Empowering English Speakers Through Diversification and Promotion of World Englishes ”

Proficiency in English language today doesn’t depend on the way language is taught or spoken in classrooms but on creativity and productivity of its diverse teachers and learners. Non-native speakers outnumber native speakers today calling for promoting equity and the concept of World Englishes through respecting diversification in language classes. English needs a paradigm shift as far as language learning and teaching is concerned because the need today is to address the socio-linguistic aspects of its diverse learners and teachers. A study was done on roughly 75 teachers both NNESTs and NESTs to prove the research question. Both native and non-native teachers agreed that being a native isn’t necessary to teach language better. Students were also questioned, and the results revealed they had no preference for native speakers or their accents. Therefore, these findings point to the necessity of having collaborative approaches to promote a stronger foundation of mutual respect, effective communication and interaction in TESOL classrooms. To improve the linguistic and literary creativity in English classrooms, language teaching needs a new rhetoric approach of world Englishes, thus respecting diversity in tones and accents of its learners and teachers both. The racist concept of native speakerism needs to be dismantled. A pluralistic view in daily pedagogical approaches and texts from varied socio-linguistic backgrounds will help improve productivity in classes. Mutual intelligibility and not accent should be the key to language learning in TESOL classrooms. It’s essential that intelligibility rather than accent be promoted to encourage mutual interaction in TESOL classrooms.


INTRODUCTION
There's no challenging the fact that English language teaching is plagued by oppressive practices and inclination against NNESTs.There is a clear case of prejudice and injustice when considering the abilities of NNESTs as compared to their native counterparts.Our aim should be to remove these boundaries and align ourselves for better development of ELT in global perspective.
This project aims to highlight the issues related to discrimination against non-native speakers while stressing on the importance of advocating the concept of World Englishes to promote English language learning.It focuses on discussing collaborative approaches to promote a stronger foundation of mutual respect, effective communication and interaction in TESOL classrooms.The author intends to bring awareness amongst educators and professionals to get rid of the habit of "hearing with one's eyes" if linguistic creativity and productivity is to be promoted.The racist concept of native speakerism needs to be dismantled.The presenter promotes pluralistic view in daily pedagogical approaches thus promoting the concept of World Englishes in TESOL classroom.
(Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers) by refuting the NEST fallacy.2. Also, it aims in pointing out the basic fact that intelligibility and not accent is the key to communication while promoting the concept of global or world English.

Research Questions
On the above objectives we can formulate the following research questions to explore, survey, and investigate the complex nature of the concept of World English.
1. How can we liberate linguistics?2. How do we introduce the perspective of World English to our students?3. How can we diversify the rhetoric of teaching in TESOL classrooms to promote the concept of 'World Englishes'?

Significance of the study
The main findings of this study will have changes in the pedagogical perception of learners as well as instructors of the English language.It will help the non-native teachers feel more confident in classes and help them regain self-respect and equity in their professional lives.Not only this, it will allow the learners to reflect on their previous experiences, as to how the study can benefit them in this new light.

Background
Before we proceed with the results of this research, we need to decipher the true meaning of the two terms -NESTs and NNESTs.Native speakers of any language essentially mean a person born in a culture, and the first language he or she acquires in that culture.It could also mean the first language learned from childhood.Native-speakerism also represents having correct knowledge of a language and owing allegiance to the community that speaks that language.
Traditionally looking at native speakers, Kachru defines them as the primary standard-providing users of the language or the English speakers from the so-called 'inner circle countries.'However, when we look at the statistics globally, we would find the number of English speakers in countries like India, Philippines, and Jamaica (Outer Circle countries) account for approximately the total number of English speakers from the UK, US and Canada combined (Kachru, 2005).Not only this, speakers from countries like Russia, China and Japan (Expanding circle) entirely depend on the native speakers for teaching the basic norms of learning English.The speakers from these countries learn English as a foreign language (Kachru, The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures, 1992).
Besides this, the number of non-native speakers of English in the US itself has been increasing at a dramatic rate during the last two to three decades.In this light, it becomes essential to consider the manner in which these non-native speakers of English use English.It is with the speakers from these three Kachruvian Concentric Circles in mind that one can say there is a variety of Englishes that these speakers use and need to interact with each other because of the current globalization of the world.(Fig. 1) This has given rise to the concept of "World Englishes" or the concept of English as an "International Language" having different and varied linguistic norms.
As has been proven above, there are more NNESTs (Non-native English-speaking Teachers) today as against NESTs (Native English-Speaking Teachers) in the world.Are these two types of teachers entirely different species?The dichotomy of NEST and NNEST is generally based on the looks and the accent of the English-speaking teachers.If the teachers look or speak like Caucasians, they are considered natives or else non-natives.

