Inclusive/exclusive? English as a lingua franca in the European Union

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The role which English maintains as a lingua franca is currently being conceptualized in differing ways. English as an international language, Euro‐English, and English as a lingua franca are analyzed from two main perspectives; first, the relevance that such descriptions of English‐language usage have for variety building (for mainland Europe); and second, the development of ELT ideologies, methodologies, and course materials which support efforts to incorporate intercultural communicative competence and identity into the instruction. It is maintained not only that the manner in which English is defined and appropriated in mainland Europe should facilitate the development of an endonormative variety, but also that the L2 English of the peoples of Europe should accommodate other Englishes across the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles. The English of mainland Europe, as it is conceptualized for ELT, can facilitate both Europeanization and globalization. A postcolonial theoretical argument is made for importing the world Englishes paradigm to Europe. For this to take place, traditional prescriptivist approaches, which perpetuate Inner Circle sociocultural hegemony and native‐speakerism, need to be replaced with a foundation for ELT better geared to further the aims of mainland European L2 users of the English language.