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Global English in the Workplace: Introducing the Concepts of ‘Workplace English as a Lingua Franca’ (WELF), and ‘Successful WELF Users’

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Engaging with Work in English Studies

Abstract

Workplaces are becoming increasingly international. In many contemporary workplaces, English is used as a lingua franca (ELF). This chapter introduces the notion of WELF, Workplace English as a Lingua Franca, which is used as a means of conceptualizing English that is used in international workplace settings. The chapter focuses on the language skills and strategies that are deployed by successful WELF users. An important aim in conceptualizing WELF is to help English learners to find their own answers to the questions of why they need to learn English, and what it means to be a competent user of the language. A further aim is to reach out to English teachers working in contexts where students can be expected to work in globalized workplaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University West, Trollhättan, Sweden

    Hyeseung Jeong

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  1. Hyeseung Jeong
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Correspondence to Hyeseung Jeong .

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  1. Department of Social and Behavioural Studies, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden

    Alastair Henry

  2. Department of Social and Behavioural Studies, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden

    Åke Persson

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Jeong, H. (2021). Global English in the Workplace: Introducing the Concepts of ‘Workplace English as a Lingua Franca’ (WELF), and ‘Successful WELF Users’. In: Henry, A., Persson, Å. (eds) Engaging with Work in English Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69720-4_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69720-4_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-69719-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-69720-4

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