Native English isn't Relevant to the Majority of English Users - Jennifer Jenkins

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"It's  such social injustice to expect people to use English like native English speakers, whichever country they're in." We dive into this and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) with Jennifer Jenkins. 

Jennifer Jenkins is a British linguist and academic. She was Chair Professor of Global Englishes at the University of Southampton until her retirement in 2019. She is a leading figure in the study of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and is an expert on communication in English between non-native speakers. She has published and lectured widely and is a founder editor of the Journal of English as a Lingua Franca.

In this episode, Jennifer tackles:

• what English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is
• native speakers vs local speakers
• why she was shunned from many rooms for her views
• the cultural and linguistic bias in language testing 
• how tests are not predictive of academic success
• the myth that ELF lowers English standards
• the role of adjusting language rather than mimicking it 
• having a pioneer mindset even when people dismiss you
• how international universities have hypocritical linguistic standards 
• the future of English as a global language 

 

FOR MORE FROM JENNIFER JENKINS:

1. Her Google Scholar page

2. Her page at the University of Southampton 

3. Accommodation in ELF: Where from? Where now? Where next?

 

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If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 

 

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