Refuting the Dichotomous NEST Fallacy
As mentioned above the majority of English teaching force comprises of NNESTs today, but the discrimination or the bias against them continues.At times, non-native English teachers with high credentials are forced to accept inferior jobs because the recruiters wish to pursue the market demand rather than give credit to a person's pedagogical skills and language proficiency.It is portrayed as if the native speakers are genetically superior to their non-native counterparts who miserably try to imitate the language they are learning (Selvi, 2010).It has also been observed that students generally perceive their non-native teachers to be inefficient in comparison to their native counterparts unless they prove otherwise by their language proficiency or teaching skills (Maum, 2010).
Therefore, it would be unfair to categorize people into natives or non-native English teachers based on their first language, as teachers from India, Hong Kong, and Singapore learn English as their first language along with other languages.It could be misleading if we regard them as non-natives because they consider themselves as native speakers of certain kind of English which is very original to them (Mufwane, 1998).Also, some bilingual teachers can speak more than one language which can be considered both natives and non-natives.
Certain writers like Medgyes strictly believe that differences between these two categories do exist, but he thinks that the two are very different from each other on the basis of their competence in the language.He has based his theory on the following hypotheses: (a) NNESTs and NESTs are different in terms of language proficiency, (b) they are different in terms of teaching behavior, (c) most of the differences in teaching behavior are attributed to the differences in language proficiency, and (d) both categories of teachers can be equally good teachers on their own terms (Medgyes, 1992).
Mehboob has stated that learners have found native speakers to be proficient in teaching skills, culture and vocabulary whereas non-natives are better in teaching grammar and literacy skills (Mehboob, 2004) Research shows NNS teachers are better role models for learners in presenting a metacognitive view of English learning from the non-native perspective.NNSs can be better teachers in ESL contexts, because of their multicultural experience.
The tide is, however, turning now, as many organizations like TESOL international and IATEFL devoted to the development of TEFL and TESOL are promoting cross-cultural talent and communication in English language teaching.The dichotomous fallacy of NESTs and NNESTs though still exists despite the discarding of the notion long ago by many eminent scholars in the late 20 th century.

Intelligibility not accent -key to communication
Sarah Ashely believes that to interact with non-native speakers no longer need a native-like accent since they almost outnumber native speakers in strength (Ashley, 2009).According to Mehboob, non-natives can be trained to attain native-like proficiency.A person born in a culture doesn't own the right to teach the language.NNESTs can be trained to obtain proficiency and fluency; native speakers claim to possess.To facilitate teaching, we need both types of educators, natives, and non-natives alike, as they both possess special skills to teach language learners (Mehboob, 2004).
Accent has led to a lot of discrimination in ESL programs which is an unfair practice.Non-native teachers make better educators, like the ability to pronounce the language is not the most crucial aspect of learning.Native speakers also tend to have different accents all over the U.S, UK, and Canada (Mehboob, 2004).Intelligibility is more important than the accent for any language speaker.As Sarah Ashely states, non-natives no longer need these native standards to interact today.She points to evidence supported by a study in 2006 done by Smith and Nelson where they highlight the significance of intelligibility and comprehensibility in the interactive and communicative process buy non-native speakers of English.They concluded that it's not as important to sound native in your accent as it's to be proficient and have a command over different forms of world Englishes Sarah Ashely believes that, in order to interact non-native speakers no longer need native like accent (Ashley, 2009).According to Mehboob, non-natives can be trained to attain native like proficiency.A person born in a culture doesn't own the right to teach the language.NNESTs can be trained to obtain proficiency and fluency, native speakers claim to possess.To facilitate teaching, we need both type of educators, natives and non-natives alike, as they both possess special skills to teach language learners (Mehboob, 2004).

