1. Definition of English as a Lingua Franca （ELF）

UNESCO defined lingua franca in 1953 as “ a language， which is used habitually to facilitate communication between them”（Barotchi 2211）. English as a lingua franca， a “contact language” within people sharing different native language as well as various cultures， is the chosen foreign language for intercultural communications （Firth 240）. From these definitions， it can be concluded that ELF does not necessarily involve native speakers as a main part but emphasizes on the basis of its communicative role.

Agreed to the term ELF， Karchru （1985） maintains that three concentric circles showing the spread of English around the world include：（a） the Inner Circle， in which English is the native tongue among the countries like Australia， Canada， the United States， and the United Kingdom； （b） the Outer Circle， where English functions as a second language in a multilingual country such as Singapore， and India； and （c） the Expanding Circle， in which English is widely learned but is not an official language such as in China， Japan， and Korea （McKay 6）. One of the features of Kachrus categorization is that he divides English into three separate systems， where China is in the Expanding Circle. Graddol （1997） contends that the English status is developing quickly， because there are many countries in the Expanding Circle using it than ever before both for national purpose as well as international communication. China is also in the list of them.

2. The Spread of English

The process of the widespread of English in its objective aspects is that， firstly， according to Crystal （1997）， some geographical， historical and sociocultural factors are the reasons of the start of English development. As he puts it， The story of English throughout this period is one of rapid expansion and diversification， with innovation after innovation coming to use the language as a primary or sole means of expression. It is not possible to identify cause and effect. So many developments were taking place at the same time that we can only point to the emergence， by the end of the 19th century， of a climate of largely unspoken opinion which made English the natural choice of progress. （Crystal 75）

More importantly， with the start of Industrial Revolution， new technology created in English-speaking countries and developed economic power also leading to the spread use of English. Therefore， English emerged as an international language influenced on almost every aspects of society.

Hong Kong， to a great extent， is deeply influenced by the external reason of being colonized by British from 1841-1997. “At that time， the government has set the ‘tri-lingual bi-literacy as an educational goal， which requires individuals to exert greater efforts in deepening their mastery of the languages” （John Trent， Xuesong Gao， and Mingyue Gu 2）. Therefore， a better linguistic competence is achieved in todays Hong Kong compared with that in Mainland China.

From the subjective perspective in Mainland China， the policy of Four Modernizations， evolved into the Reform and Opening Policy in 1979， pushed Chinese to learn English as a foreign language. With the stable economic development of China， the openness to foreign culture and language are required for a further step. As a result， governments began to promote English teaching from primary school to adult education.

Last but not least， as for the huge influence and popularization of English， a number of people study English as a personal interest.

3. A Suggestion of English Teaching Policy

As a young teacher， I myself have learned English almost fifteen years and I am working as an English teacher teaching both College English and Professional English in a vocational technical institute. From my experience and my own perspective of English teaching in China， I suggest government can divide English Teaching Policy into three levels. The first level is the one who studies English in his or her primary schools time and before； the second level is in middle and high school； the third level is in college or in work place.

“English has served as a means of communication among speakers of different first languages （i.e. a lingua franca） for many centuries” （Jenkins 486）. Through the communicative function of ELF， the suggestion I would like to offer， first and foremost， is teaching English as a lingua franca in the first and the second level.

At the first level， when teaching beginners teachers should put an emphasis on the communicative function of English in order to cultivate students interest of learning a foreign language. In this way， students in the class should learn and practice English Pronunciation and then， they are encouraged to practice their oral English.

At the second level， in Chinese middle schools and high schools， to learn a foreign language， generally English， is compulsory. In order to purse a further education， students should be asked to enhance the comprehensive ability of every aspect of English including listening， speaking， reading and writing. Different kinds of examinations such as IELTS， TOFEL， SAT， GRE and College Entrance Examination will be held at a certain time to select qualified students.

In a word， if a person can complete the training of learning English in these two levels， practically， they satisfy the basic communicative standard.

“One of the main themes running through the discussion of English as a lingua franca is the irrelevance of native speakers， their English， and their ownership of English， evidenced by the fact that English is the language for international communication and is nowadays used by more non-native than native speakers， and that most non-native speakers will need it in order to communicate with other non-native speakers” （I-Chun （Vicky） Kuo 214）.

The third level is teaching English for specific use through general accuracy and fluency up to a native speakers proficiency. In this sense， English as a lingua franca is from the Expanding Circle in China to the Inner Circle. Besides， the demand of English ability is from the general level to a specific and proficient one. This specific use is mainly for training English major students in college. For other majors， students will learn Specialty English. English for the former is “ a language of which they have to demonstrate a degree of mastery to win a place in education and employment in their own contexts and abroad” （I-Chun （Vicky） Kuo 219）. Generally， English major can be divided into three streams—English Education， Translation and Business English in China. When it comes to the graduation of English Education major students， they can teach in primary or middle school； for major in Translation or Business English they can work for companies or places with the need of specific English learners. As for the Specialty English learners， the requirement of them comes from specific jargon， frequent-used sentence patterns， operational standard as well as oral English performance. Teachers should applied more situational teaching approach containing cultural elements to motivate students passion in learning in order to achieve the goal of communication in a specific English area.

In conclusion， categorized by these three levels of teaching English， government can distribute resources in a proper way.

4. Conclusion

English， as a lingua franca， functions as a communicative tool in a large sense. In this way， when it is complemented in English Teaching in China， English Education can be divided into three levels. For general users， they should pay attention to communication in English； for professionals， besides the deep base of level one and level two， they are expected to work in the Inner Circle and act like native speakers.

References：

[1]Barotchi，M.，1994.Lingua Franca.Ronald E.Asher，ed.The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics.Oxford：Pergamon Press. 4：2211.Print.

[2]Crystal，David.English as a Global Language.2nd ed.Cambridge： Cambridge University Press，2003.Print.

[3]Firth，Alan.“The discursive accomplishment of normality：On ‘lingua francaEnglish and conversation analysis.” Journal of pragmatics 26.2（1996）：237-259.Print.

[4]Graddol，David.“The future of English？：A guide to forecasting the popularity of the English language in the 21st century.”（1997）.Print.

[5]Jenkins，Jennifer.“English as a Lingua Franca from the classroom to the classroom.” ELT journal 66.4（2012）：486-494.Web.

[6]Kuo，I-Chun Vicky.“Addressing the issue of teaching English as a lingua franca.”ELT journal 60.3（2006）：213-221.Print.

[7]McKay，Sandra L.Teaching English as an International Language：Rethinking Goals and Approaches.Oxford：Oxford University Press，2002.Print.Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers.

[8]Trent，John，et al.Language Teacher Education in a Multilingual Context：Experiences from Hong Kong.6 Vol.Dordrecht：Springer Netherlands，2014.Print.Multilingual Education.

【作者簡介】宋勖元（1992.2- ），女，土家族，湖南人，碩士研究生，廣東職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院，專任英語教師，研究方向：英語教學(xué)。