Changing Teachers’ Attitudes Towards ELF

Abstract

This chapter will explore ways in which teachers can enhance their sense of efficacy in teaching English by deeply exploring the concept of ELF. After revising some basic concepts related to the empowerment of NNS teachers of English and the need to develop ELF awareness, it will be argued that current frameworks of teaching are constrained by limitations of two kinds: exogenous, which are due to what Phillipson (1992) labelled ‘the native speaker fallacy’; and endogenous, which are set up by self-imposed barriers, and the ones that teacher training must aim to overcome. The chapter will emphasize the importance of a change of attitude by teachers regarding ELF and NNS uses of English, and a five-stage training proposal will be devised, through which teacher-trainees should gradually develop an understanding of English language diversity and become aware of NNS uses of English in the world. Thus, ELF will eventually appear a desirable goal rather than a poor version of an idealised NS model.