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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1328

Part of General Paper Session (Other abstracts in this session)

ELF therapy for East European complexes; lifting the burden of native speakerism.

Authors: Gonerko-Frej, Anna
Submitted by: Gonerko-Frej, Anna (University of Szczecin, Poland)

The awareness of the pluricentral nature of English in our global world can be a powerful educational instrument in foreign language teaching, significantly enhancing the language learning process. The issue is particularly salient in the countries of post-communist Europe, struggling in different ways to ascertain their identity in dialogues with their new western partners in the post-1989 world.
Research into the identity problems of the English learners in Poland, supported by some  data from other countries of the ex-communist block in Eastern Europe, demonstrates the destructive power of the burden of ‘native-speakerism’. The analysis of language teaching materials or examination criteria, set against the practical reflections of students involved in international exchanges (data from the interviews among Erasmus students in Turku, November 2011) demonstrates the worrying negligence of English in its  lingua franca role. The paradigm shift in the field of English teaching and learning could change ELF from a taboo topic amongst professionals into a liberating factor, largely enhancing language proficiency, with the accompanying beneficial reinforcement of native identity.