Sylabus
List of Topics:
* Week one
Introductory lecture key concepts and issues
* Week two
ELF vs. standard English 1. historical perspectives - the rise of the lingua franca and the death of standard English 2. whose ELF is it anyway? - should English belong to the world or to the UK and the USA?
* Week three
Translanguaging and multilingualism 1. Translanguaging or code-switching - where does one language begin and another end? 2. ELF as a multi-lingual lingua franca - how and why can we conceptualise ELF as multi-lingual?
* Week four
ELF and TEFL 1. The ELF textbook - in light of new developments in ELF, how and why should textbooks and teacher training courses change? 2. native speakerism - the problematisation of the native speaker and instances of native speakerism in the Czech Republic and beyond
Week five
ELF and the net 1. SMS English - does online communication represent the desecration or the development of the language? 2. cultural imperialism online - the dominance of ELF on the net and its consequences
Week six
ELF and power 1. ELF in migration - ELF encounters in migration and their implications 2. ELF and social equality - neo-Marxist perspectives on ELF, the ELF industry and its impact on social equality
Week seven
ELF and language policy and planning 1. Turning back the tide - attempts to de-anglicise language in the Czech Republic and beyond, and their efficacy 2. the Norwegian model - a parallel language policy and its efficacy
Anotace
Course Aims:
To investigate and debate current issues surrounding lingua franca English.
The course is intended to inform students about the state-of-the-art regarding current controversies in ELF (English as a lingua franca). It is also intended as a forum in which they are able to debate these controversies; in addition to equipping them with the lexis and skills they will need to do so.
Course Content:
Every session will cover a different aspect of ELF in the modern world (detailed below). So as to be able to include a variety of different topics, each 90-minute session will be divided into two, 45-minute seminars.
The key aim of the course is not just to inform but to debate. Each seminar will begin with a five-minute presentation by one student on the given topic. This will be followed by questions on the presentation and on the topic itself, prepared in advance by their classmates. These will be answered by me and the student presenting.
The session will also contain additional input from me at various points throughout the debate and will conclude with a feedback session from me. Feedback will be given on content and points raised as well as some comments on presentation skills, debating and rhetoric. This last stage focuses on the course’s sub aim of equipping students with the skills and lexis they need to participate in this and subsequent debates.