Situating Reflection Within ELF Awareness: A Practical and Evaluative Orientation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Critical reflection is, without doubt, the single most important component of the ELF (English as a lingua franca) awareness framework. ELF awareness has been proposed (Sifakis, 2019; Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2018) as a comprehensive way of incorporating ELF-related issues and concerns in different English language teaching contexts. As these contexts are vastly diverse, and as ELF itself is not a variety of English that can be “taught” to nonnative speakers (in the same way that Standard English or General American is taught—Seidlhofer, 2011), engaging in critical reflection has been perceived as a way of prompting teachers (but also other English language teaching [ELT] stakeholders, including learners) to identify those elements in ELF theorizing that meaningfully relate ELF to their individual teaching situation and develop and implement their own instructional interventions on that basis (Sifakis, 2007, 2014; Sifakis et al., 2022; Sifakis & Kordia, 2019).

The place and function of reflection in ELT as an effective and indeed essential component of teacher development has not been contested in the relevant literature (see Farrell, 2022). As Anderson (2020) notes, there are two dominant perspectives. Dewey's perspective (1933) advocates a rational, scientific approach to teacher reflection, emphasizing active and careful consideration of beliefs and knowledge. On the contrary, Schön (1991) promotes more intuitive reflection, rejecting academic knowledge in favor of experiential or practice-based learning. To date, various models have been proposed that usefully merge the two perspectives. For example, Farrell's (2022) model proposes that growth occurs by reflecting on our teaching philosophy, guiding principles, applied theories, actual practice, and critically examining moral influences on our work and identities. Farrell (2022) then goes on to suggest several techniques fostering teachers' reflection, such as reflective journaling, critical incident analysis, group discussions, and role-playing.

The outlook that we put forward in this article follows Farrell's broad framework, but clarifies that the ELF awareness perspective places on participants specific reflective ‘demands’ that require that they: (a) appreciate the implications of ELF for standard varieties of English and the roles of native and non-native users of English; (b) understand the local socio-cultural and even political-economic constraints of their ELT context, namely. those dimensions in the immediate and broader “culture” that will “allow” them to engage in potent ELF-aware instructional interventions (e.g., dealing with the impact of a prevailing testing culture); (c) are cognizant of their own deeper, and often unquestioned, convictions about using and teaching English that inform their instructional practice (e.g., correcting and providing feedback); and (d) are open to transforming those convictions that are dysfunctional and engaging in action research that will prompt them to develop and implement new instructional practices. As a result of such reflection, teachers will establish their own mix of instructional activities and tasks that will be relevant and meaningful for their own specific context, complement existing courseware, and ultimately help their learners raise their own ELF awareness.

What these demands imply is that becoming critically reflective within the ELF awareness framework raises various challenges for teacher educators that need to be overcome. In what follows, we present four different levels of reflection, as proposed by adult education theorist Jack Mezirow, and discuss how they can help teacher educators and teachers appreciate the nature and limitations of the different levels of reflection vis-à-vis the above specifications so that they can better navigate through their journey to becoming critically reflective and ELF aware. We then discuss genuine examples of teachers' reflections from a teacher education program and deliberate about implications for teacher education and pedagogy.