The advantages and the ways of incorporating english as a lingua franca into english language teaching

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

---------------------------

HO PHI YEN

THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF
INCORPORATING ENGLISH
AS A LINGUA FRANCA
INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Major: English Language
Course code: 60220201

HO CHI MINH CITY, September 2019


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

---------------------------

THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF
INCORPORATING ENGLISH
AS A LINGUA FRANCA
INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Submitted to the
Faculty of English Language
in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language

Course code: 60220201

By

HO PHI YEN
Supervised by

Dr. LE VAN TUYEN
HO CHI MINH CITY, September 20th


STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY

I certify my authorship of the Master ‘s Thesis submitted today entitled:
THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF INCORPORATING ENGLISH AS
A LINGUA FRANCA INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

In terms of the statement of requirements for Thesis in Master ‘s programs
issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho
Chi Minh City University of Technology.

Ho Chi Minh, September 2019

I


RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Ho Phi Yen, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in

English Language, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention

and use of Master ‘s Thesis deposited in the Library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the
Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the
normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of the
thesis.

Ho Chi Minh, September 2019

II


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my cordial gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Le Van Tuyen for his
priceless guidance and feedback, continuous support, and patience throughout the
preparation of my thesis.
I would also like to thank all lecturers and staffs of HUTECH Institutes of Postgraduation and International Education, English Language Faculty and Professionals
Training Center for their valuable support in my thesis preparation.
I am also indebted to my colleagues at HUTECH Institute of International Education
for their supports. Without their participation and input, I would not have completed
this thesis.
My special thank for my family - who were willing to provide assistance
throughout my tough periods. I want to thank my classmates for the time we have
been together, and I would never forget them all.

III


ABSTRACT

English has been incorporated as the global language which is being used by a
majority of global citizens. Most of them are nonnative English speakers and this
percentage is over 90% (Crystal, 2003). English is used as a medium instruction in
the academic context in non-native English speaking countries. Besides, it has also
been a Lingua Franca (ELF) in those countries. In response to the need of a
empirical study researching on the current advantages and ways of incorporating
ELF in Vietnam, especially in tertiary level, this study aimed to investigate 50 EFL
teachers teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
(HUTECH) about their understanding of ELF concepts, the advantages and the
ways of incorporating ELF into EFL classrooms. The study involved 50 EFL
teachers who are nonnative English speakers teaching English at HUTECH. Both
quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through two instruments, namely
questionnaires and semi- structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and content
analysis were employed to analyze the collected data. The results of the study
revealed that most of the surveyed EFL teachers had acknowledged on ELF at basic
level such as knowing its linguistic elements, vocabulary, its varieties, and its
speakers. More interestingly, the findings of the study also revealed that EFL
teachers thought that incorporating ELF in EFL classrooms may have a lot of
advantages. They also agreed that there are a variety of ways of incorporating ELF
in EFL classrooms. The study also made several suggestions amongst teachers,
educators and students on how to have a full view of ELF and considerable,
systematic ways of incorporating them in their tertiary classrooms. This study is
expected to shed light on the incorporation of ELF in typical tertiary level of
education in Vietnam.

Key words: English as a lingua franca, incorporation, academic context, tertiary
level.

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY ................................................................................. I
RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ............................................................... II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ III
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. IV
LIST OF ABBREVIATION ......................................................................................... V
LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... VI
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................VII
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study ................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Statement of the problem................................................................................................ 2
1.3 Aims and objectives of the study.................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research questions ......................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Scope of the study .......................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Significance of the study ................................................................................................ 5
1.7 Definition of key terms ................................................................................................... 6
1.8 Organization of the thesis ............................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 The Role of English in Vietnam ..................................................................................... 8
2.3 Position of English in the World .................................................................................... 9
2.4. English as a Lingua Franca ............................................................................................ 10
2.4.1 Defining English as a Lingua Franca .......................................................................... 10
2.4.2 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a EFL/ESL ........................................ 12
2.4.3 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a Native Language ............................ 12


2.5 Description of ELF ....................................................................................................... 13

