ELF Certification: Stakeholders' Attitudes and their Perceived Problems

Abstract

This research project investigates the attitudes of possible stakeholders towards a certification of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). The core of the project is a two-fold study carried out to identify and interview possible stakeholders, with a focus on the Italian context. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The first part of the study consisted in a questionnaire administered online to possible test takers (525 participants) that aimed at determining their attitudes towards certifications in general and different aspects of a possible certification of ELF. The second part of the study focused on Italian high-school teachers of English, school directors, and English-medium instruction (EMI) university professors. A total of 31 interviews were conducted online in order to investigate teachers’ perceptions of students’ use of English, as well as their opinions on current international certifications and some aspects of a possible certification of ELF. The interviews were subsequently compared with the results of the questionnaire and inferences about the attitudes of both teachers and students were drawn, which might be of interest to international exam boards aiming at developing a certification of ELF. The present study attempts to heighten the understanding of students’ and teachers’ motivations for participating in an ELF certification, de facto delineating a gap in the current certification system that could be filled by a truly international certification of English.