Ownership of language

This reflective essay explores the complex issue of language ownership, particularly within the context of English language teaching and learning. Drawing on personal experience as a non-native English speaker and teacher from the Philippines, the author critically examines the recurring assumptions and biases tied to native-speakerism. Through academic references such as the works of Widdowson, Norton, Kachru, and Kirkpatrick, the essay challenges the dominance of native speaker norms and argues for a more inclusive, multilingual perspective on English usage. It advocates for recognition of localized English varieties and calls for collaborative efforts among educators to move beyond a singular, Western-centric standard of English.

To grant approval for this study subject to minor changes, to be discussed with supervisor Approval subject to minor changes: The study is approved subject to minor changes. Reviewer 1: Researcher claims to use "typical case sampling" but later says the survey will be distributed at schools to get "as many responses as possible." This is a contradiction in sampling! And what is meant by "typical case"? Typical only in terms of socioeconomic class as identified in the application? Or other criteria? And is ever parent a case? Or is typical sampling only for the interview portion of the research while the survey uses another sampling technique? Reviewer 2: Anonymity: Please discuss with your supervisor how the survey should be returned to the teachers and make sure that the teachers will not know the identities of the respondents. Before starting your data collection, you need to discuss these changes with your supervisor, revise your proposal accordingly, and then ask your supervisor to check the revised proposal.

According to the spread of the notion of English as an International Language (EIL), English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals are embracing wider varieties of English. However, Matsuda (2003) argues that a strong nativism still exists in Japan. This study investigates whether there are any differences in degree of beliefs regarding EIL awareness between two groups of different majors at a university in Japan. This study compares a group of pre-service EFL teachers enrolled in an English teaching certificate course (N=25), and a group of EFL students enrolled in a required general English course (N=30). Quantitative analysis of questionnaire revealed that the group of pre-service EFL teachers has significantly stronger beliefs in native speakerism than the group of EFL students (t(53) = 4.45, p < .01). This result suggests that further studies are needed to promote EIL awareness among both pre-service EFL teachers and EFL students.

This study uses conversation data and ethnographic interviews to examine the role of meta-talk in speaker legitimacy for L2 Japanese speakers. Autoethnographic analysis of conversation data demonstrates how an L2 speaker is co-constructed (jointly positioned) as a (non)legitimate speaker of Japanese Dialect. The researcher, an L2 Japanese speaker, recorded Japanese conversations with L1 interlocutors, namely, her L1 Japanese spouse and in-laws. Two contrasting cases of L2 Japanese Dialect use are examined. In the first case, L1 interlocutors respond to the L2 speaker's dialect with meta-talk about "our language," co-constructing the L2 speaker as a non-legitimate dialect user. In the second case, the L2 speaker's dialect use is affirmed when the L1 interlocutor uses similar dialect; no meta-talk occurs. The conversation data is supplemented with ethnographic interview data which underscores the prevalence of meta-talk. Meta-talk reveals speakers' beliefs about legitimate speakerhood in which "our language" does not include L2 speakers. Conversely, the absence of meta-talk affirms the L2 speaker's dialect use and depicts dialect as a shared form of "our language." This study contributes to understanding linguistic ideologies, demonstrates how language ownership and speaker legitimacy manifest in Japanese interactions, and adds to research examining Japanese Dialect use by L2 speakers.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are taught in English through the use of the CLIL approach following trilingual education that has been implemented in several pilot schools since 2007. In the Kazakhstani background, however, the CLIL approach is still in its infancy, and little is known about the views of stakeholders that can be useful for understanding its current condition and for effective adoption. The present study aimed to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the students of the CLIL approach in one of the trilingual schools. The study used a mixed approach to the design of case studies and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires as tools for data collection. Nine teachers participated in one-on-one interviews and a total of 53 school teachers (39 women and 14 men aged 20-60) participated in the survey. The study showed that students are primarily positive about the CLIL approach. Keywords: CLIL technology; English; integrated learn...

This project considers a question implementing trilingual system in secondary school in Kazakhstan. There is background information how historical and political situation have effected to language situation in the Kazakhstan, before and after independence. The special attention has been posted on the features and problems of the implementing of a trilingual system in secondary school in Kazakhstan. Several problems were highlighted such as insufficient well-educated teachers and methodological and teaching materials, a low level of English knowledge of pupils and inadequate English environment which is obstacle to implementing trilingual system. Hence, there were given some possible solutions and implications of these challenges. This paper have also studied and analysed international experience where also implemented bilingual system.

The conviction that the ownership of English is shared among its users worldwide has long been held by linguists whose work has ushered in new paradigms in the ways of conceptualizing and researching language. Yet, research that explores how English users understand and construct ownership is lacking in many contexts. The present article aims to fill this gap by investigating the nature of language ownership among English learners in Naples, Italy. Drawing on the framework for language ownership delineated in Seilhamer (2015), questionnaire data and interview moments with four case study participants are analyzed to explore how high school students construct relationships with English and understandings of ownership in terms of prevalent usage, affective belonging, and legitimate knowledge. The findings unveil the dynamic ways in which understandings of language ownership, which is agentively (co)constructed and negotiated, are capable of continuously shifting in different settings ...

