ELF is increasingly being recognized as a learning objective in educational standards for secondary schools and teacher education (e.g. in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany). ELF pedagogy thus seems to be gaining ground in traditionally “hostile” EFL territory. At the same time, however, EFL professionals on all levels of expertise are still harbouring the suspicion that teaching ELF is all about "teaching incorrect English". Much of the persistent antagonism between ELF and EFL is due to misunderstandings based on hidden differences regarding focal interests and key conceptualizations both in research and pedagogy. In my presentation, I explore ways in which the rift between ELF and EFL can be bridged to provide a common ground for integrated pedagogical solutions. Guidance and orientation is provided by an ensemble of communicative-constructivist principles and assumptions concerning the communicative nature of language competence, language acquisition as creative construction, the status of Standard English as a teaching/learning goal, and the role of speaker satisfaction for communicative success (Kohn 2011, 2014). Against this backdrop, I sketch out a pedagogical approach geared to the requirements and purposes of ELF communication. Learning objectives include awareness raising as well as knowledge and skills development for comprehension, production, and interaction. Special attention is given to enabling learners to trust and explore their own non-native speaker creativity (Kohn 2014). Learning tasks and activities suitable for ELF practice and development are described and discussed with reference to online resources and environments available from various European projects. This includes online BACKBONE interviews with ELF speakers from different European countries as well as TILA lingua franca conversations in videoconference and virtual world settings. Kohn, K. (2011). English as a lingua franca and the Standard English misunderstanding". In: A. De Houwer & A. Wilton (eds.). English in Europe Today. Sociocultural and Educational Perspectives. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Kohn, K. (2014). “A pedagogical space for ELF in the English classroom”. In: Y. Bayyurt & S. Akcan (eds.). Current perspectives on pedagogy for ELF. De Gruyter Mouton.

1. Teaching towards ELF competence in the English classroom Colloquium: “ELF-aware classroom practices and teaching materials: issues and new perspectives in ELT”
Kurt Kohn Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Sprachlernmedien www.sprachlernmedien.de kurt.kohn@uni-tuebingen.de ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
This presentation uses outcomes from the EU-funded projects BACKBONE, EVIVA and TILA. It reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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2. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Conceptual clarifications
From „teaching ELF“ to „teaching ELF communication“
Acceptance of non-native speakers‘ creativity
Attention to speaker satisfaction as a criterion for success
Adoption of an enlightened/weak SE orientation
Language learning as individual and social construction
[Kohn 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014; Grazzi 2013]
[Widdoson 2003: 49; Seidlhofer/Widdowson 2009]
[Kohn 2014; also Seidlhofer 2011:81]
[Kohn 2013]

3. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Key dimensions
Overall objective:

to enable speakers/learners to develop and use their English to communicate successfully under conditions of ELF communication

with a focus on spoken (and written) communication Pedagogical competence dimensions

Awareness raising

Comprehension

Production

Communication strategies

Non-native speaker creativity

4. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Awareness raising

To make speakers/learners attentive to

lingua franca manifestations of English they might encounter in authentic ELF communication

the conditions and requirements of successful ELF communication

Essential for “third space” negotiation in contact situations between speakers from different linguacultural backgrounds (Kramsch 2009)

Helps foster learners’ linguistic and cultural tolerance – both for others and for themselves

ELF-aware tasks

Exploration of pedagogically relevant manifestations of genuine ELF communication

focus on language, communication (styles), cultural differences
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assessment regarding efficiency and satisfaction
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Reflective follow-up, e.g. journal (Moodle), in pairs (forum), in class

“Learning about”: characteristics and possibilities of ELF communication, challenges and strategies

5. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Comprehension

To help speakers/learners develop ELF-aware comprehension skills for coping with e.g.

unfamiliar pronunciation

unclear meanings

weak coherence

Essential for “third space” negotiation

ELF-aware tasks

Comprehension practice with pedagogically selected manifestations of genuine ELF communication

Identification and analysis of comprehension problems (e.g. lack of accommodation)

Development of comprehension strategies (e.g. asking for clarification)
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Reflective follow-up, e.g. journal (Moodle), in pairs (forum), in class

“Learning about”: understanding comprehension, challenges and strategies

6. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Production

To help speakers/learners develop ELF-aware production skills

ELF-aware re-set of requirements of performance: fluency over correctness (Kohn 2001)

ELF communication specific extension of linguistic repertoire, e.g. politeness, speech act functions, topic and conversation management, problems and repairs (> “pragmatic fluency”, House 2002: 262ff; > “express-ability”, Albl-Mikasa 2013)

Relevant for collaborative “third space” negotiation

ELF-aware tasks

Participation in authentic ELF interactions with a focus on communicative form and function and a weak SE orientation

production practice > fluency and identification and analysis of problems

focus on linguistic means of expression relevant for (intercultural) ELF communication
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opportunities for (collaborative) output processing > languaging

Reflective follow-up, e.g. journal (Moodle), in pairs (forum), in class

“Learning about”: understanding production, challenges and strategies

7. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Communication strategies

To help speakers/learners develop ELF-aware communication strategies

comprehension, production, interaction

“signaling and preventing misunderstandings” (Mauranen 2006)

Relevant for “third space” construction > accommodation, meaning negotiation, letting- it-pass

These strategic processes are anchored in ordinary communicative competence and behaviour (> adaptation to ELF communication)

ELF-aware tasks

Participation in authentic ELF communication with a focus on communicative and communal objectives and how they can be achieved

Identification and analysis of problems and solutions

Reflective follow-up, e.g. journal (Moodle), in pairs (forum), in class

“Learning about”: understanding communication, challenges and strategies

8. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Teaching towards ELF competence Non-native speaker creativity

