In many of our classrooms, communicative activities are routinely used to develop speaking skills. Yet the way these activities are designed and managed may be based on assumptions about how people should communicate. Turn-taking, active participation and confident speaking are commonly treated as signs of engagement and progress. Although these practices are familiar and well-intentioned, they may not reflect the communicative norms of all English language learners.
This presentation encourages teachers to consider how classroom speaking tasks can unintentionally favour particular interactional styles while overlooking others shaped by different cultural norms. From a Global Englishes and pragmatics perspective, the presentation highlights that communication in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) settings is often shaped not only by active verbal participation but also by qualities such as indirectness and thoughtful turn-taking, which could help speakers negotiate differences in appropriacy and intelligibility across cultures.
To support this shift in perspective, the presentation introduces CEFR Blind, a term developed by Chiaki Lawler to describe an ELF-informed pedagogical stance that challenges English language educators to reconsider what counts as a “good English language communicator”. CEFR Blind aims to act as a reflective lens through which educators can notice and value a wider range of communicative behaviours in the classroom.
By reframing speaking activities as opportunities to rethink classroom communication practices, this presentation encourages English language educators to create learning environments that are more inclusive, culturally responsive, and genuinely transformative for diverse learners.