EFL teachers’ cognition of English as a global language: ideologies, identities, and practices

Montakantiwong, A

Oxford Thesis Collection

Thesis

EFL teachers’ cognition of English as a global language: ideologies, identities, and practices

Abstract:: The global presence of English as a lingua franca has raised substantial concerns regarding an urgent need for a shift in English language pedagogy. Teachers working within the immense English Language Teaching (ELT) enterprise are now expected to participate in an unprecedented endeavour to better equip learners with both the necessary language skills and the awareness of the ubiquity of English varieties currently used among speakers, native or non-native alike. In light of this changing sociolinguistic scenario, the emerging field of Global Englishes proposes a framework for action, calling for a re-appraisal of the beliefs about English that permeate all aspects of pedagogical practices (Galloway & Rose, 2015; Rose & Galloway, 2019). Such need for a paradigm shift has continued to be voiced in research, but rarely are the very voices of the teachers heard. Little has been discussed about their sense-making of the pedagogical implications of the ideological rhetoric underlying English teaching at the operational level.

Following the educational and professional journeys of seven in-service lecturers of the English language in two universities in Thailand, the study aims to understand how the global spread of English has impacted the teachers’ conceptualisations of English and how such perceptions surface in their local classrooms. Specifically, it seeks to answer three questions: (1) What are the teachers’ ideological views of English and its changing usage?; (2) In what way is the teachers’ cognition of English related to their sense of professional identities as an L2 English teacher?; and (3) How do the teachers interpret globally-oriented initiatives in light of their teaching contexts?

It explores these questions through an in-depth examination of on-the-ground ethnographically-informed multiple case studies data obtained over the course of fieldwork from multiple sources: semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, classroom and site observations, and document analysis.

Findings reveal that while the teachers display awareness of English as a global language, their views of the English language remain firmly rooted in standard language ideology, demonstrating clear propensities for the native speaker standards, especially British and American English. These perceptions are filtered through layers of ideological contradictions, which result in the teachers' varying sense of professional legitimacy and the approaches with which they use to prepare the students for real-life language use. Learning contexts factor into teachers’ pedagogical decisions, where students’ learning is given priority. The thesis raises questions about the potential of globally-informed English language teacher education curricula as a shared agenda and the roles teachers play in it.

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APA Style

Montakantiwong, A. (2020). EFL teachers’ cognition of English as a global language: ideologies, identities, and practices [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Montakantiwong, A. EFL Teachers’ Cognition of English as a Global Language: Ideologies, Identities, and Practices. 2020. University of Oxford, PhD thesis.

Chicago Style

Montakantiwong, A. 2020. “EFL Teachers’ Cognition of English as a Global Language: Ideologies, Identities, and Practices.” PhD thesis, University of Oxford.
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