2.5.1 General Description ................................................................................................... 13
2.5.2 ELF in teaching four- skills English .......................................................................... 14
2.5.3 Linguistic Description ............................................................................................... 15
2.5.3.1 Phonology ............................................................................................................... 15
2.5.3.2 Lexical grammar ..................................................................................................... 15
2.5.3.3 Pragmatics .............................................................................................................. 16
2.5.3.4 Written and spoken Language ................................................................................ 16
2.6 Reasons for English as a Lingua Franca ....................................................................... 17
2.7 The embodiment of ELF in Vietnamese higher education ........................................... 20
2.8 Teaching and Learning English as Lingua Franca ....................................................... 21
2.8.1 Advantages of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning of English ........... 21
2.8.2 Ways of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning of English ..................... 22
2.9 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 25
2.10 Previous Studies ......................................................................................................... 26
2.11 Conceptual Framework of the study........................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research design ............................................................................................................ 33
3.2 Research site ................................................................................................................. 33
3.3 Sample and sampling procedures ................................................................................. 34
3.4 Research Instruments .................................................................................................... 37
3.4.1 Closed-ended Questionnaire ................................................................................... 37
3.4.2 Structured interviews .............................................................................................. 39
3.5 Data collection procedures. .......................................................................................... 40
3.6 Data Analysis procedures ............................................................................................. 41
3.6.1 Quantitative data analysis........................................................................................ 41


3.6.2 Qualitative data analysis.......................................................................................... 42
3.7 Validity and Reliability .............................................................................................. 43
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 45
4.2 Results of the Study ...................................................................................................... 45
4.2.1 EFL teachers’ overall understanding of ELF .......................................................... 45
4.2.2 Advantages of incorporating ELF into English language teaching......................... 49
4.2.3 Ways of incorporating ELF into English language teaching .................................. 53
4.3 Discussion..................................................................................................................... 57
4.3.1 EFL teachers’ understanding of ELF ...................................................................... 57
4.3.2 EFL teachers’ perceptions on advantages of incorporating ELF into English
language teaching ............................................................................................................. 59
4.3.3 EFL teachers’ perceptions on proposed ways of incorporating ELF into English
language teaching ............................................................................................................. 60
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION
5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 62
5.2 Summary of the results ................................................................................................. 62
5.3 Implications and recommendations .............................................................................. 63
5.4 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................... 66
5.5 Recommendation for further research .......................................................................... 65
LIST OF REFERENCES................................................................................................. 65
APPENDICES
Appendix A: TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................................... 71
Appendix B: SAMPLE INTERVIEW SHEET .................................................................. 75
Appendix C: TEACHERS’ INTERVIEW RESPONSES .................................................. 76
Appendix D: INTERVIEW RESULTS .............................................................................. 77


Appendix E: CRONBACH’S ALPHA ............................................................................... 85
Appendix F: MEAN & ST.D .............................................................................................. 88
Appendix G: PLAGIARISM CHECK. .............................................................................. 90

LIST OF ABBREVIATION
ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian nations

EAP

English for academic purposes

ENL

English as a Native Language

EFL

English as a Foreign Language

EGL

English as a Global Language

EIL

English as an International Language

ELF

English as a Lingual Franca

EMI

English-medium instruction

ESL

English as a Second Language

ESP

English for specific purposes

HUTECH

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

HIIE

HUTECH Institute of International Education

ISP

International Standard Program

L1

First language

L2

Second language

NNS

Non-native speaker

NS

Native speaker

SLA

Second language acquisition

V


LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Demographics information of the participants .............................................. 35
Table 3.2 Mean scores for analyzing the quantitative data ........................................... 41
Table 3.3 Cronbach’s Alpha indexes of the questionnaire items in total ...................... 44
Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of EFL teachers’ understanding of ELF ..................... 45
Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics of advantages of incorporating ELF into EFL
classrooms ...................................................................................................................... 49
Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics on ways of incorporating ELF .................................... 53

VI


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) contrasted with EFL (English as

a Foreign Language) ……………………………………………………….12
Figure 2.2 The interaction between Kachru’s Circles and ELF…………….13
Figure 2.3: Conceptual Framework of the Study ………………………......32

VII


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
In the worldwide picture, it is claimed that meanwhile the world is getting
narrower thanks to technology and communication among people from different
nationalities is more and more common, people somehow have to admit an
indispensable need for a mutual language called a lingua franca, and English is a
potential option (Tonkin, 2003). Shortly after that, a prediction was made on
Tonkin’s claim by mentioning emergence of the term “English as a lingua franca”
(ELF) as a common language among different first language speakers
(Seidlhofer, 2005a). That claim from Seidhofer stated that there is a need to
incorporate ELF in education especially in tertiary level to facilitate globalization
in many aspects. Since then, there have been many studies on ELF in many
linguistic aspects, especially for topics involving in education. In the field of
education, particularly in tertiary level (higher education) ELF is a tool of
communication or even a medium instruction (EMI) between multinational
lecturers and students in some countries (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia etc.).
What is more, it is estimated that nearly 80% of the contexts of English
communication including academic settings that English work as a second
language (ESL) does not involve in native speakers and English is called a
Lingua Franca (Haberland, 2011). It is such a favorable condition to ELF
development and also for ELF studies worldwide.
Before ‘The National Foreign Languages Project 2020’ of Vietnam

