چکیده:
In the absence of ample practical studies which explore how ELT teachers perceive teaching with respect to various hypotheses associated with globalization, namely homogenization, polarization, and hybridization, and how their practice reflects the tenets of the global flows, this study was conducted to address these neglected issues. Three main aspects of language teaching, mostly affected by various orientations towards globalization and, in consequence, ELT- namely the primacy of native speaker variety, the appropriateness of Western-led methods, and the appropriateness of Western-led materials- were the focal points of our study. Twenty teachers, selected through criterion-referenced sampling technique, participated in this research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations accompanied with field notes. The thematic analysis of data revealed that the only area less affected by the tenets of the Global English is ELT teaching methods. Our teachers seemed to be aware of the ideas promoted by critical scholars of World Englishes as to the need to adapt teaching methods to the peculiarities of distinct contexts. On the other hand, our teacher participants favored monocentric adherence to the English variety and Western-led English materials. Altogether, the data of the interviews and observations corroborate the lack of awareness of our teachers of the imperialistic features of Global English. These findings have implications for the design of teacher training courses.
In the absence of ample practical studies which explore how ELT teachers perceive teaching with respect to various hypotheses associated with globalization, namely homogenization, polarization, and hybridization, and how their practice reflects the tenets of the global flows, this study was conducted to address these neglected issues. Three main aspects of language teaching, mostly affected by various orientations towards globalization and, in consequence, ELT- namely the primacy of native speaker variety, the appropriateness of Western-led methods, and the appropriateness of Western-led materials- were the focal points of our study. Twenty teachers, selected through criterion-referenced sampling technique, participated in this research. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations accompanied with field notes. The thematic analysis of data revealed that the only area less affected by the tenets of the Global English is ELT teaching methods. Our teachers seemed to be aware of the ideas promoted by critical scholars of World Englishes as to the need to adapt teaching methods to the peculiarities of distinct contexts. On the other hand, our teacher participants favored monocentric adherence to the English variety and Western-led English materials. Altogether, the data of the interviews and observations corroborate the lack of awareness of our teachers of the imperialistic features of Global English. These findings have implications for the design of teacher training courses.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Three main aspects of language teaching, mostly affected by various orientations towards glob- alization and, in consequence, ELT- namely the primacy of native speaker variety, the appropriateness of Western-led methods, and the appropri- ateness of Western-led materials- were the focal points of our study.
In the former, inner circle varieties of English, including British and American English, are considered as the most legitimate varieties; native speakers are the only authoritative owners of the language; and teaching methods and coursebooks propagated by inner circle countries are the most effective, efficient, and au- thoritative means and materials for ELT contexts (Canagarajah, 2002; Jenkins 2006).
Notwithstanding changes introduced by the new conceptualizations of Eng- lish for the realm of language teaching, it appears that, the beliefs such as the priority of British or American English over other varieties and native speaker ownership, are still deeply ingrained in ELT teachers and teacher educators (Jenkins, 2006; Seidlhofer, 2005).
If this study finds evidence for our teach- ers' lack of awareness of the Western hegemonic goals of Global English, it can have implications for making changes to current teacher training programs so that more attention would be devoted to elucidating the negative consequences of blind adherence to the Inner Circle English.
Method As stated previously, this study aimed to explore ELT teachers' orientation to- wards Global English and WE; in particular, we checked our teachers' orienta- tion towards the primacy of native speaker variety, the appropriateness of Western-led methods, and the appropriateness of Western-led materials.