Pre-empting and signalling non-understanding in ELF:

Abstract

‘Changing English’ aims to illustrate the diversity of English in the world today and to ask whether, and how, ELT practitioners might accommodate such variation. Focusing on a particular language issue in each article, the series will explore how English varies between places and spaces, over time, and between groups of speakers. and will reflect on the possible implications of this for ELT practitioners. In this article, Alessia Cogo and Marie-Luise Pitzl consider how users of English as a Lingua Franca might pre-empt and navigate non-understanding in spoken interactions.