First AUS International TESOL Conference

"TESOL in a Globalized World: Exploring the Challenges"

February 23-24, 2008

American University of Sharjah, UAE

The MA TESOL program in the Department of English organizes its first annual international TESOL conference at the American University of Sharjah on “TESOL in a Globalized World: Exploring the Challenges.” English today has become the lingua franca of an increasingly interdependent and globalized world.  In almost every part of the world, including the Arabian Gulf region, the English language is often becoming the first choice for communication among linguistically and culturally diverse people. The number of current and future users of English in the world is mounting, and according to recent estimates, non-native speakers of English have surpassed the number of native English speakers. Indeed, recent research in TESOL and its subfields have started paying more attention to NNS/NNS interactions in English, and whether the English speaker’s norms should be viewed as the standard.  However, much research is still needed to address the issue of teaching English as a global or international language.  This conference will provide a forum for scholarly discussion of TESOL within the context of globalization.