World Englishes

Description

English is one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world, and nowadays more people learn and speak it as a secondary language, as compared to people for whom it is their first language. As English spread, it underwent changes along the way, and therefore we have a multitude of different varieties existing alongside each other: in addition to those seen as more standard, like British English or American English, we find New Zealand English, Singapore English, Nigerian English, and many more. As a language professional working with English (such as a teacher, writer, editor or policy maker) you are therefore very likely to come across speakers of these variable World Englishes.
This course explores some of the historical, political and social issues associated with the development of different World Englishes, discussing key structural differences between varieties of English along the way. Against this background, we will pay particular attention to practical challenges facing language professionals. For instance, what is the role of standardisation and standard language ideology? How can we support students from diverse language backgrounds? How do learners’ attitudes towards their target variety affect their eventual proficiency? How do we codify new and emerging varieties?
In the first five weeks of this course we will engage with these questions. The second half of the course will be dedicated fully to students’ individual research projects. Students write a research proposal, formulating a research question following on from discussions in the first half of the semester. They either gather their own data with an online questionnaire, or use an existing dataset. For the final assessment, students report on the results of their research. Along the way, they receive training and support both from their lecturer and classmates, learning transferable research skills.