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11English as a lingua franca: Negotiating Singapore’s English language education1 Anne Pakir English as a lingua franca, however we define the term, has become a communicative tool of immense political, ideological, and economic power. Kachru (1996: 910) Several discussions on English as a lingua franca have taken place in the early years of the twenty-first century (Pakir 2001; Seidlhofer 2004; Modiano 2005; Canagarajah 2006; Jenkins 2006a), within a decade of Kachru’s (1996) seminal article. The English as Lingua Franca (ELF) ‘movement’ in Europe and the world Englishes (WE) paradigm originating first in the US and gaining currency in Kachru’s Outer and Expanding Circles of English have each developed distinct theoretical models of ‘lingua franca’ with not too dissimilar pedagogical and educational implications. This chapter first explores the research in WE, a paradigm established in the mid-1980s onwards, and in ELF (first labelled as a ‘movement’ but in this chapter seen as an emerging paradigm) at the turn of the century. It also explores ‘International English’ (IE), a notion much assumed in discussions surrounding the emergence of English as an international language and, as a consequence, the nature of the language as it has to be taught to speakers of other languages. Second, it looks at how ‘lingua franca’ as a theoretical concept applied to the sociolinguistic realities of English use in Singapore may assist us in negotiating Singapore’s English language education. Applied linguists, language educators and second language acquisition teachers in Singapore are already familiar with traditional and imported English Language Teaching (ELT) pedagogy for English-knowing bilinguals (Pakir 1992, 2000). However, this discussion of WE and ELF research has implications for English language education in Singapore and may challenge such well-established practices. The standard English and language standards debate, the assessment of English proficiency in the Outer Circle, as well as role modelling by native versus non-native teachers will all need to be re-examined. It is certain that the mobility and portability 262 Anne Pakir of English and its changing functions, values and meanings in localized contexts create hybrids and mixed varieties, some desired and some less so, posing challenges to language education and pedagogy, especially in the context of teaching English in Singapore. Continuity, innovation and diversity in Singapore’s English language education (ELE) The way English is being used and taught today in several regions of the world, implicated by the spread of English as a global language, shows two opposing forces at work affecting its development: conservation and innovation (Seidlhofer, Breiteneder and Pitzl 2006: 6). With the special power given to English in Singapore as the premier co-official language, by virtue of its being the country’s working language and the main medium of instruction in the multiracial and multilingual country, educators in Singapore in particular have to constantly seek the fine balance between conservation and innovation in their various approaches to the English language and the ELT profession, especially when the English language teaching and learning landscapes have been dramatically altered. My topic is that of English as a lingua franca — ‘a communicative tool of immense power’ (as we are reminded by Kachru 1996). The discussion of what is meant by the term ‘lingua franca’, what is represented as ‘lingua franca’ and what the debates are about English as a lingua franca will be taken up with a view to understanding how to relate these issues to the negotiation of Singapore’s English language education especially when it has become established as the country’s main international lingua franca as well as a de facto national lingua franca for Singaporeans. My chapter will analyze the concerns of researchers and teachers in Europe, in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and also in Britain, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Holliday (1994) in seeking to examine the British, Australasia and North American (BANA) model of English language teaching methodologies from ‘the West’ speaks of the possible hegemony of the received ELT model. What does English as a lingua franca imply — in terms of cultural and pedagogical development — and how does one teach English as a lingua franca? Scholars may dispute the proposition here that International English and WE as presented here are lingua francas but the term is used here to refer to this fully fledged language, English, that is used by diverse populations, across diverse settings, for diverse purposes — as a common medium of communication. Current research on the term ‘English lingua franca’ conveys a strong...

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