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English as a Second Language

English as a second language is English for nonnative speakers. Because it involves learning across the life span, it is sometimes considered to be a subfield of educational psychology. English for nonnative speakers is referred to by several acronyms: ESL (English as a second language), EFL (English as a foreign language), EAL (English as an additional language), and ELL (English language learning). There are also related acronyms, such as TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages). The history of ESL instruction and research will be covered in this entry, as will current practices and key issues in the field.

Introduction

English holds preferential status because it is studied as a second or additional language by more people than any other human language; it has become the global lingua franca—the language of commerce, science, technology, and other professional endeavors. It has been estimated that for every native speaker of English, there are four nonnative speakers who use it as a second or other language. Braj Kachru described three principal contexts in which English is learned: the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle. In inner-circle countries, such as Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the majority of speakers use English in all aspects of their lives. In the outer circle, in countries such as India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, English is important for historical reasons and, in many instances, is an official language, but it is not the mother tongue of many of the citizens. The expanding circle consists of countries where English was not important historically but where it is now widely used as an additional language; for example, Japan.

The theory and pedagogy of ESL draw on many disciplines, including linguistics, education, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. In the past several decades, an amalgam of these areas has developed as applied linguistics, a field that encompasses not only language learning and teaching, but translation, lexicography, and other applied language issues.

Communicative Competence

A central concept in ESL is communicative competence, a term first coined by Dell Hymes, a linguistic anthropologist. Communicative competence includes the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully convey meaning through language. Applied linguists Michael Canale and Merrill Swain developed a model of communicative competence that describes the components of language that are crucial to successful communication. These components are grammatical (linguistic), sociolinguistic, strategic, and discourse competence. Grammatical competence refers to the ability to manipulate language forms according to grammatical rules; a person demonstrates grammatical competence by using grammatical forms accurately, but he or she may not be able to articulate the rules (as is the case for most native speakers). Socio-linguistic competence is demonstrated when an individual uses language appropriately in different contexts. The status of participants, the purpose of the interaction, and local norms all affect what is considered to be appropriate; for example, one would use different language when speaking to a judge in court than one would when communicating the same message to a close friend. Strategic competence is the ability to use verbal and nonverbal communication strategies to rectify or avoid communication breakdowns and to enhance communication. Several researchers have developed extensive lists of communication strategies, such as paraphrase, repetition, word coinage, clarification requests, and so forth. Discourse competence refers to the ability to link forms and meanings coherently in both written and spoken language. This includes using discourse markers, such as first, next, then, and finally, to help the listener follow a sequence of events, for example. Several researchers have developed elaborated versions of Canale and Swain's model, but the same skills and basic concepts are emphasized. Communicative competence is the ultimate goal of many ESL learners and teachers.

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