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3Language Norms in the Global TESOL Curriculum

Pre-reading Activities

Think

Kachru (1986) described English as ‘the fabled Aladdin’s lamp’ (1986: 1). Think about why he explained the language this way and how you would describe English.

Discuss

In small groups, discuss the following:

(1)What is Standard English? Why do some authors prefer to use the capitalised Standard English or ‘standard’ English instead of standard English?

(2)What role does Standard English have in English language classrooms worldwide?

(3)Who are native speakers and non-native speakers of English worldwide? What do you think about the native/non-native distinctions and why?

Introduction

Historically speaking, language standards and language norms were dictated by those who held power such as royalty, the court and the upper classes (Galloway & Rose, 2015). For example, before the global spread of English, the Chancery Standard, based on the language of the courts, was established to enhance communication across the nation of England. These norms are increasingly challenged by the global spread of English, which has led to the emergence of a post-modern phenomenon where people with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds use the language to communicate in their own ways. It generates variations that are different from established language norms and causes destabilisation of those norms. This has been a challenge to people who seek to adhere the norms as linguistic benchmarks, including teachers (Seidlhofer, 2018). This chapter includes an examination of discussions surrounding the spread of English from social, political, economic and educational perspectives and effects these have had on language standards. Furthermore, the chapter offers an exploration of the implications of norm-bound beliefs within the context of English Language Teaching today. It also introduces examples of programmes and courses that promote EIL awareness and increase EIL experiences in English language classrooms. Finally, the chapter concludes by addressing future directions for the successful implementation of EIL-oriented pedagogic actions, as they pertain to language standards.

Key Concepts

TESOL practitioners must be aware of these concepts associated with language norms because they are fundamental components of language and language teaching.

Standard language

People tend to be open to the concept of a uniformed language, since they tend to see the imposed language uniformity via a one-and-only legitimate standard variety as necessary (Milroy, 1999, 2001) and to accept assumptions, such as the existence of uniformity in languages operating with notions of standards (Seidlhofer, 2018). As described in Jenkins (2015a), ‘[Language standards] are the prescriptive language rules which together constitute the standard and to which all members of a language community are exposed and urged to conform during education, regardless of their local variety’ (Jenkins, 2015a: 22).

The variety of language considered to be the standard is called a Standard language. A Standard language is used as a yardstick against which other varieties of the language are measured. In this regard, a Standard language can be considered as a prestige variety within a society (Jenkins, 2015a).

Nevertheless, a Standard language, which is assumed to be uniform especially in its grammar and vocabulary, is never actually achieved. As language is always changing, uniformity is regarded as an idea in mind rather than a reality (Bhatt, 2001, 2005; Milroy & Milroy, 1999); and ‘it seems appropriate to speak more abstractly of standardisation as an ideology’ (Milroy & Milroy, 1999: 22–23). Lippi-Green (1997) defines the ideology as ‘a bias toward an abstract, idealized homogenous spoken language, which is imposed and maintained by dominant bloc institutions and which names as its model the written language, but which is drawn primarily from the spoken language of the upper middle class’ (Lippi-Green, 1997: 64).

As the previous two chapters have shown, in terms of TESOL, it is important to re-evaluate the use of a Standard English as a role model. We need to take into account the sociolinguistic reality that languages are unstable in nature because users utilise them in their own ways depending upon the contexts and aims. Moreover, as a result of constant changes in circumstances, especially globalisation, English has been spread globally; and the standards have been considerably shifting to keep up with those changes (Seidlhofer, 2018).

Native speaker standards

Standards in TESOL are often attributed to the idea of a native speaker. That is, a native speaker is often positioned as a user of the correct or desirable norms and thus Standard English. However, as Chapter 1 explored, there are several approaches to define native speakers (e.g. Cook, 2008; Davies, 2003). The common one is based on birth: a person who learnt first in childhood; on knowledge: a person who has a subconscious knowledge of rules; or on identity: a person who has a sense of belonging in a language community (Cook, 2008). Although there are many different groupings of native speakers, a person who learnt English first in childhood is usually considered as a native speaker and often is used as a role model in English Language Teaching (Cook, 2008). However, taking into account the global spread of English and the current sociolinguistic reality (Graddol, 2006), the use of native speakers as role models for English language learners has been questioned (e.g. Cook, 1999, 2008, 2012, 2016; Davies, 1991, 1996, 2003, 2013; Medgyes, 1992; Paikeday, 1985; Rampton, 1990). Further to this, as native speakers (in the narrow definition of the term) are scattered in diverse linguistic communities around the world, the idea that all native speakers adhere to a uniform standard is a clear fantasy.

The Global Spread of English

Standards attributed to English language are interconnected with push and pull factors associated with prestige and power. That is, English speakers are pulled to emulate the language used by powerful communities, which often develops the perceived standards. Furthermore, the standards are pushed onto other communities through the education system and other societal factors, thus strengthening their status as a standard. Thus, it is worth exploring further how push and pull factors were associated with the dispersion of English. The global spread of English has been attributed to various movements including colonialism, economic power and globalisation (Barnawi, 2018).