Observations and Experiences
This research is an exploratory study and quantitative analysis of the experiences and the observations of the researcher, meaning simply that the views and practical experiences form the agenda for the research questions.The study is subjective, as the observations included were mostly collected by the researcher during her teaching years at various institutions.Data was also obtained from colleagues and students to support her pre-conceived hypothesis on the issues related to research.

Methodology
A study was done where roughly 75 teachers, 37 NESTs and 38 NNESTs from various universities and colleges, both private and public, were sent online questionnaires.The questionnaire sent to NESTs consisted of roughly 17 questions whereas survey sent to NNESTs consisted of 25 items.The studies had open-ended questions.The demographic background was also collected along with general issues in language teaching.Most NNESTs spoke at least two languages and thought it helped them understand their student's problems better.Students were also asked to take questionnaires to collect their feedback.

Methods of Study
Questionnaires and survey methods Questionnaire method is best for such studies and was employed to get responses from the concerned subjects.Since the matter relates to NESTs and NNESTs, a sizable number of NES and NNES teachers from both ESL and EFL background were targeted and contacted during the research project.The survey method was used because it is more efficient in collecting larger sizes of samples for study as compared to interviews.Online surveys and paper questionnaires were used for this.
Research also tested the student community through online surveys using digital classroom tools like 'Edmodo.'The study not only aimed at benefitting the teaching community but also to improve teaching practices by establishing fair policies in hiring and credibility at the workplace.

Interview method
Since a part of this research also involved attending the International convention in Seattle, investigation targeted educators and professionals from various backgrounds both NESTs and NNESTs to investigate the topics further to be studied.Interview method was best suited for this, as the subjects were not known and the time for meeting the subjects was limited.Data was gathered and used later to present a report and share with the SIG members (NNEST-formed by the researcher to aid her in the research).
It was essential to collect demographic and educational information on the subjects as it is vital to the study too.Hence the subjects were asked to provide information on their gender, age, first language, and years of teaching experience, second language skills, their academic qualifications and the teaching medium of instruction in the schools or colleges they teach.

Data collection and analysis
The questionnaire and online surveys employed the Likert rating scale of 5 points and open-ended response strategies to include and analyze data from varying sources and different categories relating to the topic of study.

Findings and the Summary -Startling Results
The study revealed startling facts.52% NESTs and 48% of NNESTs showed preference to teaching language skills along with teaching grammar.This was against the belief that NNESTs prefer teaching grammar and writing only.Both agreed that being a Native or a Non-native teacher didn't make any difference in their teaching.They also believed that this doesn't affect language teaching in general -being a native isn't necessary to teach language better On being asked, whether NNESTs are better English teachers-, 52% NESTS replied in the negative, 5% accepted they could be better teachers, surprisingly, 30% accepted that they were not sure if NNESTs are better teachers, 13% somewhat believed that NNESTs are better teachers [Table 2] Most of the students preferred a native speaker (58% for NESTs and 47% for NNESTs), 15% had no preference for NESTs as against 22% having no preference for NNESTs, However, they all agreed that their preference depended on skills taught in the class (27%preferred NESTs and 31% preferred NNESTs), This again was a startling result [Table 4] The results from the students were startling in that, they showed a marked preference for native speakers but also agreed and pointed to the fact that a lot depended on the skills taught and the efficiency of the teacher.The above findings and the researcher's observations and experiences in this area point to the following discussion.

Discussion of findings diversifying the rhetoric of tesol classrooms
As the findings prove, non-native teachers bring a variety of discourse patterns for language learners and that could prove useful in their learning process.Also, non-native learners and teachers can identify to their common background which can further aid the second language learning process.The native English teachers are no longer the only preference of second language learners of English today as the findings also revealed.
There's a strong need for embracing a pluralistic view of English in daily pedagogical practices.The one languageone nation ideology of language policy and national identity is no longer the only available one worldwide (if it ever was).Multilingual language policies, which recognize ethnic and linguistic pluralism as resources for nation-building, are increasingly in evidence nowadays.It has been suggested that, differences in varieties are not trivial but that culturally appropriate modifications to classroom discourse patterns, may prove as useful models for learners.Therefore, promoting the inclusion of World Englishes in its varied contexts in the classroom can to a great extent improve learner creativity and productivity.Not only this, it would be beneficial to implement effective strategies that help both teachers and students to understand the importance of World Englishes.
"Greater the familiarity a speaker has with a variety of English, the more likely it is that she/he will understand and be understood by members of the speech community."(Smith, 1992).(Ashley, 2009)

