Virtual English As A Lingua Franca

This collection offers a comprehensive account of the development of intercultural communication strategies through Virtual English as a lingua franca, reflecting on the ways in which we make pragmatic meaning in today’s technology-informed globalized world. The volume places an emphasis on analyzing transmodal, trans-semiotic, and transcultural discourse practices in online spaces, providing a counterpoint to existing ELF research which has leaned towards unpacking formal features of ELF communication in face-to-face interactions. The chapters explore how these practices are characterized and then further sustained via non-verbal semiotic resources, drawing on data from a global range of empirical studies. The book prompts further reflection on readers’ own experiences in online settings and the challenges of VELF while also supplying educators in these contexts with the analytical resources to better bridge the gap between formal and informal learning. Highlighting the dynamic complexity of online intercultural communication in the twenty-first century, this book is a valuable resource for students and scholars in applied linguistics, language education, digital communication, and intercultural communication.

A complete introduction to the theoretical nature and practical implications of English used as a lingua franca. Explore the theories and principles of English as a Lingua Franca with leading expert Barbara Seidlhofer

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) research has become central in current debates in linguistics and is commonly referred to in conferences dealing with other sub-fields of sociolinguistics. This volume collects ten papers that testify to the great scope of ELF research currently being carried out through the analysis of different kinds of data in a variety of contexts and domains. The three chapters in the first part of the volume tackle computer-mediated communication, a medium that currently accounts for a great proportion of human communication. The four contributions in the second section differ with regards to the domains under investigation, and all touch upon social issues that have an impact on how language is used: from Vietnamese university students negotiating their identities in the UK to a Pakistani migrant making efforts to be understood by Italian officials. Finally, the three papers in the final part are an example of the many ELF-oriented pedagogical initiatives that have emerged in recent years across educational levels and all over the world. The introduction to the volume also situates ELF research in its current transition to a third phase in which more attention will be paid to the multilingual nature of ELF users. The proposal put forward in the introductory chapter holds that ELF has two well established fronts where more quality work will surely be carried out, and that ELF could benefit from establishing connections to other approaches to multilingualism and languaging, but without forgetting what the E in the acronym stands for. This collection of papers will be of interest to teachers and language practitioners who are curious about the ELF paradigm; researchers in ELF and in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics in general; internet linguists and computer-medaited communication experts; educational policymakers; and undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in areas such as applied linguistics, English studies, multilingualism and plurilingualism, and intercultural communication, amongst other fields.

In a constantly interconnected world communication takes place beyond territorial boundaries, in networks where English works as a lingua franca. The volume explores how ELF is employed in internationally-oriented personal blogs; findings show how bloggers deploy an array of resources to their expressive and interactional aims, combining global and local communicative practices. Implications of findings in ELF and ELT terms are also discussed.

The use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) on a global scale forces a reassessment of our understanding of the relationships between language, culture and identity in intercultural communication. This book outlines how we might conceive of this relationship in the fluid communicative practices of ELF, which leads to a revaluation of notions of intercultural competence and related pedagogic practices.

English as a lingua franca has become a hot topic in Applied Linguistics and English Studies. While it has been a subject of controversy for some time, linguistic observations on actual use have largely been missing out of the debate. This is now changing fast, and the study of English as a lingua franca has become a vibrant research field. This book reflects achievements in the growing field; it presents a good selection of empirical findings, thus providing substance to arguments. It comprises contributions from pioneers and established scholars in the field, along with reports from substantial ongoing research projects. The papers offer insights into the workings of English as a lingua franca in different contexts—conversational, academic, professional, and business situations. They tackle essential theoretical issues, analyse linguistic and interactional features of ELF, and discuss attitudes towards ELF. The studies are firmly anchored in analyses of authentic language in social interaction, some also using survey and interview data. Many papers also touch upon debates on language policy and linguistic ideologies. This collection of papers from the key areas of current ELF research will be of interest to English linguists and applied linguists, graduate and undergraduate students of English, educational and language planners, and teachers of English.

Formalisms of digital text / Francisco J. Ricardo -- Knowledge building and motivations in Wikipedia: participation as "Ba" / Sheizaf Rafaeli, Tsahi Hayat, Yaron Ariel -- On the way to the cyber-Arab-culture: international communication, telecommunications policies, and democracy / Mahmoud Eid -- The challenge of intercultural electronic learning: English as lingua franca / Rita Zaltsman -- The implicit body / Nicole Ridgway and Nathaniel Stern -- Cyborg goddesses: the mainframe revisited / Leman Giresunlu -- De-colonizing cyberspace: post-colonial strategies in cyberfiction / Maria Bäcke -- The différance engine: videogames as deconstructive spacetime / Tony Richards -- Technology on screen: projections, paranoia and discursive practice / Alev Adil and Steve Kennedy -- Desistant media / Seppo Kuivakari.

This volume showcases interdisciplinary research on young people’s media lifeworlds originating from the research platform #YouthMediaLife at the University of Vienna and its first international conference in 2021. From big questions about our research practices during pandemic times to smaller data sets focusing on specific platforms and historical or geographical particularities, the volume constitutes a diverse collection with a broad thematic heading and, as such, demonstrates the range and scope of this research field. It offers to its readers the opportunity to learn about broader approaches to interdisciplinary research and provides case studies that are very specific in their focus and illustrate irritations and concerns with contemporary media practices.