ABSTRACT
First and foremost it is essential that we examine in detail what precisely is the relevance of ELF theory and research in the professional development of language teachers, for both novice and experienced practitioners. Without doubt the most important aspect of ELF research from the point of view of ELT is what it tells us about effective lingua franca interaction. The findings of ELF researchers, as has often been commented (see e.g. Jenkins 2007; Kirkpatrick 2010; Mauranen 2013; Seidlhofer 2011), have major implications for the way we model English in language learning settings. In short, the evidence from ELF corpora shows very clearly that the dynamic and variable way speakers in lingua franca interactions tend to use and adapt language resources is very different from the way pedagogic materials present ‘target’ language structures and lexis, i.e. as discrete items of largely fixed standardized language norms (see Seidlhofer, Chapter 7 this volume). This raises far-reaching questions about the way language and communication are conceptualized in ELT, with some major rethinking required on the nature of the syllabus content in professional qualifications and teaching awards.
