41
papers. These restrictions represent a loss of linguistic
diversity and creativity as
well as the imposition of the communicative practices of one group on many others
with the subsequent issues of unequal power relations that this entails also
suggests that such editorial policies in academic publications mean the loss of
other forms of knowledge and more localised expertise.
ELF offers an alternative approach to writing practices. At the conceptual
level Bjorkman
69
and Jenkins both argue that given the international orientation of
universities and many academic publishing houses, it is crucial for universities to
adopt
a
multilingual
approach
to
communication,
including
written
communication. This entails a move away from monolingual
NES orientations
toward recognition of a diversity of Englishes and rhetorical conventions combined
with the knowledge, skills and abilities of multilinguals to negotiate this variety.
Jenkins goes on to suggest that given the globalised nature of academia today the
skills of multilingual communicators are crucial and that if such approaches are not
adopted by native English speakers, they "are at risk of becoming disadvantaged
when communicating in international settings". A similar argument is made by
Horner. From an ideological position he stresses that it is crucial for ELF studies to
challenge the 'English-only' orientation of U.S. composition classes given the role
composition classes play in introducing many
future academic scholars to
acceptable writing practices. ELF researchers need to contest "a belief among those
selfidentified as native English speakers in the status of SWE [standard written
English] as a stable and ideal code for communication nationally and globally", a
point that will be explored in more detail in relation to pedagogy.
Empirical studies of writing from ELF perspectives are still scarce but those
that exist offer a complex picture of writing practices. Ehrenreich suggests
70
that in
her study of a European business setting native-like English was not considered
necessary for spoken communication, nor to
a large extent for written
69
Bjorkman, B. (2011). The pragmatics of English as a lingua franca in the international university: Introduction.
Journal of Pragmatics,
43(4), 923-925.
70
Ehrenreich, S. (2009). English as a lingua franca in multinational corporations: exploring business communities of
practice. In A. Mauranen & E. Ranta (Eds.),
English as a lingua franca: studies and findings
(pp. 126-151).
Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
42
communication. Rather text production was generally judged by endonormative
standards and even when the 'linguistic quality' of the text was considered
important editing and proofreading was conducted by other more proficient 'non-
native' users rather than with reference to exonormative standards. Solin
examined
71
texts produced as part of academic portfolios
used to apply for
teaching positions in Finnish universities. The academic portfolio is a genre which,
she believes, is American in origin and not a traditional part of the Finnish job
application process. A key finding was that the participants in her study displayed
a degree of heterogeneity in their approach to this genre, adopting features more
commonly associated
with academic writing, such as support for claims, hedging
and in some cases offering both positive and negative evaluations. This was also
combined with the more neutral evaluations of achievements typical of the more
traditional CV mode of application in Finland. These features, Solin suggests, are
in contrast to the more direct self-promotion that are associated with the genre in
the US; however, she also points out that academic portfolios are a relatively new
genre with fairly fluid boundaries and conventions. Solin's study suggests that in
written
communication through ELF, participants in her study were prepared to
engage in negotiation and adaptation of the rhetorical conventions to suit personal
preferences and local conventions . These studies have produced the sorts of
findings that are similar to the much larger studies of spoken communication in
illustrating ambiguous attitudes to ELF, with a mixture of acceptance at times, but
deference to NES norms at others, and also a
large degree of variety and
heterogeneity, with the need to adapt and negotiate language, context and
communicative practices. However, clearly much more research is needed to see if
such findings are repeated in other settings.
With regard to academic publishing, there are signs that some scholars and
editors are taking deliberate steps to encourage a diversity of Englishes, and a
move away from the domination of Anglo-American norms. Perhaps not
71
Solin, A. (2010). New genre resources in academia: self-evaluation in academic portfolios.
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