Global Englishes and English Language Teaching (ELT) – Bridging the gap between theory and practice in a Japanese context

The native English speaker episteme continues to dominate in English Language Teaching (ELT) despite a growing body of research stressing the need for change in the light of the rise of English as a lingua franca. To support the proposed changes, this study explores what perceptions English learners, as major stakeholders, have in relation to the sociolinguistic realities of English and how these relate to learning English, as well as their responses to Global Englishes instruction in a Japanese university. 52 participants, divided into a control group (taking a Global Englishes content-based English course) and an experimental group (taking a Tourism content-based course), were surveyed with pre- and post-course questionnaires (N = 52) and interviewed (n = 4) about their attitudes and perceptions over one semester. The participants were found to have had positive attitudes towards native English, which were influenced by a host of factors including their familiarity with native English, motivation, pedagogical beliefs and stereotypical beliefs meaning unclear about the English language. The Global Englishes class was also found to have had an important impact on students' attitudes. These findings help bridge the gap between theory and practice by exploring what impact a Global Englishes orientated approach may have on language English learners in the ELT classroom.