Government in 2008, English was introduced and taught in Vietnam in high
school and tertiary levels. After that, the revolution on incentives of the
government has impelled emergence of English language centers and
international schools in metropolitan areas nationwide. Right after the advent of
project 2020, improving English in both high school and higher education levels
had set a premise to propose many EMI programs and also made English the
communicative tool in HE setting (Burns & Vu Thi Thanh Nha, 2014). The most
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practical example was Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology’s (HUTECH)
International Standards Programs (ISP) which is under the control of HUTECH
Institute of International Education (HIIE), English language faculty, and
professionals training center. ISP program of HIIE was implemented in English
and ELF communication contexts were easy to be found. On the other hand,
English language Faculty and Professionals training center’s teachers and
students prefer using NS English, the variety of English which is used in
communication in their courses was considered mixed with ELF because
Vietnamese students are non- native speakers and teachers were sometime found
non- native speakers apart from Vietnamese. They sometimes found confused
on the unsystematic English used in their classroom communication caused by
different English accents and usages. This situation led to the initial need of
researching ELF in higher education (HE) setting.

1.2 Statement of the problem
Recently worldwide linguistic researchers had conducted studies on ELF
in academic contexts, especially with a great number on ELF in tertiary level of
education. In a study on ELF usage in international academic settings, Bjorkman
(2011a) identified that teachers ought to precede comprehensibility in English
language teaching (ELT) and help students to discover different varieties of

English and with more modern view of language as ELF. However, it seems that
not many EFL teachers paid attention to this field because English is used in
western countries between NSs and they prefer native standard rather than
nonnative.
In the national picture, Pham Hoa Hiep and Ton Nu Nhu Huong (2010)
also suggested that the real interaction in ELF could enable students to recognize
many local, regional, and global norms. Furthermore, one important goal of
English education is to develop students’ communicative competence rather than
deep-seated concentrated on native speakers (NSs) convention (Crystal, 2002).
Most of the teachers and curriculum only focus on a selected standard namely
British English or American English, it is right to follow English native standard
but not a wrong to concede that a language should be varied, developed and
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changed depending on its users.
There has been a growing interest in the term English as a lingua franca,
for example accommodating ELF in international universities (Jenkins, 2011) and
English as an Asian Lingua Franca and the Multilingual Model of ELT
(Kirkpatrick, 2011). Though, most of the previous studies on this topic have
focused on ELF as a variety of English as a global language and come up with the
implications for out of academic context only. Ngo Le Phuong Hoang and Ton
Nu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep are three of a few researches on this field have
been done and published in the Vietnamese context or by the Vietnamese
researchers to investigate the application of ELF in HE. This reality pushes the
researcher into an action to dig into this field.
The application of ELF in HE institutions in Vietnam as the mutual tool
for communication and HUTECH is not an exception to the whole picture of ELF
in tertiary level of education in Vietnam. Nonetheless, English as a native
language (ENL) is still predominately adopted in EFL classrooms and there must

be a need model for ELF to be used as a standardized variety of English
(Seidlhofer, 2004). At HUTECH, apart from HIIE, where English is used as EMI
and as a tool of communication, English Language Faculty, and Professionals
Training Center prefer using NES in their classroom though EFL could also
happens because their lecturers and students are all NNSs in multilingual
classrooms. This thesis was implemented in order to bring educators, teachers and
students to a more complete picture of how ELF is used in EFL even expectedly
or unexpectedly.

1.3 Aims and objectives of the study
The main aim of this study was to investigate EFL teachers’ understanding
on incorporating ELF into their EFL teaching through its advantages and
proposed ways of incorporating. English has been raising its significant role in
tertiary level because it is applied as a tool of communication or EMI inside
classrooms of many institutions worldwide (Bjorkman, 2017). Nevertheless, as
the researcher has mentioned in the introduction on the emergence of ELF that it
hadn’t been researched intensively for tertiary level. In responses to this reality,
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there is a need to take a research in Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
as a typical context of Vietnam tertiary level education and figure out the
situation of Vietnam in general and HUTECH in particular on ELF incorporation.
This study ended up with a boarder picture of ELF implications (advantages and
ways of incorporating) in HE from lecturers’ perceptions. More specifically, the
study attempted:
+ To investigate HUTECH EFL teachers’ understanding on ELF in
general;
+ To explore the advantages of incorporating ELF into English language
teaching in EFL classrooms;

+ To discover how English teachers may incorporate ELF into their
English language teaching in EFL classrooms.

