Teaching English as a multinational language Reference: LEFFA, Vilson Jose. Teaching English as a multinational language. The Linguistic Association Of Korea Journal, Seul, Coréia, v. 10, n. 1, p. 29- 53, 2002. Teaching English as a multinational language Vilson J. Leffa (Universidade Católica de Pelotas, Brazil) Leffa, Vilson J. 2002. Teaching English as a multinational language. The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 10(1). The de facto adoption of English as a lingua franca in worldwide communication has met both acceptance and rejection among scientists from different parts of the world. This article tries to analyze the issue from both sides, including the ideologies that underlie frequently-mentioned dichotomies such as central versus peripheral countries, native speakers of English versus non-native speakers, and alternatives that have been proposed to counterbalance the hegemony of English. It is argued that for a language to be multinational it should ideally include certain characteristics such as the prevalence of non-native speakers, the language ability to incorporate other cultures, and tolerance to diversity. Giving a language a multinational status along these lines does not necessarily imply promotion of the language, but also the imposition that the language be willing to lose part of its cultural and linguistic identity. While it is debatable whether any language fulfills these conditions, this article makes a case for English as the best candidate, offering some suggestions on how to teach it from a multinational perspective. (Universidade Católica de Pelotas, Brazil) 1. Introduction My objective in this article is to investigate the opposing ideologies that underlie what I define here as the Teaching of English as a Multinational Language (TEMUL). I understand by TEMUL the de facto use of English as the lingua franca for international contacts in our globalized world. I will try to make two main points: one is that for a language to acquire the status of a lingua franca it must have the ability to incorporate other cultures; the other point is that when a language is used multinationally it does not necessarily replace the local languages, but works in complementary distribution with them, fulfilling different functions. I will not ignore the feelings, of both hostility and admiration, that the hegemony of English has aroused in different quarters, and will try to analyze both sides. I hope to end the article on a positive note, trying to avoid the extremes of blind naiveté and alienation on one hand, and relentless outrage, on the other. Globalization can be defined as a process by which capital, goods, services and labor are freely moved around the globe. Essentially, it file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Usuario%20XP/Meus...umentos/Vilson/homepage/textos/papers/multinational.htm (1 of 22)22/12/2008 21:13:13