Introducing English as a Lingua Franca: an Online Tutorial

Table of Contents

1. What is English as a Lingua Franca?
2. The tutorial: who it's for and what it aims to do
3. The tutorial: how it works
4. Analysing talk (the slightly theoretical bit)
5. Recording and transcribing: why record, why transcribe, what to transcribe
6. Notation
7. Three examples of classroom talk with accompanying transcripts
8. The activity - section one: form a group
9. The activity - section two: select your recording equipment
10. The activity - section three: record your discussion
11. The activity - section four: transcription and analysis
12. The activity - section five: discuss your transcript
13. Photos of the project team
14. References
15. Further reading
16. Acknowledgements
17. How to print and cite this resource
18. Creative Commons Licence

The activity - section one: form a group

In this activity you will make a recording of two students talking, while one or two other students keep time, listen and take notes. So, step 1 is to decide on who is in your group. Your module tutor may decide to allocate you to groups - in which case you have already completed step 1!

Four students per group is ideal, but three or five is possible by varying the number of note-takers.

Your group should consist of people who speak different first languages; for example, one or two students who speak English as a first language and at least one who has another language (Mandarin, Urdu, Greek, Russian...) as their first language.

If everyone in your class has English as a first language, you will need to seek out international students to join you (with the permission of your module tutor). Try contacting your Students' Union for information about international clubs and societies.

When you have formed your group, choose two people to talk (and be recorded). One of these should speak English as their first language; the other should speak English as an additional language. The remaining members of the group are observers and note-takers. For more information about their role in the activity, click here.