Liberation of linguistics
Non-native students bring their diverse sociolinguistic background to classes and so do the non-native teachers.The findings also point to the preference given by students to non-native learners for non-native teachers.Non-native teachers can connect and contextualize to the diverse sociolinguistic background provided by them through diverse texts, they use in TESOL classes.As the findings revealed large section of students connected and related better to the non-native teachers.Only a non-native teacher can understand the importance of contextualization truly in second language learning as it facilitates functional language learning through functional utterances that are common amongst non-native teachers and learners.
A lot of research and new developments have taken place in this field and points out that there's new terminology for non-native speakers -'Multi-lingual'.We can even consider a better terminology for the non-natives -'Multi-Competent Learners or Speakers.'There's no doubt about the abilities of non-native learners, as they bring their sociolinguistic background to their classes.Therefore, the focus should be on using English in diverse sociolinguistic contexts.The texts taken from varied sociolinguistic backgrounds can enormously improve productivity in classes.The ESL teachers should focus on treating their pupils with topics that are interesting and engaging to their ESL learners.This will also mean accepting a paradigm shift in research, teaching, and application of sociolinguistic realities to the forms and functions of various forms of English.There's a growing consensus among scholars there is no one English language anymore.Linguistic and literary creativity in English is determined less by the usage of its native speakers and more by the usage of non-native speakers, who outnumber native speakers.

Mutual intelligibility
It was also observed from the findings that accent not an important factor for non-native learners.Mutual intelligibility was more important for them than the accent.As a matter of fact, a couple of students complained about the native accent being unintelligible to them as its usually accompanied by a heavy accent and a drawl.To them, a non-native teacher's language was clearer because it was free from any strong native accent.Therefore this leads us to believe that there has to be a total dismantling of native-speakerism if we are to achieve mutual intelligibility in our TESOL classrooms.Besides, aping an accent can come in the way of language learning process.
It has been supported by research that the most challenging task for second language learners is to eliminate the interference of the first language influence on the acquisition of the second or target language.It has been observed that even the most proficient speakers of the language have difficulty in acquiring a near-native accent or showing native-like performance.Therefore, pronunciation or accent is the last skill to be mastered by non-native speakers and also the most challenging influence to be eliminated from the first language (Ashley, 2009).
Also, promoting interaction between speakers and listeners from different varieties ensures greater communication and intelligibility.It is crucial to achieving clarity with those and with whom they interact.NNESTs are not necessarily difficult to understand.There is no correlation between accented speech and intelligibility.Studies have shown that accent ratings are poor indicators of ELLs real understanding of an utterance.There's a dissociation between listener's perceived understanding and actual understanding.What's the problem then?Attitude.Studies have also proved that amount of exposure to non-native teacher influences the student's perspective.Greater the familiarity is, higher is the intelligibility.In most of the cases, the NNSs have discovered that their NNESTs are equally proficient and fluent in the language as their native counterpart.

PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS A World Englishes Perspective
Open conversation regarding World English perspective -Students need to understand the importance of the varieties of Englishes, and how they enrich the language with their sociolinguistic background.The educators, natives or non-natives, both need to encourage them to speak out their minds regarding any issues related to non-native speaker accents or intelligibility pertaining to them.It is essential not to particularly restrain the NNS with a limited set of unchanging sounds instead provide them with the flexibility of understanding other vital factors of cross-cultural communication.
Encourage alternative discourses/challenge dominant discourses that have been institutionalized as the status quo -The teachers should include critical reflections on own practices at personal, student or/and teacher levels.They should be fully aware of the professional knowledge that may come from different sources but should derive from their knowledge based on their local expertise and lived experiences.Learning from the classroom is the key to professional self-development.
Use role play effectively to place students into World Englishes perspective in real life -As stated by Dr. Kumaravadivelu, we need to consider learners as agents of great cultural information, the richness and strength of which can be harnessed in TESOL classrooms.He further emphasized cultivating awareness for world cultures and what they bring in TESOL classes.He believes we can improve learner motivation and enrich their learning experience with those cultures.Role play can be used as a useful tool to enhance and transform that richness into a great learning experience (Kumaravadivelu, 2012).
Mutual intelligibility and not accent should be the key to language learning to encourage mutual interaction in TESOL classrooms This has been strongly evidenced by a study from Smith and Nelson's 2006 where they highlight the importance of not only intelligibility amongst non-native speakers but also the significance of interpretability and comprehensibility amongst the non-native English learners.Their study suggested that sounding native in accent is not as important as it is to be proficient and fluent in the language.They also stressed the importance of familiarizing oneself with the different varieties of global Englishes (Ashley, 2009).

