The Social Psychology of English as a Global Language

This ground-breaking work is a detailed account of an innovative and in-depth study of the attitudes of in excess of 500 Japanese learners towards a number of standard and non-standard as well as native and non-native varieties of English speech. The research conducted refines the investigation of learner attitudes by employing a range of pioneering techniques of attitude measurement. These methods are largely incorporated from the strong traditions that exist in the fields of social psychology and second language acquisition and utilize both direct and indirect techniques of attitude measurement. The author locates the findings in the context of the wealth of literature on native speaker evaluations of languages and language varieties.

The study is unique in that the results provide clear evidence of both attitude change and high levels of linguistic awareness among the informants of social and geographical diversity within the English language. These findings are analyzed in detail in relation to the global spread of English as well as in terms of the pedagogical implications for the choice of linguistic model employed in English language classrooms both inside and outside Japan.

The issues examined are of particular interest to educators, researchers and students in the fields of applied linguistics, TESOL, second language acquisition, social psychology of language and sociolinguistics. The pedagogical and language policy implications of the findings obtained make essential reading for those with a specific focus on the role of the English language and English language teaching, both in Japan and beyond.

• SLA
• Second language acquisition
• language acquisition
• language classroom
• language teaching
• native speaker
• social psychology

From the reviews:

“The implications of this study will surely trigger more multifaceted discussions regarding research methods and ways of interpreting findings. I also recommend that teachers and learners of English read the book since it encourages more theoretical understanding of communication in English and provides critical examinations of illocutionary forces and the consequences of teaching  practices.” (Yoshitake Masaki, Language Problems and Language Planning, 2011)

“This book is a comprehensive and in-depth quantitative study that investigates language attitudes of Japanese learners of English toward varieties of English from a social-psychological perspective. … should be widely read by quantitatively and qualitatively oriented researchers and students who are engaged in studies on attitudes to language and those who are interested in English as a global language. … I also recommend that teachers and learners of English read the book since it encourages moretheoretical understanding of communication in English … .” (Masaki Yoshitake, Language Problems & Language Planning, Vol. 35 (3), 2011)

“It is a work of meticulous, exhaustive research, lucidly written, vastly informative, and with a valid stated objective: analyzing Japanese learners’ attitudes to English varieties in order to help provide a ‘methodological framework for the study of ideological forces’ … operating in English-learning communities, as well as to develop recognition of peripheral varieties.” (Christopher Starling and Yumi Tanaka, JALT Journal, Vol. 34 (1), May, 2013)

• Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom

  Robert M. McKenzie

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