Is International English an Interlanguage?

Abstract

A connection between two major developments in applied linguistics and language-teaching studies in recent years, English as an international language and interlanguage, is made in this article. Three problems addressed are (a) whether it is possible to define English as an international language and whether or not it makes sense to distinguish it from any other kind of English; (b) whether it makes sense to speak of the learner as having a language, whether learners everywhere all follow the same route, and whether it makes any difference what sort of input they receive; and (c) the relation between theory and practice in language teaching. It is argued that a language variety needs prestige to be regarded as a standard, which raises problems for certain ESL situations. Two major alternatives open to international languages have been put forward: (a) an existing language, either as itself or simplified in some way, and (b) an artificial language. Whereas English as an international language deals with societal varieties, interlanguage, on the other hand, is an account of individual variation. Both are necessary approaches to language in use, but neither can be incorporated in the other. It is pointed out that the concept of language proficiency may act as a link between the social and the individual concerns. TWO MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS In this article I suggest that English as an international language (EIL) and interlanguage (IL) are the two major developments in applied linguistics and language-teaching studies in recent years. I take this view because together they cover the two major language concerns: EIL with language in the world, its social use, and IL with language in the individual, its development and the connections it makes between learning first and second languages. These two topics are of importance in language teaching because they are related to the following issues: (a) the choices we make in