Using English as an alternative language: a typology of situations in the globalized world.

English is widely used in situations where few or none of the participants are native speakers in the traditional sense. Yet these situations are very diverse and so are the participants, so both blanket condemnations of the spread of English as linguistic imperialism, or celebrations of it as a brave new centreless world of English as a lingua franca are inappropriate. By considering cases discussed in the literature, this paper attempts to sketch a typology of situations and participants when English is used as a lingua franca. Participants are differentiated, not binarily by nativeness, but in a complex way by proficiency in terms of accuracy and fluency, by communicative skill, and by language repertoire for the task in hand. Situations are differentiated by the proportions of participants with different types and degrees of proficiency, the purpose of the interaction, the familiarity of the participants with one another and their integration into a community of practice, and their transactional or interactional nature. Widespread use of English is an inescapable part of globalisation and understanding the specific situations and purposes associated with it is a necessary task for language teachers and policymakers