WRD 507, Global Englishes
Course description
English has become a global lingua franca for business, technology, higher education, and popular culture. Around the world, there are many more people who use English as an additional language than people who use it as a first language. However, the effects of English are debated. Does it create new opportunities for cross-cultural connection or deepen existing inequalities? In this course, we explore these and other questions by examining global Englishes in their historical and present contexts. Students also learn about structural features of some specific Englishes around the world, including creole varieties.
Course goals
Describe multiple aspects of English language spread, including causes and effects, as well as social, linguistic, and pedagogical implications;
Explain and critique key perspectives and theories of global Englishes;
Identify and analyze selected linguistic processes related to language variation;
Assess teaching approaches that integrate English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) or English as an International Language (EIL);
Synthesize knowledge of global Englishes with other areas of inquiry, including writing studies and the teaching of English.
Selected themes
Theories of global Englishes; language change & variation; teaching Englishes; hybridity & linguistic landscapes; language diversity & policy; the future of English(es).
Selected readings
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. [one chapter]
Galloway, N., & Rose, H. (2015). Introducing global Englishes. Routledge. [one chapter]
Gonçalves, K. (2015). The pedagogical implications of EFL in a domestic migrant workplace. In H. Bowles & A. Cogo (Eds.), International perspectives on English as a lingua franca: Pedagogical insights (136-159). Palgrave Macmillan.
Macías, D. F., & Mosquera‐Pérez, J. E. (2024). English as a lingua franca, World Englishes, and the preparation of language teachers: An awareness‐raising experience in an English teacher education program in Colombia. TESOL Journal.
Mauranen, A. (2018). Conceptualising ELF. In J. Jenkins et al. (Eds.),The Routledge handbook of English as a lingua franca (7-24). Routledge.
Ngcobo, M., & Barnes, L. (2021). English in the South African language‐in‐education policy on higher education. World Englishes 40, 84-97.
Pennycook, A. (2022). Entanglements and assemblages of English. Crossings, 13(1), 7–21.
Pratt, M. (1991). Arts of the contact zone. Profession, 33-40.
Rubdy, R. (2014). Hybridity in the linguistic landscape: Democratizing English in India. In R. Rubdy & L. Alsagoff (Eds.). The global-local interface and hybridity: Exploring language and identity (43-65). Multilingual Matters.
Saraceni, M. (2015). World Englishes: A critical analysis. Bloomsbury. [primary textbook]
Soruç, A., & Griffiths, C. (2021). Inspiring pre-service English Language Teachers to become ELF-aware. RELC Journal, 1–13.