Lynell Chvala & Mona Evelyn Flognfeldt
Globalization and migration have led to increased multilingualism and the reconceptualization of English as a (multi-)lingua franca (ELF) for teaching and learning. To meet ELF user-learners’ needs, teachers need to include ELF awareness as part of their professional thinking and instructional practice and as an awareness suffused with a critical stance to their own and others’ language-pedagogical mindsets and attitudes. This article explores teacher perceptions of spaces that open for the integration of ELF-aware instruction across educational settings. Qualitative analysis of a teacher discussion forum that explored spaces for ELF-aware instruction in the free online continuous professional development course “English as a Lingua Franca Practices for Inclusive Multilingual Classrooms” (ENRICH) revealed a teacher professionalism embedded in shifting paradigms for English in school and shifting learner needs as central to the integration of ELF-aware instruction. Spaces were also identified in policy formulations, the use of instructional materials, and the understanding of key stakeholders in the local community. These spaces, with varying degrees of ELF awareness, were viewed as more outside the control of teachers. Teachers also positioned teacher education as central in fronting debates of English and language in society and educating pre- and in-service professionals in ELF awareness.
Key words: English as a multi-lingua franca, ELF-aware instruction, teacher professionalism, instructional ecology