2023/12/20 by Ali Fuad Selvi, Nicola Galloway, Heath Rose · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · #Second Language Learning and Teaching #EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
paper · doi:10.1017/9781108902755
openalex publication_date 2023/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
This Element offers a comprehensive account of the unprecedented spread of English as a global language by taking historical, sociolinguistic, and pedagogical perspectives. To realize this mission, it opens with an accessible discussion of the historical trajectory of the English language with qualitative and quantitative connections to its contemporary diversity in terms of forms, roles, functions, uses, users, and contexts of English as a global and multilingual franca. Built upon this synchronic-diachronic symbiosis, the discussion is complemented by an overview of major analytical paradigms and trends that promote systematical scrutiny of the English language and its sociolinguistic and educational implications. It ends by showcasing instructional practices, recommendations, reflective questions, and future directions for language educators to revamp their beliefs, commitments, and practices considering the changing needs and realities of the present-day global sociolinguistic ecology and individuals therein.