To help speakers/learners explore and trust their own non-native creativity

a necessary condition for developing a non-native speaker feeling of agency and ownership, self-confidence and satisfaction

Creative appropriation is a natural and constitutive element of language acquisition and development (> Widdowson 2003:43)

Necessary part of “third space” negotiation

ELF-aware tasks

Adoption of a (social constructivist) weak Standard English orientation

Re-set of requirements of performance to include speaker satisfaction (Kohn 2014)

Creative exploration and extension of one’ own linguistic resources

Critical sensitivity development through collaborative assessment

Reflective follow-up, e.g. journal (Moodle), in pairs (forum), in class

“Learning about”: understanding language acquisition/development, challenges and strategies

9. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Input from EU projects TELF: English as a lingua franca discussions
TELF: small group discussions about a critical incident topic among non-native (and native) speakers of English from diverse linguistic & cultural backgrounds

36 discussions (ca. 100,000 words) with 160 speakers from 30 different linguistic backgrounds

transcripts; corpus query support

speaker profiles and retrospective interviews

demo access; on request for educational purposes ELF-aware tasks

listening for ELF comprehension with or without transcript support

follow-up activities, e.g. summary/account, discussion, over to you

identification & analysis of characteristics, challenges and strategies of conversations

assessment regarding effectiveness, satisfaction
Awareness raising
Com prehension
Production
Communication strategies
NNS creativity

10. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Input from EU projects BACKBONE: Interview corpora
Backbone: Pedagogic Corpora for Content and Language Integrated Learning

video interviews („natural narratives“) in 6 European languages with pedagogical annotation and transcripts

50 video interviews ELF speakers from France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Turkey

transcripts; corpus query support

available as open educational resource (OER) ELF-aware tasks

(comparative) listening for ELF comprehension with or without transcript support

follow-up activities, e.g. summary/account, discussion

identification & analysis of characteristics, challenges and strategies of „natural narratives“

assessment regarding effectiveness, satisfaction
Awareness raising
Com prehension
Production
Communication strategies
NNS creativity

11. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Input from EU projects
PELLIC: Practice Enterprise
Awareness raising
Com prehension
Production
Communication strategies
NNS creativity
PELLIC: Practice Enterprise for Language Learning and Intercultural communication

virtual learning environment (VLE) based on Moodle and Google Apps

students in different European countries set up Practice Enterprise companies to engage in business interactions in English

authentic tasks from different areas of business life, e.g. starting a company, advertising, buying and selling, trade fairs and exhibitions ELF-aware tasks

mainly written ELF interactions in business contexts

identification & analysis of characteristics, challenges and strategies of ELF communication

creative explorations and extension of own linguistic resources

assessment regarding effectiveness and satisfaction

12. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
Input from EU projects TILA: intercultural telecollaboration
Awareness raising
Com prehension
Production
Communication strategies
NNS
creativity
TILA: Telecollaboration for Intercultural Language Acquisition

the project explores the use of telecollaboration for intercultural foreign language learning in secondary schools

Blended Learning ensembles: F2F/classroom, forum, blog, chat, VC, 3D virtual worlds

focus: synchronous oral communication in videoconf (BigBlueButton) and virtual worlds (OpenSim)

tandem and lingua franca constellations ELF-aware tasks

spoken (& written) lingua franca interactions in pairs

follow-up activities, e.g. summary, discussion

identification & analysis of characteristics, challenges and strategies of communication

creative explorations & extension of own linguistic resources

assessment regarding effectiveness and satisfaction

13. ELF 7, 4-6 September 2014, The American College of Greece, Athens
References
Albl-Mikasa, M. (2013). Express-ability in ELF communication. JELF 2/1. Grazzi, E. (2013). The Sociocultural Dimension of ELF in the English Classroom. Rom: Anicia. House, J. (2002). Pragmatic competence in lingua franca English". In: Knapp, K. & Ch. Meierkord (eds.). Lingua Franca Communication. Frankfurt (Main): Peter Lang, 245-267. Kohn, K. (2007). Englisch als globale Lingua Franca. Eine Herausforderung für die Schule. In Anstatt (Hrsg.) (2007). Mehrsprachigkeit bei Kindern und Erwachsenen. Tübingen: Narr, 207-222. Kohn, K. (2011). ELF and the Standard English misunderstanding. In De Houwer & Wilton (eds.). English in Europe Today. Sociocultural and Educational Perspectives. John Benjamins, 72-94. Kohn, K. (2012). ‘My English’ - Second Language Learning as Individual and Social Construction. TESOL Convention Philadelphia, 28-31 March 2012 [http://bit.ly/1uAQDEF] Kohn, K. (2014). A pedagogical space for ELF in the English classroom. In Bayyurt and Akcan (eds.). Current Perspectives on Pedagogy for ELF. De Gruyter Mouton. Kramsch, C. (2009). Third culture and language education. In: V. Cook (ed.). Language Teaching and Learning. Continuum, 233- 254. Mauranen, A. (2006). Signaling and preventing misunderstanding in English as lingua franca communication. Int’l. J. Soc. Lang. 177, 123–150. Mauranen, A. 2012) Exploring ELF. Academic English Shaped by Non-native Speakers. CUP. Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a Lingua Franca. OUP. Seidlhofer, B. & H. Widdowson (2009). Conformity and creativity in ELF and learner English. In Albl-Mikasa et al. (eds.). Dimensions of Second Language Research. Tübingen: Narr, 93-107. Widdowson, H. (2003). Defining Issues in English Language Teaching. Oxford. OUP [See Kohn publications on https://uni-tuebingen.academia.edu/KurtKohn]