Nobody has contemplated precisely on the complicated phenomenon why English has become so widespread and common all over the world. The ability to communicate in English fluently does not awake the feeling of surprise or pleasure on the foreigner’s faces. However, it is a rational and logical issue that English seems to be an international language or a lingua franca. From the historic point of view, one should mention Latin and its role all over the world. Many centuries ago, Latin was considered to be a lingua franca as well. However, after the Roman Empire lost its power and influence in the world, Latin lost its status as well. As a coincidence, the further influence of Great Britain on its limitless possession created a new international language – English (SEIDLHOFER, 2003).
Being an international language changes the English language from the structural and lexicological aspects as well. Many scholars suggest that English for native speakers and English as a lingua franca are developing differently (Vettorel, 2015). In other words, English for native speaker does not cause so much interest and attention as English for non-native speakers (Kuo, 2006). Since English as a lingua franca covers the linguistic issue of communication all over the world, it is not surprising that it independent from the strict norms and rules of native speakers. However, this fact should not be viewed as improper or inappropriate. Thus, ELF (English as lingua franca) provides the communicators all over the world with a flexible opportunity to negotiate and understand each other while being in interaction with other language and their specificities (Hülmbauer, Böhringer, & Seidlhofer, 2008).
An inevitable part of the English language is its culture. The knowledge of the certain language requires its speakers being aware of the culture (Baker, 2015). The cultural effect upon the learners of EFL helps them to acquire more experience not only from the historical and cultural side but also from the linguistic side since it provides with the full picture of the far-fetched linguistic elements. Therefore, it goes without saying that teachers of the EFL should pay attention to the cultural peculiarities of the English-speaking countries since this knowledge is necessary and urgent for all the English learners (Decke-Cornill, 2017).
The influence of English as an international language has more outcomes than one could ever imagine. Non-native speakers have some identical peculiarities especially connected with their accents. English as a second language should be taught from the early childhood in order to get rid of the unpleasant and unnatural accent. However still, the widespread usage of English as an international language has led to the development of the neutral and simplified pronunciation in the English language (Jenkins, 1998). This neutral pronunciation is acceptable for both parties – for native and non-native speakers of the English language. This factor has established a link between people, who have an accent in their English and those, who are native speakers. Additionally, this interaction, which was caused by neutral pronunciation, facilitates the understanding and collaboration not only between people but also between nations. On the other hand, ESL and ELF teacher attempt to reduce the level of the accent among their students. The pronunciation and conversation classes play important roles in the syllabus so that students could speak with a minimum level of possible accent.
Modern methodologists dwell upon a topic of the planning an English class as a foreign language over the last decades. Since the techniques and approaches, which were used till the 40s, are claimed to be unsuccessful, the modern EFL methodologists attempt to find out a brand new algorithm of teaching English as an international language (Sifakis, 2007). They have completed a list of the experiments, which have been connected to the topic of the planning a lesson. A class has to combine the necessary resources and material, which facilitates the students’ skills and work on their weaknesses so that the students have a great command of the language. Though a class should obtain all the relevant academic background, it has to be catching and provoke critical thinking afterward. The presence of boredom and triteness reduces the level of curiosity and desire to find out something new and useful for their development. The findings reflect that the most appropriate and success-provoking method is a student-oriented.
A student-oriented method requires different approaches in terms of students and instructors. An instructor has to be a source of relevant and thought-provoking information. An instructor has opportunities to guide the students in their own routes. It goes without saying, that one acquires more knowledge while learning from their own mistakes (Kohn, 2015). Therefore, students obtain more experience while being independent learner – setting their own short-term and long-term goals, realizing their own gaps in knowledge, and managing time allotted for the assignments. Besides, the instructor should possess such qualities and knowledge, which will imbue students with motivation and inspiration for further learning and research (Cogo, 2011). Students ask an instructor for a direction, in which they are able to complete their research or fulfill their gaps in the already acquired knowledge. The academic independence gives students opportunities to search for the ESL and ELF sources, which are outside the class. Besides, they acquire this information better and quicker since there is a factor of curiosity. Moreover, independent learners make their own choices what programs to enroll in and what courses to attend in order to improve their level of English. The student-oriented method indicates that students are conscious enough to identify their linguistic weaknesses and work on them, using their time.
Moreover, the crucial factor in the student-oriented process is the interaction between students. Therefore, an instructor has to organize the work in groups or in pairs. The communication between students helps them to make the class atmosphere more relaxing and friendly. Hence, the scholars and methodologist state that English is necessary for fulfilling the communication competencies and using it in the world of innovative technologies and business (Sifakis & Sougari, 2010). Meanwhile, this interaction enhances the desire to speak up in front of the friendly audience and reduces the feeling of anxiety and fear of making mistakes. Second, there are strict requirements, so-called principles, in choosing the material. The material, which should be used during a learning-teaching process, has to be authentic. This principle does enlarge the students’ vocabulary and improve the command of the modern English language. Besides being authentic, the material has to cover various aspects since the students should be involved in the process not only because of the urgent need but also the curiosity and interest to learn the brand new information and acquire crucial facts of the professional knowledge. It should be taken into consideration that English should be presented in a reasonable and effective way since it has to awake more interest than the mother tongue or local languages (Kirkpatrick, 2012).
Hence, it has been already mentioned, the interaction factor is significant both for the students and for the instructor. Therefore, the instructor should select the type of the material, which will produce the interaction between students. Furthermore, the material selection has to be based on the different educational levels so that the students with the different levels feel comfortable in the process. Finally, the instructor should concentrate on the material selection in the extent that it has to provide not only the academic and professional skills but also the habits and skills how-to-learn (Vettorel, 2015). Talking about planning a class, one may point out that an instructor has to keep a class plan in one’s head. This technique facilitates students’ success in further classes since an instructor is aware of actions, which have to be done next, and there are no gaps in the class procedures (Timmis, 2002). The other thing, which is noteworthy, is that an instructor has to come up with a decision how to set up the whole class. For example, an instructor is able to settle down the students after too hyperactive activities or stir them up after a stressful test.
Moreover, the instructor should focus not only on the material included in the syllabus but also on the atmosphere, which surrounds the students during the class process. The methodologists and ESL and EFL teachers search for unique and precise representation of the English world and its peculiarities. The syllabus should provide students with knowledge and background, which they will employ in the real everyday life and do it with success. Hence, teaching English should imbue the students with confidence and acquired experience, which they will apply outside the class (Bayyurt & Akcan, 2015). However, the inside situation matter as well since students may feel anxious and nervous, and these feelings will destroy their motivation to continue their studying. The atmosphere should be positive both among students and between instructors and students. An effective way of the teaching consists of the interaction between students and instructors, a properly selected authentic material, and well-organized class activities. This complicated mixture provides with success both parties – the instructor’s side and the students’ side.
References
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