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Title
World Englishes at an international university:
What do students need? What do students want?
Presenter
Christopher G Haswell
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Japan
Abstract:
Asian students of English may come into contact with the effects and truths of English in international contexts more often than other students, due in part to the colonized past of the Asia Pacific. It does not necessarily follow that they will be more understanding of the need to focus on these varieties of English, or continue their studies beyond what they consider to be the necessary focus on EFL classes. While language policies in the Asia Pacific cannot be said to be underplaying the significance of English (Hashimoto 2007; Yim 2007; Cheng 2002), there exists resistance to English as a foreign language (Tsuda, 2008), and a paucity of focused interest on the varieties of English available throughout the world and in Asia.
This study uses quantitative and qualitative data to discover the opinions of English students at an international university in Japan, and finds that while the students may understand the importance of English in their future careers, they are not yet ready for Englishes that are disconnected from the inner circle varieties, such as American or British Standard English, and do not yet support the need for studies of non-native varieties of English.
This study has implications for language policies throughout the Asia Pacific, impacting both macro and micro level EFL course planning, and suggests how these issues could be addressed. As EFL teachers we are concerned with the abilities and motivations of our students, but their opinions about the varieties of English available to them throughout the Asia Pacific have a great deal of relevance in the consideration of not just how we should be teaching our students, but also what kind of English they are expecting to learn.
Keywords:- varieties of English, resistance to English as a foreign language,
References.
Cheng, Z. (2002). English Departments in Chinese universities: purpose and function. World Englishes, Vol.21, No.2, pp. 257-267.
Hashimoto, K. (2007). Japan’s Language Policy and the “Lost Decade”, in Tollefson, J.W. & Tsui, A.B.M.(Eds.), Language Policy, Culture, and Identity in Asian contexts, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, pp. 25-36
Tsuda, Y. (2008). English Hegemony and English Divide, China Media Research, 4(1), pp. 47-55
Yim, S. (2007). Globalization and Language Policy in South Korea, in Tollefson, J.W. & Tsui, A.B.M.(Eds.), Language Policy, Culture, and Identity in Asian contexts, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, pp. 37-54
Bio:-
Chris Haswell is a senior lecturer at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan. He coordinates lecture courses related to TOEFL and the preparation of students for content-based major course subjects. His current research interests are World Englishes and English in Asian contexts, specifically the academic and economic benefits of studying English for Japanese, Chinese and Korean students. He is in the 2nd year of a PhD remote location course in sociolinguistics from the University of Sheffield, England.
contact asian_efl_journal@yahoo.com
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