Our CME launch took place on on 7^th July 2023 at King’s College London. There were four presentations, some delicious canapes, and a final discussion. We have included a summary of our presentations here. Enjoy the reading!

Jenny

In my talk, I explained how and why thinking about ELF, and therefore its research objectives, had evolved from ELF’s earliest days when I began working on it in 1989 for my PhD to the present day. I described how at first, motivated by the World Englishes (WE) paradigm, ELF had taken up not only WE’s move away from the notion that the only acceptable English was that of its native speakers, but also WE’s varieties approach (Indian English, Singapore English, Nigerian English etc.). I went on to explain that once sufficient ELF data had been gathered, it became clear that ELF use was too variable to be discussed in terms of varieties and that we abandoned all ideas of codification. Subsequently, I also argued that the multilingualism of ELF was not being sufficiently foregrounded, proposed a far greater focus on the multilingualism of ELF users and a much-reduced focus on the ‘E’ of ELF (Jenkins 2015), signalled by the name ‘English as a Multilingua Franca’ (EMF).

Over the years that followed, many ELF scholars did indeed focus more on ELF’s multilingualism. However, little changed in terms of practical outcomes. More recently (Jenkins 2022), I therefore argued that multilingualism not only needs far more foregrounding, but also that it should be seen as the starting point of ELF with English as secondary. I have given this conceptualisation the name ‘Multilingualism (with English) as a lingua franca, or MELF, as well as arguing that English as Medium Instruction (EMI) is an outdated notion and should be replaced with TMI, or Translanguaging as Medium of Instruction. I concluded by saying that I am not proposing a change in name to the widely accepted ‘ELF’, but that the mere existence of the alternative of ‘MELF’, with “English” in brackets, is likely to affect orientations towards the phenomenon, as EMF had done to a considerable extent previously.

Alessia’s presentation focused on the two main aspects related to the centre – the conceptual change and the social justice applications. Conceptually the centre encourages a view of Multilingualism and English as connected and inter-related. With Multilingualism with English (MwE) we encourage moving away from the traditional view of research in English and in multilingualism as separate and a resistance to the monolingual ideology prevailing in these areas. While ELF has always been about multilingualism, the conceptual change entails foregrounding the multilingual element as key to lingua franca communication, in the repertoire of the users and in their translingual practices.

The second aspect concerns the mission of CME of facilitating collaborations with the community of researchers and practitioners interested in working with MwE from a decolonized and social justice perspective. To this end, CME aims to facilitate work on linguistic diversity and linguistic justice in different contexts, and to develop practice-oriented projects and outreach opportunities.

Martin

In my talk, I explained how my work has moved from examining the pedagogic implications of ELF research towards investigating practitioners’ perceptions of language in policy and practice, with a focus on understanding linguistic and cultural diversity, intersections between social setting, beliefs, local experience and notions of expertise. I discussed how I undertake this work with a view to promoting critical engagement with the theory-practice interface, especially in relation to multilingualism. I also emphasized how understanding and respecting multilingualism is crucial in the current climate given the rise in populism and protectionist discourse we have seen recently, creating a hostile environment in which public opinion is manipulated against migration and in which diversity and complexity are not well understood.

I moved on to talk about adopting more reflexivity in researching diversity and multilingualism by looking at how diversity is promoted in UK HE, with revenue generation remaining the top priority, leading to over-dependence on international fees, self-interested interpretations of internationalization and lack of engagement in any meaningful sense with diverse cultural, demographic, educational and linguistic contexts. We can see the impact of this by contrasting discourses of diversity with actual practices. This is demonstrated for instance in the following contradictions: post graduate students who self-identify as English speakers being asked to meet English language requirements; layers of bureaucracy for the appointment of external PhD examiners leading to a questioning of academic expertise outside UK settings; and little to no status for professional experience in contexts not recognized as valid in relation to measurements of academic ‘rigor’.

I concluded by commenting on how multilingualism is foregrounded but not engaged with in a substantive way. Despite promoting awareness of multilingualism, despite the increasingly multilingual reality of classrooms, despite subjects such as translanguaging becoming evermore commonplace in methodology courses, we remain wedded to more conventional practices. We thus still have no space in assessment criteria or assignment design for pluralism or diversity, we continue to adopt a monolingual/monolithic orientation to models and norms, and in many settings teachers are still expected to operate with an “English only” mindset.  For this reason it is crucial that we continue to engage practitioners in theory and research. 

Gonzalo’s talk was divided into two parts. First, he referred to how the CME team envision the centre in practice stressing its focus on community-oriented collaboration and inter-disciplinary knowledge exchanges. In this respect, he mentioned some areas of interest and within multilingualism with English that need particular attention and invited potential members who are interested in or currently working on these topics to consider ways in which the centre can help them showcase their work. These areas include ideologies surrounding multilingualism in different contexts; the interplay between multilingualism, vulnerability, and inequality; multilingualism and identity; and multilingualism and (language) planning/policy among others.

The second part of Gonzalo’s talk presented a BAAL-funded research project that focuses on a collaboration between academics and practitioners working at an East London primary school. In line with the ethos of the centre, this project aims to decentre academic work on multilingualism through knowledge exchanges and collaboration. He provided examples of how a participatory approach including school staff, pupils, and members of the community can support and inform initiatives that value and celebrate the linguistic diversity of the school and influence discourses around multilingualism in the UK primary education system.

The launch of the Centre for Multilingualism with English will take place at King’s College, London on Wednesday 7th June 2023. Details and registration here: launch

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