This presentation reports on findings from an in-depth interview study of teachers' conceptualizations of English in society and English in school and how they surface in teachers' reported classroom practices or not. Findings are discussed in light of global oriented approaches to develop democratically engaged, cosmopolitan English speakers and a possible initiative to help teachers in developing these approaches.
Formerly established conceptions of language and communicative language competence are being challenged and expanded in the field of English language teaching (Canagarajah, 2006, 2014; Jenkins et al., 2011; Kramsch, 2011; Otheguy, Garcia, & Reid, 2015, Seidlhofer & Widdowson, 2019). The transition of English from a foreign language to a communicative language subject, have created the need for a more situated and dynamic conceptualization of the language to be taught and learned in the classroom.
This presentation reports findings from an in-depth interview study investigating teachers' conceptualizations of English in and outside of school and how these conceptualizations surface in reported classroom practices or not. Findings reveal English in society as a natural, supranational language in modern Norwegian society, but also as personal and threatening. English in school, on the other hand, is foreign, communicative, historic and cultural, humanistic, for cross-curricular content literacy, and "in flux". The final category explores self-reflexive questions teachers raise about "English" and their teaching practices related to ownership and identity, diversity, digitalization, and global orientation. In considering new directions, findings suggest teachers need support in transitioning to a more globally oriented approach to English in non-native contexts that better encompasses experiences of diversity connection. A current initiative to support teachers in exploring locally appropriate directions is discussed.
