International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts

Book excerpt: Present-day globalization, migration, and the spread of English have resulted in a great diversity of social and educational contexts in which English learning is taking place. A basic assumption of this book is that because English is an international language, effective pedagogical decisions cannot be made without giving special attention to the many varied contexts in which English is taught and learned. Its unique value is the combination of three strands – globalization, sociolinguistics, and English as an international language – in one focused volume specifically designed for language teachers, providing explicit links between sociolinguistic concepts and language pedagogy. International English in Its Sociolinguistic Contexts: fully recognizes the relationship between social context and language teaching describes the social and sociolinguistic factors that affect the teaching and learning of English examines how the social context is influential in determining which languages are promoted in schools and society and how these languages are taught is unique in directly relating basic constructs in sociolinguistics to English language teaching features case studies that illustrate the diversity of English teaching contexts Directed to a wide TESOL and applied linguistics professional readership, this text will be particularly useful and effective for pre-service and in-service professional development in TESOL for K-12 and higher education levels.