The applied linguistics of ELF communication

 

Conveners:

Barbara Seidlhofer (University of Vienna), barbara [dot] seidlhofer [at] univie [dot] ac [dot] at

Kumiko Murata (Waseda University, Tokyo), murata [at] waseda [dot] jp

Marie-Luise Pitzl-Hagin (Johannes Kepler University Linz), marie-luise [dot] pitzl-hagin [at] jku [dot] at

Description:

The concept of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has represented a significant, if controversial, move towards accounting for “contemporary English” in an increasingly interconnected but also geopolitically changing world (Seidlhofer 2011). In the past 25 years, research on ELF communication has largely been concerned with linguistic description, focusing on various levels of language, pragmatic processes and domains of use, as well as pedagogical implications for language teaching and testing. For applied linguists, however, all this can only be a first step (Murata 2024).

With the world rapidly changing due to globalisation and digitalisation (including the omnipresence of AI), “the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-world problems in which language is a central issue” (Brumfit 1997:86) continues to be a key task for ELF scholars as applied linguists. How can the study of ELF communication reveal symptoms of underlying individual and social motivations and desires, institutional pressures and constraints? In order to address these issues, we need to critically scrutinize well-established theoretical concepts and conduct what Blommaert (2010: xiii) calls “an aggiornamento of our theoretical and methodological toolkit” and continuously widen the range of contexts and kinds of interaction that we study.

The study of ELF communication, including its recent emphasis on transient contexts (Pitzl 2018), is an applied linguistic as well as sociolinguistic undertaking. The conceptualisation of ELF communication as fluid and dynamic languaging overlaps with many trans-, super- and post- discourses in current applied linguistics. Concepts such as multilingual repertoires, transcultural communication and translanguaging are consistent with how ELF communication has been approached in empirical studies and in applied linguistic discussions, for instance with regard to language teaching and learning (Widdowson 2020). Another challenge concerns developing methodologies that adequately integrate and capture the dynamic nature of multilingual speakers, repertoires and resources.

To engage with real-world problems in different contexts, research on ELF communication needs to be even more closely integrated with other areas of applied linguistic enquiry, such as language (education) policy, sign language, digital communication and translation and interpreting. ELF research also needs to draw on related areas of research such as social psychology, sociology, philosophy and ethnography and, crucially, better connect with policies and practices that are of ever greater significance for communication in the globalised world. These include peace-keeping and diplomacy, international aid, migration, asylum procedures, and international publishing.

For this thematic session, we thus welcome contributions for a joint exploration of the real-world relevance and scope of ELF research from a variety of perspectives.

 

SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT 

For the Thematic Sessions, we invite proposals for individual papers consisting of a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. The abstracts should conform to the template found HERE.

 

References:

Blommaert J. (2010) The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Brumfit, C.J. (1997) How applied linguistics is the same as any other science. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 7(1), 86– 94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.1997.tb00107.x

Murata, K. (ed.) (2024) ELF and applied linguistics: Reconsidering applied linguistics research from ELF perspectives. London: Routledge.

Pitzl, M.‑L. (2018) Transient International Groups (TIGs): Exploring the group and development dimension of ELF. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 7(1), 25–58. https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2018-0002

Seidlhofer, B. (2011) Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Widdowson, H.G. (2020) On the subject of English: The linguistics of language use and learning. Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton.