ELF Pedagogy and Awareness: An Action Research Applied to Italian Tertiary Students in ELF Skype Interactions

Abstract

English today is the language of global communication and has gradually developed into several varieties shaped by speakers from different lingua-cultural backgrounds. This contribution discusses action research applied in an English language classroom of Italian tertiary students engaged in Skype interactions with a group of Spanish peers. The aim is to explore the open question of the legitimation of a less prescriptive, but more pragmatic, pedagogical space where the teaching objective is constituted by the adoption of ELF-informed practices to foster learners’ ELF awareness and confidence as intercultural speakers. From a pedagogical angle, the paper encourages teachers to challenge the traditional World Englishes teaching paradigm through an ELF-aware approach.