World Englishes and Cultural Diversity

Study Notes

Culture is the core of language teaching and directly supports language proficiency
Culture is "the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, social hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relationships, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people over generations through individual and group striving."
World Englishes refers to the various forms of English used worldwide
English evolves and adapts in different ways to meet the needs of diverse communities
Braj Kachru introduced the idea of World Englishes in his 1965 work on Indian English.

Braj Kachru's work (1932-2016) established the theoretical groundwork for World Englishes.
His work highlighted the nativization of English in India, showing its unique cultural aspects
Kachru formally introduced "World Englishes" in 1984 at a TESOL conference, setting out English's international profile
He also developed the three concentric circles model to depict the relationship between English varieties.

The model illustrates the global distribution of English speakers (1984)
Inner circle (e.g., USA, UK): where English is a native language
Outer circle (e.g., India, Nigeria): where English is a major second language with widespread educational and official usage
Expanding circle (e.g., China, Russia, Brazil): where English is used as a foreign language

What is culture?
Do learners of a foreign language need to know and understand the culture of that language?
How is language culture traditionally taught in language classes? Questions are asked to understand what the general view is on culture and its influence on language learning
Definitions of culture are diverse, with over 164 identified as of 1952.

Byram (1997) emphasizes ICC as crucial for foreign language teaching, targeting secondary and higher education contexts
ICC encompasses linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and intercultural competencies. It defines ICC as a skill to communicate and interact across cultural boundaries
Byram (2002) expands on the definition, including the ability for shared understanding by different social groups, and respecting individual identities and needs

The evolution of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is illustrated in a diagram showing the addition of elements such as grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic competence.

Ruben (1976): A behavioral framework emphasizing respect, interaction posture, knowledge orientation, empathy, self-oriented role behavior, interaction management, and tolerance for ambiguity
Bennett (1993): Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. This model has stages like denial, defense, minimizing, acceptance, adaptation, and integration.
Deardorff (2006): Process Model of Intercultural Competence, focusing on attitudes, knowledge, skills and their external and internal outcomes. Internal outcomes include flexibility, empathy, and adaptability. External outcomes involve the visible behaviour and communication that reflects intercultural competence.

Fostering attitudes that motivate individuals, like respect and curiosity, transforming challenging experiences into learning opportunities
Developing knowledge about diverse cultural values, beliefs, and beliefs about cultural learning.
Developing relevant skills such as empathy, information gathering, conflict resolution, and anxiety management