Global Issues, Local Matters: English Language Varieties in (E)motion

The article addresses current debates on English as a global language and technology-driven learning processes. As Jan Blommaerts notes in Sociolinguistics of Globalization (2010), English as a global language exists as the interplay between englobalization and deglobalization, in which resources from complex local repertoires are being mobilized and deployed in meaning-making. English as a global language only occurs in real life in the form of dialects, varieties and interlanguages and utilizing authentic material implies dealing with such complexities. The paper will consider several learning activities in order to claim that while the critical literature on English language learning has often neglected the potential of global English language varieties, the teacher’s inclusion of global English language varieties in the ESL and EFL classroom may be considered as a strategy for meaningful learning and may also motivate students by contributing to the psychological and social security of ESL and EFL students.