From idealized nativeness to selfhood by embracing non nativeness: exploring English major university students perceptions about English in Pakistan

Abstract The spread of English around the world due to globalization and technological advancement has made it a source of communication among different language users that results in new theoretical orientations, such as English as a Lingua Franca, World Englishes and Global Englishes. These orientations challenge the traditional ideologies of native speakerism and monolingualism. However, native speakerist ideology is still dominant in post-colonial societies including Pakistan. Most English teachers in these societies study British or American literature which inculcates the “superiority” of native English. This study explores the perception of English major students, who are prospective English teachers, before and after exposing them to the latest theorization of English using a written open ended questionnaire. The data are analyzed using constructivist grounded theory through coding, categorizations and themes. The study finds that the native speakerist ideology is still dominant but students are aware of practical utility of other varieties. There is a move from idealized nativism to selfhood and celebratory non nativism among the students based on latest theorization but will take time in implementation, and special attention is required for training of English major students in order to enable them to realize the importance of different varieties of English and their usefulness.