The practicality of ELF-informed teaching: Attitudes and perceptions of Chinese business English teachers

Research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) has proposed a shift from ENL-based (English as a native language) to ELF-informed teaching. This study intends to add empirical evidence on Chinese business English teachers’ perceptions and understanding of the practicality of ELF-informed teaching. Based on interviews with 12 business English teachers, this study presents one main conflict and three subsidiary conflicts regarding the implementation of ELF-informed teaching in the Business English Program. The main conflict is between teachers’ general awareness of ELF and their expressed preference for native-English based teaching. The three subsidiary conflicts are between (i) ENL-based learning and ELF-informed teaching; (ii) English for tests and English for use; (iii) intervention and innovation. Following this, four barriers that impede the implementation of ELF-informed teaching are summarized. This study also discusses course-of-actions that could address the conflicts and barriers in implementing ELF-informed pedagogy in the Chinese context.