Implications of ELF for ESP/EAP Teachers, Learners, and International Academic Conference Discourse

Abstract

In this chapter, we will discuss the relevance of the emergence of ELF in terms of its application to the ESP/EAP classroom, the psychological impact upon NNES for academic conference discourse, and the related issue of developing or mastering intelligible pronunciation. In this section, I will attempt to perform a bit of ‘pathology’—suggesting that much of the anxiety associated with CPs is self-inflicted and preventable. I will advocate a type of cognitive therapy as a possible treatment—meaning that the way we view English, who we think allegedly ‘owns’ it, and what we believe the intrinsic function or purpose of a CP is—can positively or negatively influence performance. I’ll suggest that certain popular preemptive remedies, such as focusing heavily upon fixing ‘accents’ to approximate a NES model and concentrating on attaining lexico-grammatical perfection in speech, far from being curative priorities, can actually serve as impediments to producing effective performance outcomes.