This seminar was hosted by York St John University, UK, from 24–26 June 2015, and the co-ordinators were Chris Hall and Rachel Wicaksono (aided by Indu Meddegama, Clare Cunningham, Vicky Crawley, Ruth Ataçocuğu and Christian Sims). The seminar aimed to share diverse understandings of the ontological status of ‘English’ and to stimulate debate regarding the ways in which the language can be most effectively conceptualised for first language and second language learning, teaching and assessment. The seminar was organised around five sessions representing different frameworks. Following each session, an invited discussant highlighted major themes and led a general discussion. Individual papers are reported on below and the conclusion suggests their implications for applied linguistics.
1. Introduction
Chris Hall (York St John University) sketched an ontological framework for English, focusing on the distinction between ‘monolithic’ conceptualisations, which underpin much policy and practice in English teaching, and ‘plurilithic’ conceptualisations, which view Englishes as constructed/developed/instantiated by individuals in usage events/social practices.
2. Critical applied linguistics
Suresh Canagarajah (Pennsylvania State University) presented an approach to language (‘spatiolinguistics’) that forefronts ‘space-specific’ proficiencies which are achieved through successful practice; tied to complex layers of context; and involve the use of multimodal, translingual resources, the adoption of collaborative dispositions and the adaptive ability to align language practices in interaction. Rob Sharples (University of Leeds) showed how the creative use of two words (haram and halal) by migrant pupils reveal a conflict between a monolingual (monolithic) orientation which privileges (Standard) English as the only vehicle for development vs a multilingual orientation which acknowledges young peoples’ fluid, situated, multilingual repertoires.
3. Usage-based linguistics
Graeme Trousdale (University of Edinburgh) focused on English as a set of dynamic cognitive resources, which become ‘entrenched’ as the result of individuals’ experience of the meanings and frequencies of constructions. ‘Conventionality’ (when entrenched constructions are shared in communities) is where ‘English’ could be said to exist (although for Trousdale, ‘nobody speaks [the whole of] English’). James Street (University of Northumbria) presented experimental evidence to challenge the monolithic view that members of a linguistic community all converge on the same mental grammar. He argued that participants with different levels of academic achievement differed in their knowledge of the passive construction and attributed this to differences in degree of entrenchment.
4. Educational linguistics
Andy Goodwyn (University of Reading) traced the development of English as a school subject, highlighting how a series of government reports from the 1970s led to several changes in policy, with some progressive moves (e.g. the Language In the National Curriculum project), but that regulatory frameworks and especially state-prescribed literacy have led to the erosion of teacher autonomy. Rachel Roberts (University of Reading) reported on contemporary conceptualisations and realisations of school English, noting the tension between the emphasis on functional literacy and literature for creativity/personal growth. Despite the pressure of ideologically motivated concepts of English and education, many teachers manage to practise dialogic pedagogy in the classroom.
5. Second language teaching and assessment
Claudia Harsch (University of Warwick) argued that choice of variety, as well as determination of expected proficiency levels, was context-specific and may be informed by corpus data. Furthermore, although the Common European Framework of Reference privileges non-standard/standard varieties as reference models, it also explicitly adopts a non-deficit approach which values learner varieties. Fumiyo Nakatsuhara (University of Bedfordshire) described a study of paired-format testing in which learners are assessed in interaction. Discourse management and interactive communication should be the focus of testing during such tasks. No test is fit for all purposes: locally valid tests, with clearly defined purposes, are preferable.
6. English as a lingua franca (ELF)
Jennifer Jenkins (University of Southampton) reviewed the evolution of ELF and presented a re-theorised conceptualisation – English as a multilingua franca – which incorporates new understandings of multilingualism and language ontology, including superdiversity, translanguaging, translingual practices, complex systems and emergent repertoires. This reframing has important implications for higher education, language assessment and English language teaching. Will Baker (University of Southampton) argued for an expanded conceptualisation of ‘successful communication’ that included willingness to adapt/negotiate as well as language knowledge and communicative strategies. A reconceptualised intercultural communicative competence should be more dynamic, transcend national scales, move from competence to awareness and emphasise context-specific, fluid processes/practices.
Implications for applied linguistics
It is suggested that we need to: (a) better understand how the construct of ‘English’, its cognitive instantiations and its role in social practices are conceptualised by different paradigms in applied linguistics and related disciplines, as well as by learners, teachers and the broader public; (b) be more aware about what we mean when we talk about English(es) and more precise in the ways that we do so; (c) reflect on what different ontologies of English(es) imply for and are shaped by educational policy and practice, multilingualism, marginalised and dominant groups, and economic/political ideologies; and (d) take a more activist stance to challenge dominant monolithic conceptualisations of English, chiefly by promoting awareness of users’ actual knowledge and practices and the alternative ontologies that these imply.
An edited collection will be prepared on the basis of the seminar papers and discussion.