The diverse learner approach
To promote productivity and creativity in classes, the lessons should be student-centered.Empowering students and letting them choose topics will encourage a lot of motivation amongst learners.Educators need to equip learners with the strategies necessary to self-direct their learning.We would have to make students aware of the diversity of English use today through careful selection of texts from different varieties.This will enable learners to recognize and overcome social, political & historical impediments to progress.Language use is embedded in social, cultural and historical contexts and introducing them to a rich variety of different forms of text will help them connect with realities that make up those contexts.We also need to encourage the critical awareness of language in our classrooms.It's necessary to incorporate materials and activities in which speakers with different accents are included.

Language Ownership: Empowering Teachers and Learners
We should stress on creating lessons on the learner's experiences or their previous knowledge.The language teachers should empower learners to be in charge of their learning and to change their experiences outside the classroom.They should consider students as multi-competent and not as multi-lingual.Dr. Kumaravadivelu believes that the learners should be allowed to make a choice when it comes to interaction or communication between learners or between learners and educators.They should make an independent decision about what they want to learn to encourage contextualization in classes.They shouldn't be mere dummies taking commands but rather active learners making independent choices.This will improve the learning experience for them (Kumaravadivelu, 2012).The lessons that we bring to our classes need to be much more flexible to make space for recruiting learner knowledge.We have to consider our language learners as having strong cultural resources rather than as deficient language users (Kumaravadivelu, 2012).

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The topic, however, needs further research, and, it can be said that the concept of World Englishes and the NEST fallacy needs further study.It's a complicated issue and needs to be explored further through systematic research design.However, from the discussed project and research, it can be concluded that pluralistic view of English needs to be embraced in daily pedagogical practices if we wish to introduce more productivity, creativity, and learning in classrooms.The study was one way to raise awareness of the topic by allowing the students to choose Englishes or EFL contexts most salient to them.The findings revealed the same.The data collected proved that non-native students don't prefer native or non-native speakers when it comes to language teaching as long as the teacher is proficient and intelligible to them.Native speakers too didn't consider themselves as the only rightful owners of the language.Non-native teachers too emphasized on the importance of teaching skills along with other aspects of language like vocabulary and grammar.Thus, the study has succeeded in bringing that awareness to some extent.
A lot more needs to be done, though.Students should be consistently made aware of the concept of World Englishes in the classroom.Native-speakerism needs to be dismantled, and mutual intelligibility should be the main focus rather than the accent for English language learners.The interaction between speakers and listeners from different varieties would ensure greater communication and intelligibility.Learners and educators need to achieve clarity with each other and amongst each other.Students should be exposed to a diversity of texts carefully selected by teachers.
We need to unpack the issues and build a strong foundation of mutual respect which will help increase productivity and creativity.Advocacy and collaboration need to be encouraged amidst the ELT community.Effective communication is essential to effective English language program instruction and management.Further research is required to ensure effective NNEST/NEST collaborative efforts as mentioned earlier to make language teaching environment more positive and learner friendly.

Survey to Native English Teachers
The purpose of this survey is to collect information on the perceptions of Native English teachers in ELT 1.How many languages can you speak?

Table 1 .
Preference to teaching language skills and grammar

Table 2 .
NESTs on NNESTs being better English teachers

Table 3 .
NESTs on NNESTs being better English teachers 62% NNESTs believed that NESTs aren't better teachers just because they are natives, 7% accepted that NESTs are better language teachers, Also, 20% NNESTs believed that NESTs are somewhat better, as against 13% NESTs accepting NNESTs are better teachers, Also 11% NNESTs weren't sure about NESTs being better teachers, However, against this 30% NESTs weren't sure about NNESTs being better teachers [Table3]

Table 4 .
Student's preference for a native English teacher