Varieties of English

UNIVERSIDAD LATINA DE COSTA RICA

MASTERS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Raising Students’ Awareness of the Varieties of English

By: Prof. Sonia Albertazzi OMaterial created by Sonia Albertazzi for

educational purposes

INTRODUCTION

This presentation has been created for educational purposes. It is a reaction paper

from an article published by the English Teaching Forum (2005, #2). The contents of

this presentation are based on the article entitled «Raising Students’ Awareness of the Varieties of English» by Toshiyuki Takagaki.

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

REACTIONPeople around the world speak different and

unique varieties of English.

There are also variations within a country that are caused by regional dialects.

Speakers use different language styles or registers according to the person they are talking to.

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

• When students are only exposed

to standard American English,

they think that everyone in the

world speaks that variety and

therefore, they form a limited

view of the English language.

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

Why expose our students to different varieties of English?

• It will increase their chances of getting better jobs.

• It will equip them to deal with those varieties in the working environment.

• It will help them develop a more tolerant attitude towards other people and their cultures.

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

Suggested Activities to Raise Students’ Awareness

Ellicit the countries your students

know where English is spoken as L1.

(ex England).

Have your students research about

other countries where English is

considered an official language.

(Nigeria)Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for

educational purposes

Suggested Activities to Raise Students’ Awareness

List countries where English is

spoken as a foreign language

(Korea).

Expose students to recordings by

people speaking different varieties of

English. (Video)

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

CONCLUSION

By becoming informed about the

existing varieties of English,

students will turn into more

proficient speakers and they will

be able to handle the varieties

they eventually encounter.

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes

THANK YOU

Material created by Sonia Albertazzi for educational purposes