The English as a Foreign Language / Lingua Franca Debate:Sensitising Teachers of English as a Foreign Language TowardsTeaching English as a Lingua Franca

The function of English as a lingua franca for communication needs rethinking in the teaching ofEnglish as a foreign language classroom as a consequence of globalisation. The present contribution isan empirical study carried out in an Italian university environment which aims to show how teachersshould take on board awareness raising activities in the recognition of other varieties of English which,albeit not exploited as benchmarks for language testing and certification, must nevertheless boast a relevantplace in the global scenario. This can be achieved in practical terms by interrogating an expresslymade corpus of Chinese English news texts and carrying out simple concordance activities.