franca: Concepts and Definitions ......................................... 40 1.2.2.1. English as a Lingua Franca and as an International Language ............................. 41 1.2.2.2. Globalish and Plurilithic English .......................................................................... 43 1.2.2.3. Review and Perspectives for the Future ............................................................. 46 1.3. ELF in Europe ...................................................................................................... 48 1.4. ELF in Asia: Focus on China ................................................................................. 51 1.5. ELF and Multilingualism ...................................................................................... 54 1.5.1. ELF in Multilingualism: a Threat or a Tool ........................................................... 55 1.6. ELF and Language Ecology .................................................................................. 57 1.7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 2. English Teaching Approaches: Past, Present and Future ........................................ 63 2.1. Language Acquisition Approaches, Methodologies and Techniques .................. 63 2.2. Review of English Teaching Methodologies ........................................................ 66 2.2.1. Grammar-Translation Method ............................................................................ 66 2.2.2. The Series and the Direct Method ...................................................................... 69 2.2.3. The Audiolingual Method .................................................................................... 71 2.2.4. “Designer” Methods ........................................................................................... 73 2.2.4.1. Total Physical Response ...................................................................................... 73 2.2.4.2. Community Language Learning ........................................................................... 74 2.2.4.3. Silent Way ........................................................................................................... 75 2.2.4.4. Suggestopedia ..................................................................................................... 76 2.3. Review of English Teaching Approaches ............................................................. 77 Alicia Chabert Ull – Doctoral dissertation
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