Korean Adult English Learners’ Perceptions of the Common Grammatical Features of English as a Lingua Franca

Abstract

The present study examines Korean adult English learners’ perceptions about English as a lingua franca (ELF) and the common grammatical features of ELF. 276 university students participated in this study through an online survey portal. The survey consists of two parts: part one asks participants’ attitudes and perceptions about ELF statements, and part two is an acceptability judgement task for common grammatical features of ELF. Overall, the participants showed moderately positive attitude toward most ELF statements despite they manifested stronger preference for native speaker-oriented English learning on a few aspects. The results from the acceptability judgement task for 19 grammatical items consistently remained between neutral and slightly positive ranges. These results indicate that the participants already possess the concept of ELF, at least beyond a non-negative stance, and admit the features of ELF as acceptable forms of English for global communication. Participants’ major, study abroad experiences, and experiences of communicating with foreign people did not cause consistent and significant difference in their attitude toward ELF, nor in their acceptability judgements. For timely and effective incorporation of ELF into English classrooms in Korea, further research need to be conducted with various learner groups regarding the perception about ELF, the development of teaching activities and materials, and the empirical data from on-site applications.