ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief account of the prevailing conceptualisation of English as it is represented in theoretical and curriculum frameworks. It looks at some samples of internationally marketed English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks to explore how the 'core' concept of English has been interpreted and rendered as teaching and learning activities and materials. The chapter focuses on the conceptual and pedagogic adequacy of the prevailing conceptualisation and suggests that it needs to be expanded in order to take account of the type of linguistic fluidity that is characteristic of lingua franca English language use. Furthermore, language learning should include social rules of use for 'when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when, in what manner'. This turn towards the social dimensions of language and language use has significant implications for language teaching.
