World Englishes in the EFL Classroom in Germany

In the 21^st century, the global linguistic reality of the English language is that of coexisting varieties of English around the globe, a situation as diverse as ever and which the label World Englishes (WEs) may most appropriately describe. This means that today’s learners of English in educational settings in Germany are likely to engage in communicative encounters with speakers of diverse linguistic backgrounds they may not be sufficiently prepared for, given that teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Germany has largely focused on teaching British and (to a smaller extent) American English in the past. This situation also poses new struggles for English language teachers that want their students to successfully achieve an intercultural communicative competence. A very limited amount of previous studies has shown that, despite some small changes, WEs still seem to be underrepresented in TEFL in Germany. However, these studies are partially outdated and relatively selective; the status of WEs in the German EFL classroom nowadays remains underresearched.

Therefore, this seminar has a research-focused approach and aims at investigating the current status of World Englishes in German EFL classrooms and other educational settings by carrying out field research. The seminar is structured into four phases. First, we will deal with the theoretical background and previous research that concerns WEs overall, incorporating WEs into TEFL, and the situation in Germany. Second, students will come up with research ideas of themselves, plan group research projects, and design their own research instruments. Third and most importantly, students will carry out field research in German schools themselves and elsewhere to investigate questions like: what attitudes toward incorporating WEs into TEFL do teachers, students, and also teacher trainers have? To what extent are WEs being taught and how is this practically done? How are WEs represented in schools books and curricula? What role do WEs in teacher education play?...and many more! Students will develop questionnaires, interview or observation guidelines, and analyze relevant documents. Fourth, students will create professional scientific posters and present them in class to report and discuss their findings from the field research phase. Your own research will provide the main basis for your term papers at the end. If you are interested, we can present the findings of your research in the Hotspots lecture series at the English Department in the following semester.

Kurs im HIS-LSF