Colonialism

Colonialism has played a crucial role in contributing to the spread of English, which peaked towards the end of the 19th century (Crystal, 2018; Pennycook, 1998). The growth of the British empire contributed to the strong ties between the use of English and power. In most colonies, the main institutions, such as the governing bodies, government agencies, the civil service, the law courts, national religious bodies, the schools and higher educational institutions, operated in English (Crystal, 2018), which saw powerful standards of English pushed into multiple parts of society. As a result, those who spoke Standard English had greater access to more and better jobs, leading to pull factors towards prestige varieties of English. This resulted in strong incentives to learn British English and created a preference towards British native speaking teachers and British English norms (McKay & Bokhorst-Heng, 2008). This historical perspective explains the continued prominence of British English in TESOL today.

Economic power

As indicated in Chapter 1, the success in securing the status of English as a global language was attributed to the economic conditions that created commercial supremacy of the United Kingdom and especially the United States later in the 20th century (Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Crystal, 2018). Due to this dominant economic position, English became the language of international business and trade. As commerce expanded and English became a key to connect all parts of the world market, the use of native speaker English gave organisations access to international markets. Tourist and adverting industries were especially dependent upon English (Crystal, 2018). During this era, the United States contained nearly four times as many native English speakers as the United Kingdom, and these two countries grew to comprise 70% of all native speakers across the world (Crystal, 2018). Having the largest number of native speakers of English, economic and political underpinnings allowed the United States to influence global ideas of an English language standard. This economic power, and the pull of many speakers towards it, helped establish American English as a perceived standard in many parts of the world. Nevertheless, taking into consideration the growing number of non-native English speakers in rising economic powers, the United States’ level of dominance has been changing (Graddol, 2006).

Globalisation

In the era of globalisation, many people desire and think it is important to learn English because of a belief (sometimes unrealistic) in the power of the English language (McKay & Bokhorst-Heng, 2008). Knowledge of English may bring economic, educational and social advantages (McKay, 2012); and English is often regarded as a key to personal success. Kachru (1986) used the term ‘the alchemy of English’ (1986: 1) and wrote ‘knowing English is like possessing the fabled Aladdin’s lamp, which permits one to open, as it were, the linguistic gates to international business, technology, science and travel. In short, English provides linguistic power’ (1986: 1). As a result, there has been a rapid increase in the number of non-native speakers of English across the world, who were pulled towards the learning of English because of globalisation. Thus, a growing role of EIL can be seen in various fields. The fields more likely to be relevant to English language learners (education, international business, media and entertainment and technology) are explained in the following section.

Education

The number of international students going to English-speaking countries is growing. At the same time there has been an increase in students who are taught in English, as more and more Outer Circle and Expanding Circle countries in Europe and Asia, are offering courses taught through the medium of English (Graddol, 2006; Galloway et al., 2017). English is a means of attracting both international and domestic student communities, teaching staff and researchers in order to gain international experiences (Graddol, 2006; Galloway et al., 2017). Furthermore, the use of English as a medium of instruction allows students to gain access to content knowledge as well as to improve English language proficiency and international competencies and to establish contacts ultimately contributing to their employability (Galloway et al., 2017). Thus, there are more opportunities than ever before for non-native speakers to use EIL, which contributes to establishing new English language standards.

Education has been a powerful factor that has established the notion of a written academic English as a standard in this domain. In terms of academic publications, frequently popular handbooks and scholarly aids are available in English. The relevant terminology is often better established and recognised in English than in the local language. Thus, there has been a significant increase in the use of English in publications especially in science, such as biology, physics, medicine, mathematics and chemistry (Crystal, 2003). English is frequently used by non-native English speakers in order to maximise the potential readership. International scientific projects also are carried out by using English as a shared language (McKay, 2012). The establishment of a standardised English used in such publications, has seen the rise in courses that teach English for Academic Purposes (EAP). As academic English is nobody’s native language, L1 and L2 speakers must learn the features of this perceived standard, giving rise to EAP-style courses in L2 classrooms, and composition-style or genre-informed courses in L1 classrooms.

International business

Although native English facilitates the activities of many transnational corporations, especially for business outside of English-speaking countries, fewer interactions now involve native speakers (Graddol, 2006; Paradowski, 2008). The number of businesses outside English-speaking countries is on the rise and non-native speakers who use English to communicate with other non-native speakers are growing. For example, workers at Daimler-Chrysler are required to learn English as their working language. In the Czech Republic, Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile assembly plant workers have to use English as an in-house cooperate language of the Japanese, French and Czech staff. In these contexts, the standards used are often much more dynamic and emerge according to the communicative needs. To the extent that this trend continues, a working knowledge of English is essential to be employed in transnational corporations. The desirability of English is also seen in the outsourcing services, since most of the offshore contracts come from English-speaking corporations (Graddol, 2006). Call centres are in distant locations such as India because of the abundant supply of professionals with a high level of English language skills.