ABSTRACT
Although there is a formidable body of psycholinguistic work on the processing, representation, and development of English in learners and multilingual users, researchers have not been centrally concerned with the cognitive resources and processes underlying ELF. Several publications have addressed the cognitive dimensions of the phenomenon to a greater or lesser extent, but so far there has been almost no empirical research, and no assessment that distinguishes ELF from other non-native English speaker (NNES) contexts of usage. As well as reviewing relevant published studies, therefore, this chapter attempts to provide some foundations for a fuller cognitive account. It tries to isolate what I take to be the distinctive nature of the phenomenon, namely the processing of English in interactions between heterolinguals (people with different L1s). It also explores how models of mental representation, processing, and development can contribute to the broader goal of ELF research to problematize traditional monolithic views of English.