1.4 Research questions
Based on the aims and objectives, the study will attempt to address the
following three research questions.
1) How do EFL teachers understand about ELF in general?
2) What are the advantages of incorporating ELF into EFL teaching in
tertiary level?
3) What are the ways of incorporating ELF into English language teaching
in tertiary level?

1.5 Scope of the study
Many of the previous studies investigated ELF as a mutual tool of
communication in HE, for instance Lingua Franca interactions (Bjorkman, 2011b),
accommodating to ELF in international universities (Jenkins, 2011), and on low
incidence of miscommunications in dialogic speech (Bjorkman, 2009). Hence, this
current thesis oriented to the exploration of teachers’ perceptions on the advantages and
the ways of incorporating ELF in EFL classrooms
Instead of conducting the study in different HE institutions, the researcher
chose HUTECH as the research site for the convenience reason; and the setting of
EFL classes was also a favorable condition to conduct this study.
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Methodologically, the study employed the mixed method with quantitative
at first and qualitative after that. Quantitative data was collected by the
questionnaire from 50 EFL teachers. That means no students participated in this
study.

1.6 Significance of the study
The main aim of this study was to investigate the understanding of
Vietnamese EFL teachers about the advantages and ways of incorporating ELF in
the Vietnamese HE. It is expected to be theoretically and practically significant.
Theoretically, this study may enrich the literature of ELF by focusing on
the perceptions about ELF of teachers and students in academic communication
setting, specifically in an ELF environment. Moreover, it will shed light on both
EFL knowledge and research field, and explore benefits as well as dilemmas of
the application of ELF in EFL and ESP classrooms.
Practically, the findings of the study will be beneficial to educators in the
field of teacher training in ELF context which may be oriented as a fundamental
basis for ELF classrooms in the future. This research might help to put it into
practice efficiently as an orientation in employing ELF in international standard
higher education. For EFL teachers, it may help them to deal with unsystematic
use of ELF which might cause misunderstanding in communication or to classify
and arrange them in an approvable systematic use. Besides, the resolution to deal
with introducing different varieties of English to students in a time-restricted
class as well as teachers’ convictions will also be proposed in a particular picture
of ELF in tertiary level education. Also, in pedagogical perspective, the findings
of this thesis might indicate the necessity to make teachers aware of the ELF in
order to hit the contemporary developments in ELT and be well- rounded
teachers.
The findings of this study is useful for students who desire to study abroad as
well as exchange students in HUTECH to get along well with varieties of English
and recognize them as an essential character of English and familiarize with ELF
community and culture in HUTECH academic context. This is to facilitate
themselves with the orientations to study abroad.
5

1.7 Definition of key terms
Advantage
A condition which gives ELF a greater chance to be incorporated in tertiary level EFL
classrooms.
English as a Lingua Franca
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is defined as a mutual language between
members of two or more different linguacultural backgrounds in English, for
none of whom English is the mother tongue (House, 1999).
Incorporation
The inclusion of ELF as part of a lesson which is introduced in EFL classrooms.
Perception
In this study it means opinions and ideas that teachers and students have about
teaching and learning English as a Lingua Franca in a non-native context like
Vietnam.
Way
In this study it means the manner in which ELF is incorporated. It could resort to some
sources or other devices such as using machines or references.
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or
postsecondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school
providing a secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary
education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. (Cambridge
English dictionary)

