Standard English or World Englishes: Issues of Ownership and Preference
الموضوعات : نشریه مطالعات آموزش زبان انگلیسی
Ehsan Namaziandost
1
(PhD Student, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Shahrekord, Iran)
Soheila Tahmasbi
2
(Departent of English, Abadan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Abadan, Iran.)
Arsh Hashemifardnia
3
(Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran)
الکلمات المفتاحية: EFL Context, World Englishes, Standard English, Language Ownership, Expanding Circle,
ملخص المقالة :
The widespread use of English worldwide ended in Englishes which are plural when used by local language users. As these World Englishes, in contrast to that of Standard English, consider all realizations of English as equally valid, debates over non-native English norms, standards, and attitudes remain a question. Such diversities also level arguments against language ownership for communities in which English is their first language hence language models. In line with such arguments, the aims of this study were 1) to investigate, to what extent Iranian EFL learners, as a community positioned in the expanding circle of English users, present positive or negative attitudes toward World Englishes (WEs) and Standard English (SE) and 2) whether they claim ownership over English. Forty students majoring in TEFL were invited and their viewpoints were collected through three semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that most participants’ views skewed toward supporting WEs. Furthermore, they were more willing to call English as EFL learners’ property. Although they appreciated the prestigious stance of SE, they showed no negative views toward either WEs or SE. The study have pedagogical implications for teachers and practitioners.
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