We live in a world of change and digital communication, yet we still have some old and unsolved issues in education that need to be revisited -- the learner differences. 

2000 years ago, Confucius pointed out that "there is no single teaching method to all students." I think that was the first time an educator addressed the issue of learner differences. Of course, it has to be revisted in the new era. 

Confucius and His Disciples

Mary and Bill(2016)in their "Learner differences in theory and practice" has thus built a typology of terms to address learner differences, including material conditions (social class, locale and family); corporeal attributes (age, race, sex and sexuality, physical and mental abilities); and symbolic representations (language, ethnos, communities of commitment and gendre).

When I looked at this typology, I was thinking about some other aspect that might be out of this frame, or maybe actually in, being symbolic——World Englishes(WE).

So,first, what is meant by “World Englishes”? Wiki has its definitions on two confusing terms, World English and World Englishes.

The notions of “World English” and “World Englishes” are far from similar, although they are often mistakenly used interchangeably. “World English” refers to the English language as a lingua franca used in business, trade, diplomacy and other spheres of global activity, while “World Englishes” refers to the different varieties of English and English-based creoles developed in different regions of the world. 

Englishes in the World

Here the plural form is the key.As is known to all, English has widely spread the world due to historical, economical,political, technological and cultural reasons.The most influential model of the spread of English is Braj Kachru's model of World Englishes. In this model the diffusion of English is captured in terms of three Concentric Circles of the language: The Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle.

Kachru's Model of World Englishes

Then a question or problem thus arises. Which English should we teach or learn, World Englishes or Standard English?

The spread of English had led to the rising of new varieties, multiple linguistic and cultural identities, which questioned the traditional notions like native speaker and standard English. It is urgent that we need to redefine the role and goal of English language teaching and learning.

The traditional classification of the role of English in teaching and learning results in three dimentions, English as a native language (ENL), English as a second language(ESL), and English as foreign language(EFL).

As an EFL teacher, I, together with nearly all other language teachers in my home country, have always been employing the criteria of ENL in the teaching and evaluation of any programs, materials and outcomes of the students.I know this is the similar case around the world. But, is it really fair?

If we can tolerate the World Englishes, is it necessary that we stick one hundred percent to every phonological, lexical, syntactical, pragmatical use of Standard English? 

Should the Standard English, or ENL, the pure standard and only criteria for all learners from different parts of the world, no matter how different they are in material conditions, corporeal attributes and symbolic representation? 

If not, how should we enbrace the notion of World Englishes, taking it into the consideration of our curriculum and pedagogies, and therefore create a more dynamic and individualistic learning space? 

And, if the notion of World Englishes are well accepted by the language policy-makers, the educators and teachers,how far should we go, and how far can we go? 

There are the questions I want to leave for you and for myself.

Resoureces:

Mary Kalantzis & Bill Cope (2016) Learner differences in theory and practice, Open Review of Educational Research, 3:1, 85-132.

Kachru, B. B. (1997). World Englishes and English-using communities. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 17, 66-87.