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1.8 Organization of the thesis
This thesis includes 5 chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction- This chapter gives an initial overview for the thesis

which set the general context of the research. Eight sections are concluded in this
chapter, namely “Background to the study”, “Statement of the problem”, “Aims
and objectives of the study”, “Research questions”, “Scope of the study”,
“Significance of the study”, “Definitions of the key terms”, and “Organization of
the thesis”.
Chapter 2: Literature review-This chapter presents the theoretical background
of some previous studies and it is composed of 10 sections. “Introduction”, “The
Role of English in Vietnam”, “Position of English in the World”, “English as a
Lingua Franca”, “Description of ELF”, “Reasons for English as a Lingua
Franca”, “The embodiment of ELF in Vietnamese higher education”, “Teaching
and Learning English as Lingua Franca”, “Summary”, “Previous Studies”, and
“Theoretical Framework of the study”. The main aim of this part is supporting the
researcher to back up the researcher ‘s thesis by employing and delving into
previous studies in the field.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology-This chapter presents the research methods
that were employed to conduct this study. This chapter access into detailed and
carefully designed methods of collecting, analyzing and illustrating the data to
answer the three research questions. The major research instruments: the
questionnaire, semi structured interview are identified. This chapter includes
sections Research design, Instruments, Data collection and analysis procedure.
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions-This chapter presents the findings and
discussion of the findings of the study. The findings are presented according to
the order of the three research questions. The findings of research question 1 are
presented first, and then those of research questions 2 and 3 are presented. After
that, discussion of the findings is provided.
Chapter 5: Conclusion-the last chapter is composed of a summary of research
findings, as well as an explanation about unavoidable limitations of the thesis and
suggestions for further field-related studies. Suggestions for further studies are
put forward. It also recommends some theoretical and pedagogical implications
amongst students, teachers and educators.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter is an overview on the theoretical works from which this study
was based on. The chapter respectively went through ELF roles, position of ELF.
It also Defined English as a Lingua Franca, distinguishing English as a Lingua
Franca versus English as a EFL/ESL, English as a Native Language, Description
of ELF. It also conveyed reasons for English as a Lingua Franca, the embodiment
of ELF in Vietnamese higher education, Teaching and Learning English as
Lingua Franca, Advantages of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning
of English, Ways of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning of English,
Previous Studies, and Theoretical Framework of the study.

2.2 The Role of English in Vietnam
There has been “a heated demand for English” in Vietnam since 1986
(Kirkpatrick, 2012a). More importantly, Vietnam became a World Trade
Organization (WTO) member in 2007, which has made the teaching and learning
of English more momentous. The importance of English has been further
bolstered by detailed measures of strategic scheme for foreign language education
at the national level. In recent years, English has scrambled in both
communication and correspondence in trading and services like tourism and
hospitality and education (Walkinshaw, 2018). Relating to the field of tourism,
Vu Thi Hong Van (2015) remarked that competence of English is required for
most professional employment in Vietnam. English now is taught and learned in
all levels of education in Vietnam from primary school to tertiary level. At the
university level, English has an even more important role. All students are
required to study English and approximately ninety percent choose to study

English. The role of English as a language of international communication has
now been much more significant. The Government’s resolution is to embark on
opening up for foreign commerce has enhanced the status of English and its
urgency for the development of the country’s economy.
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English has become the first and the most appealing foreign language used by
Vietnamese people to communicate with foreigners including native speakers
(NSs) and non-native speakers (NNSs) and is widely heard in the Vietnamese
streets and in tertiary institutions (Ngo Phuong Le Hoang, 2015).

2.3 Position of English in the World
Kachru (1992) classified the varieties of English around the world into
three categories: those in the “inner circle” (USA, Britain, Australia, etc.), the
“outer circle” (Venezuela, South Africa, Singapore, etc.), and the “expanding
circle” (Vietnam, Thailand, China, etc.). It is estimated that both the inner and
outer circles include 375 million users and the expanding circle has 750 million to
one billion users in 1992 and it was estimated approximately 5 billion users over
the world (Walkinshaw, 2018). People of the countries belonging to the inner
circle use English as their mother tongue. The people in outer circle countries use
English partly or over the country, usually in academic or international contexts.
Whereas people in expanding circle countries learn how to use English long after
learning mother tongue, English is only known as a foreign language. According
to Kachru (1992), within these circles, different countries hold distinguished
characteristics in the use of English. For example, American English is used in a
multiethnic nation with a majority of immigrants; then it became a mixture of
varieties. Canadian English, on the other hand is similar to North American
English in both phonology and syntax due to dominance of American in 18th
century (Crystal, 1997). Similarly, he asserted that English’s are used in the outer

and expanding circles are varied and diversified by the influence of its historical
background, also by economic and education policies on the use of English.
English in terms of the future global language seems to be stable in its
position as the world’s lingua franca. It is imprecise to predict ELF future
development by the shade of current status. Crystal, Bjokman, Burn, House and
Jenkins can foresee the escalation and establishment of World Englishes in
parallelism. Crystal (1997) stated that the future of English is actually decided by
its non-native speakers, and that non-native speakers of English will be aware of
their position while English is used as a global language (EGL) and there will be
9


