World Englishes in English language teaching

This study explores the perceptions of English language teachers about the place and relevance of world Englishes (WEs) in English language teaching (ELT) in Australia. For this aim, 56 English teachers from all Kachruvian Circles working in Australia were interviewed. The interviews were thematically and qualitatively analysed and the results indicate that all participants were aware of the emergence of WEs. Most of the participants perceived WEs relevant to ELT in Australia; however, they believed that the inclusion of WEs in ELT may not be practical and should not go beyond developing learners’ awareness of the existence of diversity in the landscape of English. The disconnection between teachers’ theoretical knowledge about WEs and practical knowledge on how to integrate WEs into ELT, and contextual factors such as time constrains and students’ expectations were found to undermine teachers’ confidence for teaching English as a pluricentric language.