A preliminary study of perceptions of and attitudes towards world englishes among EFL teachers and students in Spain

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that English has acquired the status of lingua franca in a myriad of countries and has become the most widely-studied foreign language nowadays; however, the ubiquity of its standard forms in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom may foster biased attitudes towards other varieties that do not conform to both Brito and American-centric linguistic norms. Languages and accents are an integral part of one’s distinct identity, yet the pedagogical ramifications of current landscapes in EFL settings could have exerted a detrimental impact on language variation through the promotion of a monolithic view wherein the language background of a given individual is affiliated with stigmatised beliefs. To glean new insights about the perceptions of World Englishes within EFL contexts, this paper intends to elucidate the factors that influence emotional responses towards such varieties on the part of teachers and students in Spain. To that end, the triangulation of data through an online questionnaire and a series of semi-structured interviews has been of great relevance. The results obtained here ascertain that linguistic discrimination is contingent upon the perpetuation of a language hierarchy rooted in the current educational system, where linguistic imperialism could be unintentionally reinforced.