much more varieties of English. That English could combine as other countries
start to use English their way and native speakers will not be the norm- providing
anymore. English is named as a global language because of its increasing value
all over the world.
Crystal (1997) asserted that while English takes its popularity worldwide,
we could see it whenever and wherever in any industries. Even it somehow is
missed in any public announcements or menus; we will soon find it in updated
version. Those are the initial evidence on English’s existence as a global language
which is used globally and flexibly adapt its global users, too.
Moreover, English holds another role as an International language (IEL)
which is defined as the most commonly used over the world in varied contexts. It
can be asserted that EIL are the most favorable function of English which is
preferred and highly appreciated in many fields including teaching and learning
English in precise geographic and social context. EIL is used as most mutually
used tool of communication spreading and accomplishing transactional goals in a
wide range of geographical areas (Kirkpatrick, 2011).

2.4 English as a Lingua Franca

2.4.1 Defining English as a Lingua Franca
English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been defined differently by many
researchers (Seidlhofer, 2005a). However, the basic definition of English as a
lingua franca provided by Firth (1996) is that “it is a contact language” between
persons who share different mother tongues, and to whom English is the chosen
foreign language of communication. Besides, Seidlhofer (2005b) described ELF
as a way to communicate in English between speakers with different first
languages. Jenkin has extended this definition by weaving English as the
preferred language by the people from different lingua cultural backgrounds
(Jenkins, 2009). English is a lingua franca only between non- native speakers.
According to House (1999), ELF interactions are defined as interactions between
members of two or more different lingua cultures in English, for none of whom
English is the mother tongue. ELF’s definition could be summarized as a
language that belongs to all the people who use it (Kachru, 1992). Conceived this
10


point of view, ELF is part of “EIL”, and the term EIL is often used as an
alternative to ELF.
ELF was born in the expanding and outer circles. The communication
settings of ELF seemed too miscellaneous because of the highly diverse
linguacultural backgrounds and different varieties of English used by its speakers
(Bjorkman, 2013). It is demonstrated that ELF speakers are not geographically
restricted and their existence is in various settings - between NSs-NNSs or NNSs
– NNSs (Seidlhofer, 2004). Many NNSs achieved English proficiency which is
even higher than the norm of tested native speakers and they could even be the
norm creators who vary English by their local culture, language use and even
accents and idioms. In general, English speaking community tends to be divided
in accordance to three circles, the inner circle which has been proven at the
international English standard is now gradually replaced by the non- native

speakers who own English varieties and develop English on their norms called
English as a Lingual Franca.
ELF is a mixture in terms of its linguistic attributes – pronunciation,
lexical, grammar and discourse treaties. Thus, ELF cannot be recounted as a
single genre or linguistic constitution; rather, it is characterized by different
Englishes namely “a multiplicity of voices”. It is protested that ELF does not aim
to establish a prototype to which all ELF interlocutors must obey as “it never
achieves a stable or even standardized form” and proposes to “further develop a
global variety of English that is not linked to a particular English-speaking
country and that can be used anywhere”. In addition, it is pointed out that an ELF
setting causes language development of English as the fact that ELF speakers are
incredibly much more crowded (Jenkins, 2006). Jenkins’s claim clarified the
current status of ELF which hasn’t developed systematically to be recognized as
an official language but recognition needed to be known and studied for
communication purposes in many areas including education.

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2.4.2 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a Foreign Language /
Second Language
We are able to distinguish ELF from EFL or ESL from their target
contexts, interlocutors and goals despite it’s problematic nature for several
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers (Jenkins, 2006).

Source (Jenkin, 2006)
Figure 2.1. ELF (English as a Lingua Franca) contrasted with EFL (English as a
Foreign Language).

In figure 2.1, the interaction between ELF and EFL is significantly pressed

in their interlocutors. As ELF facilitate communication between both NSs and
NNSs, EFL prefer native- like competence and NSs communication. This is the
most basic difference; while ELF’s first criterion is to boost its communicative
function by flexibly creating favorable conditions to multilingual interlocutors.
EFL on its way is a standard that English language users have to learn by heart
and follow strictly to be understood.

2.4.3 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a Native Language
ELF’s communicative function forms its flexibility to multilingual
interlocutors while native English on the other hand is the standard language
(norm providing) ideology that interlocutors have to follow. For more details, the
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