The Social Psychology of English as a Global Language

This book reports on a study of attitudes of over 500 Japanese learners towards many varieties of English speech: standard and non-standard, native and non-native. Analyzes the role of the English language and English language teaching, in Japan and beyond.

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.

Demonstrates the pedagogical value and language planning implications of investigating the English language learners' attitudes towards specific varieties of the target language Discusses the findings of the study in terms of the learning and teaching English in the Japanese context and in relation to the global spread of English generally Refines the methodological investigation of the language attitudes of non-native speakers towards varieties of the target language and locates the results obtained within the existing wealth of literature on native speaker attitudes Demonstrates the importance of language awareness and social background in determining perceptions of the target language amongst the language learning population The in-depth study of Japanese learners uniquely addresses a gap in World Englishes literature by focussing specifically on the spread, acquisition and attitudes towards English in the expanding circle of English use

Inhalt
The Global Spread of English and the Role of English in Japan.- The Study of Language Attitudes.- Relevant Language Attitude Research.- The Research Design of the Study.- Results and Discussion.- Wider Implications and Conclusions.