English as a Lingua Franca in Europe and Asia: teaching policy on the ground

• Thesis title in Czech: Angličtina jako lingua franca v Evropě a v Asii: Výuková politika v praxi.
• Thesis title in English: English as a Lingua Franca in Europe and Asia: teaching policy on the ground
• Key words: angličtina jako lingua franca|výuka angličtiny|rozšiřující se kruh|uživatelé ELF|odborníci na ELT
• English key words: English as a Lingua Franca|English Language Teaching|Expanding Circle|ELF users|ELT professionals
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2016/2017
• Thesis type: diploma thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of the English Language and ELT Methodology (21-UAJD)
• Supervisor: Mgr. Tamah Sherman, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 31.05.2017
• Date of assignment: 31.05.2017
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 01.06.2017
• Date and time of defence: 06.09.2017 00:00
• Date of electronic submission: 16.08.2017
• Date of proceeded defence: 06.09.2017
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: PhDr. Tomáš Gráf, Ph.D.

Guidelines

In today’s world, European and Asian countries conduct wide-scale business transactions internationally and send massive numbers of students abroad each year through student exchange programs. To facilitate effective communication between linguistically diverse nations, the English language is often used as a lingua franca by the many individuals involved in these exchanges. This ever-increasing internationality continues to have substantial impacts on the characteristics of ELF, as well as consequent implications for pedagogical concerns regarding the treatment of English alongside other linguistic and cultural traditions in the internationally-minded classroom.
This thesis project will attempt to gain insight into the unique challenges that face ELT professionals in the European and Asian contexts by focusing specifically on what is already being done by these individuals on the ground to address the needs of students who use ELF as their main means of communication in their academic and professional lives.

Research will attempt to answer the following questions:

o How do ELF users – individuals who have studied English as a foreign language and use it regularly with other non-native English speakers – understand the goal of developing English proficiency? Do English teachers share the same awareness and understanding of these goals? What has the field of ELF research contributed to this discussion?

o In what kinds of situations do ELF users most often find themselves using the English language? How do ELT professionals bridge the gaps between the background knowledge with which a student walks into the classroom, and the linguistic and sociocultural knowledge they need to have in order to achieve personal success?

o How are these issues and concerns currently addressed in the ELT classroom? What kind of materials and support are currently available to ELT professionals tasked with guiding students who need to use ELF on the ground?

To answer these questions, three main groups of individuals will be considered to identify potential contrasts between issues and concerns relevant to the use of ELF for academic and professional purposes: contemporary researchers in the field, ELF users themselves, and teachers engaged in developing English-language proficiency in an international environment.
In addition to an extensive review of relevant contemporary literature, qualitative interviews will be conducted by the researcher to identify areas already being addressed in the classroom, as well as to shed light on those areas in need of reconsideration to better inform our current pedagogical practices in these geographical regions. These participants will be volunteers selected with the aim of drawing from the most diverse pool of individuals available, and fall into three general categories: (1) Asian ELF users who have studied or worked in Europe; (2) European ELF users who have studied or worked in Asia; and (3) ELT professionals with experience in at least one of these regions.

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