Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Reviewing Listening Materials Through The Lens of World Englishes: a case study in an English language teacher education program T1 112011098 BAB I
INTRODUCTION
Even though it has been debated for decades, the notion of World
Englishes is still an intriguing worldwide issue. In the debate of WEs, some
scholars argued against the idea of WE in the terms of intelligibility. For example,
Derwing and Munro (1999) said that intelligible pronunciation is the only thing
that language learners need and that the aim of the pronunciation teaching is that
the learners should learn to speak the most natural version of a language [Standard
English; henceforth SE]. However, in the development of WEs, Kachru and
Nelson (2011) argue that although English is still considered to be a foreign
language in multilingual and multicultural countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia,
and Thailand; nowadays it gradually evolves into language of social interaction.
In Matsuda’s (2002) work, it is suggested that some researchers of WE also argue
that many interactions in English occurs between nonnative speakers of English
so that English’s function as a communication language between native and
nonnative speakers and a way to learn English culture [standard pronunciation] is
not precisely true nowadays.
This research is based on my English language learning experience. In my
early studies, I was only exposed to SE, and yet in higher education I am exposed
to more Englishes (e.g. Hindi, Malaysian, and Javanese). As Kachru and Nelson
(2011) said in their book, “as soon as one realizes the pluralistic nature of English
across the world today, the possibilities become numerous” (p. 10), the exposure
of a lot varieties of Englishes has left me wondering: What if World Englishes
2
were taught in schools and University? The idea of teaching WEs comes up
because actually WEs exist in daily communication of many English users.
We cannot deny the fact that WEs exist because we can see the difference
in accents, dialects, and syntax in some Englishes spoken by different people.
Malaysian English for example, is different from SE but is considered acceptable
by the society. Also, the Javanese accented English is considered English,
although it is not SE. India, which considers English their second language, also
has a variety of Englishes. If those Englishes exist, why is the use of WEs not
introduced in our pedagogical practices?
This paper seeks to review the current listening materials in a context of
WEs. The review begins by giving the definition and bedrock theory of World
Englishes to familiarize the readers with the idea of WEs. I will also list some
theories of ELT material review to relate the theory of World Englishes to the
research focus of listening material analysis. Then, the theoretical framework for
of material review and WEs will be combined to make reviewing the current
material possible. The analysis is then used to answe r the research question. The
paper ends with a conclusion of the research results and pedagogical implications
for the suggestions made throughout the review.
3
Even though it has been debated for decades, the notion of World
Englishes is still an intriguing worldwide issue. In the debate of WEs, some
scholars argued against the idea of WE in the terms of intelligibility. For example,
Derwing and Munro (1999) said that intelligible pronunciation is the only thing
that language learners need and that the aim of the pronunciation teaching is that
the learners should learn to speak the most natural version of a language [Standard
English; henceforth SE]. However, in the development of WEs, Kachru and
Nelson (2011) argue that although English is still considered to be a foreign
language in multilingual and multicultural countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia,
and Thailand; nowadays it gradually evolves into language of social interaction.
In Matsuda’s (2002) work, it is suggested that some researchers of WE also argue
that many interactions in English occurs between nonnative speakers of English
so that English’s function as a communication language between native and
nonnative speakers and a way to learn English culture [standard pronunciation] is
not precisely true nowadays.
This research is based on my English language learning experience. In my
early studies, I was only exposed to SE, and yet in higher education I am exposed
to more Englishes (e.g. Hindi, Malaysian, and Javanese). As Kachru and Nelson
(2011) said in their book, “as soon as one realizes the pluralistic nature of English
across the world today, the possibilities become numerous” (p. 10), the exposure
of a lot varieties of Englishes has left me wondering: What if World Englishes
2
were taught in schools and University? The idea of teaching WEs comes up
because actually WEs exist in daily communication of many English users.
We cannot deny the fact that WEs exist because we can see the difference
in accents, dialects, and syntax in some Englishes spoken by different people.
Malaysian English for example, is different from SE but is considered acceptable
by the society. Also, the Javanese accented English is considered English,
although it is not SE. India, which considers English their second language, also
has a variety of Englishes. If those Englishes exist, why is the use of WEs not
introduced in our pedagogical practices?
This paper seeks to review the current listening materials in a context of
WEs. The review begins by giving the definition and bedrock theory of World
Englishes to familiarize the readers with the idea of WEs. I will also list some
theories of ELT material review to relate the theory of World Englishes to the
research focus of listening material analysis. Then, the theoretical framework for
of material review and WEs will be combined to make reviewing the current
material possible. The analysis is then used to answe r the research question. The
paper ends with a conclusion of the research results and pedagogical implications
for the suggestions made throughout the review.
3