Guidelines for extensive reading of ESP texts on the use of English for European business

The new technologies and the new culture of teaching and learning English as a lingua franca (ELF) has become an increasingly popular discourse in applied linguistics and current ELT. It has been suggested that, while native speakers and their Englishes have become relatively unimportant in international communication and research interests now fall on non-native speakers and their use of English, utilizing computer technology and its attached language learning programs can be convenient to create both independent and collaborative learning environments.

In the article below, the conceptual and operational framework of new communicative modes is examined underpinning the case for a description of English as a lingua franca. Issues and problems are addressed that need to be taken into account if such teaching and learning technologies are to be implemented in second language pedagogy. (ICT – Information and Communications Technologies)

The study by Iranian researchers Ghasem Modarresi et al.intends to see if, everything else being equal, participants' use of internet and computer technologies really affects their language achievement. It is hypothesized that the combination of computer technology and Internet creates a channel for students to obtain a huge amount of human experience, which affects their language achievement in meaningful ways. The authors argue that introduction of the new media into educational institutions calls for a change in learning and teaching patterns.