Findings: World Englishes Worksheet
Quantitative Data
The data collected from the World Englishes Worksheet was surprising for two reasons. First of all, not every student listed the inner-circle countries as examples of different Englishes. For example, 10% of the students did not identify Canadian English to be a form of English, 20% did not identify New Zealand English as a form of English, and 40% of the students did not identify Welsh English as a form of English. The second aspect that was surprising about this data is that the different Englishes listed on the World Englishes Worksheet do not directly correlate with the data attained from the World Maps Worksheet. There are countries on the World Maps Worksheets that are identified as countries who use English, yet the type of English they use is not written down on the World Englishes Worksheet. A few examples of such countries are: Greenland, Iceland, and Sweden. Conversely, many students listed different types of English on the World Englishes Worksheet from countries that were not identified on the World Maps Worksheet. A few examples of such Englishes are: Spanish English (from Spain), Malaysian English, and Japanese English. This suggests that there is a disconnect between what the students understand as "English for official or special purposes" and what they believe to be an identifiable type of English. Furthermore, there is a connection between the different types of Englishes identified and the students' home countries. This leads me to believe that the students recognized a different between English that is used for official purposes and English that is used informally. For example, although Colombia does not have an official use for the English language, the citizens may use it as a lingua franca.
The data collected from the World Englishes Worksheet was surprising for two reasons. First of all, not every student listed the inner-circle countries as examples of different Englishes. For example, 10% of the students did not identify Canadian English to be a form of English, 20% did not identify New Zealand English as a form of English, and 40% of the students did not identify Welsh English as a form of English. The second aspect that was surprising about this data is that the different Englishes listed on the World Englishes Worksheet do not directly correlate with the data attained from the World Maps Worksheet. There are countries on the World Maps Worksheets that are identified as countries who use English, yet the type of English they use is not written down on the World Englishes Worksheet. A few examples of such countries are: Greenland, Iceland, and Sweden. Conversely, many students listed different types of English on the World Englishes Worksheet from countries that were not identified on the World Maps Worksheet. A few examples of such Englishes are: Spanish English (from Spain), Malaysian English, and Japanese English. This suggests that there is a disconnect between what the students understand as "English for official or special purposes" and what they believe to be an identifiable type of English. Furthermore, there is a connection between the different types of Englishes identified and the students' home countries. This leads me to believe that the students recognized a different between English that is used for official purposes and English that is used informally. For example, although Colombia does not have an official use for the English language, the citizens may use it as a lingua franca.
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Examples