Research on English as a lingua franca (ELF) has triggered a debate on whether English teaching should consistently conform to native-speaker Standard English or it should value the pedagogical implications of ELF. This article provides an overview of current research on teaching English as a lingua franca. It starts with research on the rationale to introduce ELF-informed teaching and comparisons between ELF-informed teaching and native-English-based teaching. Concrete proposals of how to incorporate ELF-informed teaching into English language teaching (ELT) classrooms are presented. Then controversies in the debate are summarized. They are: A lack of ELF-informed textbooks; a lack of ELF-informed assessment; and a lack of qualified teachers. It then reviews recent publications dealing with these controversies. This is followed by a discussion about the research on ELF-informed teaching in the Chinese context. This article argues that research on the practicality of ELF-informed teaching should start with prospective English users, such as students in China’s Business English Program. It concludes with some suggestions for future research and practice on ELF-informed teaching in China.

This study analysed a series of business English coursebooks published and used in the Chinese context from an English as a lingua franca (ELF) perspective. The analysis was conducted from four aspects: language ownership, language exposure, language activities, and cultural representations. These address four key issues in the debate over the practicality of ELF-informed materials. The findings show an orientation towards native English speakers as representatives of English users, a dominance of native-speaker Standard English in language exposure, a lack of ELF-informed activities, and a limited representation of Chinese culture. This article concludes that the coursebooks merely introduce ELF as a cultural and linguistic phenomenon. Despite some attempts to present the role of ELF in the global business community, there is a paucity of ELF exposure and ELF-informed activities. The implications of these findings for the selection and evaluation of ELF-informed materials are discussed.

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This article aims to explore whether well-attested findings of World Englishes (WE) and English as a lingua franca (ELF) research have been included in Chinese English language teaching (ELT) materials and how Chinese English learners perceive English as a native language (ENL), WE and ELF-informed materials. The study was carried in the Chinese Business English Program. Results from questionnaires and interviews suggest that: there is no significant move to include linguistic and cultural diversity; ENL-informed materials are perceived as essential while WE-informed materials are perceived as necessary only at the advanced level; the current materials include inauthentic ELF scenarios, which might provide misleading information to English learners; and native cultures, non-native cultures and learners' home culture are recommended to be included in ELT materials. In the light of these findings, suggestions for the design and use of ELT materials in the Chinese context are offered.

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