The impacts of awareness of global Englishes on learners’ attitudes toward language variation

Abstract

Although English language variation is an inevitable and a natural linguistic phenomenon, language attitudes research has suggested that varieties other than the mainstream native-speaker standards usually receive unfavorable social evaluations. This may reflect the existence of prejudices and discrimination against speakers of many Englishes. Global Englishes literature, however, offers a news pluralistic lens to examine English, providing key implications for language education. While practical proposals have recently been made for how this lens may be used in the context of English teaching, there is as yet only sporadic evidence of how English learners respond to efforts to transform attitudes. This study aimed to examine how a group of Thai learners of English responded to a 9-week global Englishes awareness raising program. Findings obtained through classroom observations, analysis of an online chatroom and interviews suggest that learners developed an increased awareness of the global role of English and experienced a critical reorientation of beliefs about English language variation, gaining enhanced tolerance. These findings point to the importance of teaching English beyond prescribed linguistic skills and helping English learners a pluralistic view of English through the analysis of critical issues related to the global spread of English.