All Englishes Are Equal (But Some Are More Equal Than Others)

Year 2013, Volume: 30 Issue: 1, 1 - 9, 03.09.2015

Frank Van Splunder

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of English as a medium of instruction in a multilingual context. While most students are either from the Expanding Circle or from the Outer Circle, most lecturers are from the Expanding Circle. Very few (if any) are from the Inner Circle. The case study focuses on the students’ written English. It finds that students who write ‘native-like’ English have a clear advantage. Students from the Outer Circle who use localized varieties of English face particular problems of intelligibility. The paper argues that English may not be the ‘common language’ it is often believed to be, and that it may introduce new inequalities

Keywords

Expanding Circle, English as a Lingua Franca, English-medium instruction, multilingualism, native speaker, outer circle

All Englishes Are Equal (But Some Are More Equal Than Others)

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of English as a medium of instruction in a multilingual context. While most students are either from the Expanding Circle or from the Outer Circle, most lecturers are from the Expanding Circle. Very few (if any) are from the Inner Circle. The case study focuses on the students’ written English. It finds that students who write ‘native-like’ English have a clear advantage. Students from the Outer Circle who use localized varieties of English face particular problems of intelligibility. The paper argues that English may not be the ‘common language’ it is often believed to be, and that it may introduce new inequalities.

Keywords

Expanding Circle, English as a Lingua Franca, English-medium instruction, multilingualism, native speaker, outer circle

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