Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T22:43:35.287Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Leisure-activity ESP as a special case of ELF: the example of scuba diving English

A call for the recognition of a close relationship between English as a Lingua Franca and English for Specific Purposes, and of the fact that this can be (and can have to do with) fun!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2013

Edgar W. Schneider
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

It is well known that native speakers of English around the globe are by far outnumbered today by speakers of English as a second or as a foreign language (Crystal, 2008). English is thus regularly used as a lingua franca, i.e. an intermediary language used between speakers of various linguistic backgrounds, for transnational and intercultural communication in many domains of life (such as business, diplomacy, higher education, tourism, etc.). The study of conditions of using ‘English as a Lingua Franca’ (ELF), intrinsically connected to the fields of World Englishes and Second Language Acquisition (Schneider, 2012), has come to be a booming sub-field and topic of research in English linguistics over the past few years, as is indicated by the publication of a few textbooks, the establishment of a conference series, and the launch of a scholarly journal (JELF). The focus of these approaches has been on the functions, usage conditions, and practical applications of ELF (Seidlhofer, 2011), and also, though to a lesser extent, on any characteristic structural properties (Dewey, 2007; Jenkins, Cogo & Dewey, 2011; Cogo & Dewey, 2012). Clearly, ELF can be found in a wide range of possible applications and contexts, as Cogo & Dewey (2012: 31) have stated: ‘As a natural phenomenon of sociolinguistic variation, ELF includes all types of communicative events, from the transactional to the interactional, and various possible settings, such as the institutional and the casual.’ It is considered to be independent of the interactants' native-speaker status: prototypically ELF involves communication between non-native speakers of English, but sometimes native speakers participate in such encounters as well. It centrally involves accommodation, negotiation and adjustment of forms to achieve successful communication.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 47 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beaugrande, R., & Dressler, W. 1981. Introduction to Text Linguistics. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Biber, D. 1989. ‘A typology of English texts.’ Linguistics, 27, 3–43.Google Scholar
Biber, D. et al. 1999. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Cogo, A. & Dewey, M. 2012. Analysing English as a Lingua Franca: A Corpus-driven Investigation. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Crystal, D. 2008. ‘Two thousand million? Updates on the statistics of English.’ English Today, 24(1), 3–6.Google Scholar
Dewey, M. 2007. English as a Lingua Franca: An Empirical Study of Innovation in Lexis and Grammar. London: King's College dissertation.Google Scholar
Eckert, P. & McConnell-Ginet, S. 1992. ‘Think practically and look locally: language and gender as community-based practice.’ Annual Review of Anthropology, 21: 461–90.Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, S. 2009. ‘English as a lingua franca in multinational corporations – exploring business communities of practice.’ In Mauranen, A. & Ranta, E. (eds), English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, pp. 126–51.Google Scholar
García Mayo, M. del Pilar. 2000. English for Specific Purposes: Discourse Analysis and Course Design. Bilbao: Servicio Editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. 2007. English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J., Cogo, A. & Dewey, M. 2011. ‘State-of-the-art article: review of developments in research into English as a lingua franca.’ Language Teaching, 44(3), 281–315.Google Scholar
Kennedy, C., & Bolitho, R. 1984. English for Specific Purposes. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Kim, D. 2008. English for Occupational Purposes. One Language? London, New York: Continuum.Google Scholar
Mauranen, A. & Ranta, E. 2009. English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Meyerhoff, M. 2002. ‘Communities of practice.’ In Chambers, J. K., Trudgill, P. & Schilling-Estes, N. (eds), The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Malden, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 526–48.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. C. 1991. ESP Today: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Schneider, E. W. 2012. ‘Exploring the interface between World Englishes and Second Language Acquisition – and implications for English as a Lingua Franca.’ Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 1(1), 57–91.Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, B. 2007. ‘English as a lingua franca and communities of practice.’ In Volk-Birke, S. & Lippert, J. (eds), Anglistentag 2006 Halle: Proceedings. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, pp. 307–18.Google Scholar
Seidlhofer, B. 2011. Understanding English as a Lingua Franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Widdowson, H. 1981. ‘English for Specific Purposes: criteria for course design.’ In Selinker, L., Tarone, E. & Hanzeli, V. (eds), English for Academic and Technical Purposes. Rowley, MA: Newbury House, pp. 1–11.Google Scholar