After ELF-Informed Instruction: Case Studies of Two Japanese University Students’ Development of Their Attitudes and Language Use through their Subsequent ELF Experiences

Abstract

The author investigates post-instructional effect of a specialized course in English as a lingua franca (ELF) on two Japanese informants’ attitudes toward English, an aspect of which has been scarcely explored in the field of ELF. Utilizing a diary method, supplemented with the audio-recordings of ELF conversation, the author examines the degree to which participants’ ELF awareness increased through the instruction, and the extent to which they developed their mindset and language use as legitimate English users through their subsequent ELF experiences. The qualitative analysis of the data revealed that the informants not only viewed ‘nonnative’ varieties of English favorably, but they also became more convinced, as made evident by their communicative behavior, of the importance of message conveyance through pragmatic strategies. Although they still subconsciously contrasted their own English with what is believed to be “the standard” in society, they began to problematize native-speakerist views of those who they perceived to harbor discriminatory attitudes to language.