English Language Teaching (ELT) is a major international enterprise. This theoretical paper suggests that a number of ideological assumptions underpin some
aspects of its curricular and pedagogic thinking. Specifically we will look at
(a) the ways in which ownership and use of a language has been built around
the idea of a homogeneous community or nation with shared and unchanging social values and language practices (leading to the notion of an idealized
“native-speaker competence”), and (b) the conception of language (and what
language learning comprises) in terms of the features of “standard” varieties.
Drawing on the work in the fields of World Englishes and English as a lingua
franca, this discussion will explore some of the issues that have emerged in contemporary conditions where neither native-speaker competence nor the norms
of standard varieties are central to using English for communication. We argue
that a more empirically grounded view of English would begin to enable us to
enrich our description and analysis for curriculum and pedagogic purposes.