Two of the original authors of "Giving a Virtual Voice to the Silent Language of Culture: The Cultura Project", published in "Language Learning & Technology" in 2001, look back on the origin of the Cultura project, its goals, and the approach and materials used. Their commentary then focuses on the features and the…

Shows that results of a study that suggests one difference between Indian English (IE) and American English (AE) varieties is the phonetic realization of prominence may be due to misinterpretation of the positioning of stress in Indian English. Shows that by considering the louder syllable to the stressed one, IE stress correlates differ in…

Current practices and materials for teaching English as a second language (ESL) contain oversimplifications about English based on the assumption of a uniform language type and standard of usage, presented to foreign learners for pedagogical clarity. ESL teachers may be aware of the language's diversity but are not prepared to provide…

Reverend Father Professor Amechi Nicholas Akwanya is one of the towering scholars of literature in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. For decades, and still counting, Fr. Prof. Akwanya has worked arduously, professing literature by way of teaching, researching, and writing in the Department of English and Literary Studies of the University of…

Suggests that the use of collections of authentic, thematic resources can facilitate research writing for English for academic purposes students and can form a unifying curricular thread in a variety of English teaching settings. (Author/VWL)

The characteristics of the standard and non-standard varieties of English as spoken as a first language in Britain are discussed. The discussion focuses on 20 comparisons made between the standard and non-standard varieties. It is suggested that many of the local forms of English and the international standard English constitute a potential…

Examines the nature of interlanguage as it affects second-language learning and teaching, focusing on the language transfer phenomenon, fossilization, how error analysis and error correction can be improved through understanding of interlanguage, native speaker norms, international varieties of English, and the contribution of interlanguage to…

Suggests that, in countries where a particular nonnative variety of English is spoken, literary works used in English language teaching should be of this variety. It is argued that the integrative goal in language teaching, involving enhancement of sociocultural awareness, self-identity, and local community communicative competence, is more easily…

Focuses on the role of English and the evolution of a distinct variety of English in Hong Kong. Discusses this "emerging" Hong Kong English and examines how various political changes might affect a future Hong Kong identity, such that Hong Kong English might emerge into a public as well as academic reality. (23 references) (Author/CK)

Examines arguments for and against extensive English language teaching in non-Western cultures, particularly in Japan, including the ideologies of English in two Japanese discourses, "nihonjinron" and "kokusaika." It is concluded that instruction in English that is intended to promote social transformation should include both…

Discusses teaching and learning English as a foreign language in its cultural context, and the culture of the native speaker of English and its relation to the culture of the learner. Native-speaking teachers should recognize the international status of English and work from local varieties of the language. (Author/LMO)

The manner in which English is being nativized in Europe is examined by focusing on German English. The recent historical development of the nativization of English in Germany and the attitudes that foster this practice are described. Among the topics addressed are: (1) the effects of the expansion of English use on the German language itself, (2)…

Issues related to teaching for communicative competence in a second language are discussed: the implications of accepting a nonnative "accommodation" variety of English as a model for teaching and learning; important shifts in thinking among second language speakers; the effects of nationalism and national language development on second…

Prator (1968) argued strongly for promoting a single standard of English, maintaining that schools have an obligation to teach a native standard of English. The assumption that the educational structure is a productive forum for directing language use is questioned. The report begins with a discussion of the controversy surrounding United States…

World English (WE) belongs to everybody who speaks it, but it is nobody's mother tongue. Although today ever more people accept the idea that there is such a thing as WE, very few of them seem to have realized that the full implications of admitting it are much more far reaching than they had hitherto imagined. It may be that some of these…