This project considers a question implementing trilingual system in secondary school in Kazakhstan. There is background information how historical and political situation have effected to language situation in the Kazakhstan, before and after independence. The special attention has been posted on the features and problems of the implementing of a trilingual system in secondary school in Kazakhstan. Several problems were highlighted such as insufficient well-educated teachers and methodological and teaching materials, a low level of English knowledge of pupils and inadequate English environment which is obstacle to implementing trilingual system. Hence, there were given some possible solutions and implications of these challenges. This paper have also studied and analysed international experience where also implemented bilingual system.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are taught in English through the use of the CLIL approach following trilingual education that has been implemented in several pilot schools since 2007. In the Kazakhstani background, however, the CLIL approach is still in its infancy, and little is known about the views of stakeholders that can be useful for understanding its current condition and for effective adoption. The present study aimed to explore the attitudes and perceptions of the students of the CLIL approach in one of the trilingual schools. The study used a mixed approach to the design of case studies and semi-structured interviews and questionnaires as tools for data collection. Nine teachers participated in one-on-one interviews and a total of 53 school teachers (39 women and 14 men aged 20-60) participated in the survey. The study showed that students are primarily positive about the CLIL approach.

This paper attempts at analyzing the linguistic uniqueness of The God of Small Things (1997) by Arundhati Roy. The first section of the paper shows how English, in the postcolonial scenario, plays a multi-dimensional role as it works both as a medium for Roy to tell the story of Rahel and Estha, the di-zygotic twins and as a medium of expression for the twins. The adults use English to teach the twins how to behave/survive in the real/practical world. However, the next section reveals how most of the endeavors to follow the strict rules of using the language turn into failure as the twins, the adults, and even the author herself seem to lose control over the conventional language usage. The final section critically examines the standard language and colonialist ideologies to expose the necessary existence of the elasticity of English in a post-colonial context. The colonial English is like a 'God of Big Things' against whom the 'God of Small Things' (i.e. a post-colonial user) has to fight for survival, for claiming ownership over the language.

This study examines the ownership of English and linguistic (in)security of multilingual English learners in two post-Soviet nation-states. Using the chronotopic and scalar analysis of discourse, I examine students’ ideologies of English vis-à-vis their linguistic repertoires in the context of national imaginary and globalization. I utilize the concept of ‘nation branding’ to trace the relationship between language ideologies and broader sociopolitical factors, including neoliberalism. The analysis of 60 individual student interviews revealed that the state-circulated nation-branding discourse is a powerful tool for instilling the sense of linguistic ownership. The findings showed that students in Uzbekistan regard English as opportunistic and more valuable in the global market than their local languages. In contrast, students in Kazakhstan see all of their languages including English as pivotal in enacting trilingual identity at local, national, and global scales.

The conviction that the ownership of English is shared among its users worldwide has long been held by linguists whose work has ushered in new paradigms in the ways of conceptualizing and researching language. Yet, research that explores how English users understand and construct ownership is lacking in many contexts. The present article aims to fill this gap by investigating the nature of language ownership among English learners in Naples, Italy. Drawing on the framework for language ownership delineated in Seilhamer (2015), questionnaire data and interview moments with four case study participants are analyzed to explore how high school students construct relationships with English and understandings of ownership in terms of prevalent usage, affective belonging, and legitimate knowledge. The findings unveil the dynamic ways in which understandings of language ownership, which is agentively (co)constructed and negotiated, are capable of continuously shifting in different settings and with different interlocutors.

This book presents the narratives of four Taiwanese young women, all proficient in English, set against the background of the dynamics of multilingualism in Taiwan. It chronicles their strategies and struggles when utilizing cultural goods-in this case their linguistic resources-to differentiate themselves within Taiwanese society.

This paper presents a teacher-led inquiry into learner language awareness and learner perceptions of: oral presentations using first language (L1) support when using a second language (L2); and L2 learner and user identity. The quantitative-based results of this preliminary inquiry represent a source of understanding for the researcher, who later, intends to undertake a qualitative-based study of learner oriented language awareness and speaking assessment. A questionnaire was distributed to 144 Japanese first and second year tertiary students who completed a semester course in general and academic English. A cross-sectional analysis was applied to the questionnaire results which aimed to gather student perceptions of the use of and identity with a L2, that is, English. Key findings from the exploration of learner perceptions in this research included the acceptance of spoken errors when giving oral presentations and a sense of ownership of English among the participants. This research presents learner perceptions that may prompt teachers to consider conducting language awareness research with their students with the aim of reflecting upon the modification of traditional speaking assessment practices.

ABSTRACT: Although applied linguists have long asserted that individuals who have learned English as an additional language can rightly claim ownership of the language, this willingness on the part of academics to grant ownership to all users of English is ultimately of little consequence to the users themselves, who more often than not consider linguistic ownership to be determined solely by ethnicity or place of birth. This paper outlines a framework comprised of three aspects of language ownership—prevalent usage, affective belonging, and legitimate knowledge—and subsequently applies these concepts to a multi-case ethnographic study of English ownership (and lack thereof) among a group of Taiwanese English learners/users who privileged different ownership dimensions. Prevalent usage was found to be very important for achieving any degree of ownership, and the ability to make overt ownership claims ultimately depended on confidence and agency.