Abstract
This chapter is about transcending boundaries of a conceptual, cultural, communal and attitudinal nature in terms of understanding the nature of language. It begins with a focus on homogenized conceptualizations of language and the way common fictions naturalize outmoded notions of purity, authenticity and ownership commonly linked to the standardization of forms. Through the denaturalization of dissimulated ideologies upon which such essentialist conceptualizations are based, discretely bounded languages (in this case, ‘English’) are revealed to be inventions and reifications of ideological projects. Challenges which accompany conceptualizations of English that are more fluid in nature are discussed vis-à-vis the manner in which English teaching is regulated and regularized by linguistic as well as curricular artefacts and constructs, including grammars, lexicons, textbooks, syllabuses and teacher preparation courses.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Block, D. (2003). The social turn in second language acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Block, D. (2014). Moving beyond “lingualism”: Multilingual embodiment and multimodality in SLA. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 54–77). New York: Routledge.
Canagarajah, A. S. (2007). Lingua franca English, multilingual communities, and language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 91, 923–939. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00678.x.
Canagarajah, A. S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Canagarajah, A. S. (2014). Theorizing a competence for translingual practice at the contact zone. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 78–102). New York: Routledge.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2013). Towards a plurilingual approach in English language teaching: Softening the boundaries between languages. TESOL Quarterly, 47(3), 591–599. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.121.
Firth, A., & Wagner, J. (1997). On discourse, communication and (some) fundamental concepts in SLA research. The Modern Language Journal, 81(3), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1997.tb05480.x.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Bloomsbury.
Garcia, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Garcia, O., & Li, W. (2014). Translanguaging’ language, bilingualism and education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hanson, J. (2013). Moving out of the monolingual comfort zone and into the multilingual world: An exercise of the writing classroom. In A. S. Canagarajah (Ed.), Literacy as translingual practice: Between communities and classrooms (pp. 207–214). New York: Routledge.
Iino, M., & Murata, K. (2016). Dynamics of ELF communication in an English-medium academic context in Japan: From EFL learners to ELF users. In K. Murata (Ed.), Exploring ELF in Japanese academic and business contexts: Conceptualization, research and pedagogic implications (pp. 111–131). London: Routledge.
Ishikawa, T. (2017). Conceptualising English as a global contact language. Englishes in Practice, 4(2), 31–49. https://doi.org/10.1515/eip-2017-0002.
Jenkins, J. (2007). English as a lingua franca: Attitude and identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jenkins, J. (2015). Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a lingua franca. Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49–85. https://doi.org/10.1515/eip-2015-0003.
Jenkins, J. (2018). The future of ELF as a lingua franca? In J. Jenkins, W. Baker, & M. Dewey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English as a lingua franca (pp. 594–606). London and New York: Routledge.
Kachru, B. (1986). The alchemy of English: The spread, functions, and models of non-native Englishes. Urbana: University of Illinois.
Kachru, B. (Ed.). (1992). The other tongue: English across cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod. New York: Routledge.
Kohn, K. (2018). MY English: A social constructivist perspective on ELF. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 7(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2018-0001.
Leung, C. (2014). Communication and participatory involvement in linguistically diverse classrooms. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 123–146). New York: Routledge.
Li, W. (2018). Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx039.
Lillis, T., & Turner, J. (2001). Student writing in higher education: Contemporary confusion, traditional concerns. Teaching in Higher Education, 6(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510020029608.
Makoni, S., & Pennycook, A. (2007). Disinventing and reconstituting language. In S. Makoni & A. Pennycook (Eds.), Disinventing and reconstituting languages (pp. 1–41). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Makoni, S., & Pennycook, A. (2012). Disinventing multilingualism: From monological multilingualism to multilingua francas. In M. Martin-Jones, A. Blackledge, & A. Creese (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of multilingualism (pp. 439–453). London: Routledge.
May, S. (2014). Introducing the “multilingual turn”. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 1–6). New York: Routledge.
Ortega, L. (2014). Ways forward for a bi/multilingual turn in SLA. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 32–53). New York: Routledge.
Otheguy, R., Garcia, G., & Reid, W. (2015). Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6(3), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2015-0014.
Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of colonialism. London: Routledge.
Pennycook, A. (2007). The myth of English as an international language. In S. Makoni & A. Pennycook (Eds.), Disinventing and reconstituting languages (pp. 90–115). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Phillipson, R. (2009). Linguistic imperialism continued. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan.
Seidlhofer, B. (2009). Common ground and different realities: World Englishes and English as a lingua franca. World Englishes, 28(2), 236–245. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2009.01592.
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding ELF. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Toh, G. (2016c). Doing justice to an English as a lingua franca paradigm. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 5(2), 355–367. https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2016-0024.
Toh, G. (2016d). Graduate school academic writing in a Japanese situation: Drawing on the design perspective towards an affirmation of English as a Lingua Franca. Englishes in Practice, 3(2), 29–54. https://doi.org/10.1515/eip-2016-0002.
Widdowson, H. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 377–389. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587438.
Widdowson, H. (2015). ELF and the pragmatics of language variation. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 4(2), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2015-0027.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Toh, G. (2019). Interrogating Language as Social and Ideological Construct. In: Effecting Change in English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15261-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15261-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15260-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15261-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)