Attitudes to Language and Culture in the EFL Classroom: British versus American English?

• Main Authors: Isabel González Cruz, María Jesús Vera Cazorla
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2015-04-01
• Series: Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos
• Subjects: ELT; attitudes; language and culture; varieties of English
• Online Access: https://ojsspdc.ulpgc.es/ojs/index.php/LFE/article/view/143

The main purpose of this article is to report on the results of an empirical study carried out among the students of English Philology at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University in order to elicit data about their attitudes toward the British and the American varieties of English. In view of the outcome, we try to suggest ways in which we can cope with students’ tendency to put too high a value on British English and to judge the other varieties as inferior. Specifically, we argue that when teaching English in the 21st century, it makes little sense to restrict the limits of the language and the culture to the British sphere. In fact, the evolution of English into an international language requires that all of its speakers, learners, and teachers recognise and reaffirm the diversity of cultures English represents throughout the world today.