Teaching the Pragmatics of English as an International Language

This chapter explores teachers’ perspectives on the pedagogy of the pragmatics of English as an international language (EIL). Although research has revealed diversified pragmatic uses of English in today’s globalized contexts, practitioners are left to their own devises to determine how to come to terms with post-normative plurality. Although teachers are key players in instigating any changes in the classroom where linguistic diversity and cultural hybridity can be supported and nurtured, their needs and insights regarding EIL pragmatics have hardly been taken into consideration in EIL research. After a literature review on EIL pedagogy and the theoretical framework of translingual practice, a small-scale preliminary study will be reported, in which L2 teachers’ beliefs, practice, and attitudes toward EIL pragmatics were investigated through a questionnaire and interviews in the context of a US-style Master’s degree TESOL program offered in Japan. The participant teachers had taken a brief session on EIL in general, as well as EIL pragmatics in particular as part of a course on instructional pragmatics. Teachers’ perspectives and practical needs have implications for language teacher education informing how future professional development might be shaped to mediate learners’ and teachers’ translingual practice and cultural hybridity.