ABSTRACT
The first chapter introduces the readers to the theme of this book, that is, a new approach to English language teaching (ELT) that helps those who have traditionally been called “learners of English as a foreign language” (EFL) to function as “users of English as an international language” (EIL). It is briefly explained at the outset how varieties of English in the Expanding Circle, or “EFL” countries, have failed to gain legitimacy in World Englishes (WE) studies, or in a way even in recent English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) research. It is argued that the concept of EIL, integrating various schools of thought including WE and ELF, will liberate speakers of English in any “circle” from conventional ELT, going beyond the teaching of linguistic and cultural norms of Anglo-American native speakers.
