4.3 Attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca

The preliminary results of the attitude study, the questionnaire and interviews based on commonalities of lingua franca speech, suggest that listeners show relatively limited negative reaction to non-standard form, such as deviance in word form and grammar but react strongly to heavily-accented speech.

5. Conclusion

It is remarkable that despite the relatively high frequency of the non-standard forms of English, there is little communication failure because of grammar- or vocabulary-related oddities. The results show a clear tendency by engineers to reduce redundancy and to focus on function regardless of standard form. The only feature that seems to cause communication failure seems to be non-standard question formulation. However, audible problems at the accent level have already indicated irritation and distraction, which might adversely affect communication.

It should be borne in mind that this project has investigated spoken English and overt communication failure. Difficulties might lie in invisible, inaudible areas, such as what speakers do not or cannot say rather than what they say.

Instruction: Writing a good summary of Beyza Björkman’s paper “English as the lingua franca of engineering education” starts with skimming the text, and follows with highlighting and marking the main points, making notes and annotating its parts.

The tips below will give you a general idea of preliminary steps to be taken before you get down to actual writing.

Before writing the summary – read, mark, and annotate the original:

• highlight the topic sentence;

• highlight key points/key words/phrases;

• highlight the concluding sentence;

• outline each paragraph in the margin;

Take notes on the following:

• the source (author – first/last name, title, date of publication, volume number, place of publication, publisher, URL, etc.);

• the main idea of the original (paraphrased);

• the major supporting points (in outline form);

• major supporting explanations (e.g. reasons/causes or effects);

Preparing to Write: To write a good summary it is important to thoroughly understand the

material you are working with. Here are some preliminary steps in writing a summary.

• Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try to divide the text into sections. Consider why you have been assigned the text. Try to determine what type of text you are dealing with. This can help you identify important information.

• Read the text, highlighting important information and taking notes.

• In your own words, write down the main points of each section.

• Write down the key support points for the main topic, but do not include minor detail.

• Go through the process again, making changes as appropriate.

Unit 2-14. TEACHING AND LEARNING EURO-ENGLISH IN SWITZERLAND

Guidelines for extensive reading of texts on the use of ESP in European transnational education

This is the continuation of Mercia Mcneil’s article “Teaching and learning Euro-English in Switzerland: a brief analysis and some ideas for teaching”. It discusses the situation when English has become an official working language in many large companies in Europe, such as in Switzerland, e.g. Novartis, Alcatel, and English has become the most popular first foreign language in schools in Europe. A huge debate in Switzerland in the last few years has ensued because some German-speaking cantons decided that English instruction will begin at an earlier age than French, the second national language of Switzerland. This fact signifies that a new concept of English is being accepted in the Swiss education system. The article surveys all-European causes and main components of this process, and offers a brief analysis and some ideas for teaching.