The Development of ELF-aware Classroom Materials

Because of the growing number of interactions in English between people from different linguacultures, English as a lingua franca (henceforth ELF) has become a widely investigated research area. Its heterogenous, flexible and variable nature demands for a shift in English language classroom practices. Although there has been an increase in researching ELF pedagogical implications, its practical applicability in classroom instruction, materials development, teacher education, assessment and testing is still largely unexplored and unclear. The present paper focuses on the impact of ELF on English language pedagogy with special attention paid to classroom materials evaluation and design. The author discusses some vital theoretical issues concerning ELF and their implications for teaching English in relation to changes in pedagogical goals and approaches. The main part of the paper constitutes a list of guidelines for the development of ELF-aware classroom activities. Finally, and most importantly, some examples of ELF-aware activities designed by the author are presented and discussed. The paper is intended for those EFL practitioners who wish to explore how to make use of ELF research findings in practice. It may be also of interest to materials writers and teacher educators.