Implications of English as a lingua franca for English teaching in Taiwan : changing attitudes toward errors, accents, and communication strategies

This report first reviews issues emerging from English usage as a lingua franca, including distinctions among errors and variations in L2 English, attitudes toward L2-accented English, and communication strategies among non-native English speakers. Informed by the English learning as a second language literature, this report provides some suggestions for English teachers in Taiwan to help their students improve interactions with English speakers around the world. These suggestions involve promoting students’ respect for errors and accents in different varieties of English, which is expected to help students improve their own learning habits in order to lower their concerns about their “Taiwanese English.” The suggestions also encourage teachers to integrate issues regarding communication among non-native English speakers into English classes since these issues are often not the focus of traditional English classes in Taiwan.