English and French circulate globally as powerful lingua francas, yet most classrooms continue to privilege narrowly defined “standard” varieties—American/British English and Parisian French—at the expense of learner identity and reality in a neo-colonial world. In our exploratory study of 36 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and FFL (French as a Foreign Language) instructors in K-12 and higher education settings across the US, we looked at how teachers’ own language-learning histories, teacher education, and curricular environments shape their perceptions and pedagogical practices of world Englishes and Frenches.

Findings reveal three intersecting dynamics:
1. Participants’ formative schooling overwhelmingly ignored non-standard varieties, thus implicitly elevating the Standard as the “correct” model;
2. There exists a misalignment between belief and practice; that is, while a majority of participants expressed descriptivist beliefs, they, in practice, allocate minimal curricular space to language varieties.
3. Factors such as textbook limitations and perceived lack of expertise – “supply” – and pressures of student testing goals, as well as institutional expectations – “demand” – reinforce adherence to the Standards.

A single-variety focus erases sociolinguistic realities and limits intercultural growth. We call for authentic materials from multiple speech communities, critical engagement with colonial legacies, and teacher preparation that aligns beliefs and practice. Recognizing varieties empowers learners, disrupts deficit views, and affirms language as dynamic and living. Participants should leave asking: Which voices are absent from my syllabus? How do my materials reflect (or silence) global identities? What shifts will help my students value pluricentric, culturally situated language use?

Authors:
Talar Kaloustian, Community College of Philadelphia, United States
Noushig Kaloustian, World Bank, United States
Garene Kaloustian, World Learning, Lebanon

About the Presenter(s)
Talar S. Kaloustian, Ed.D., Associate Professor and ESL Unit Chair at Community College of Philadelphia, focuses on intercultural competence and equitable pedagogy; her current project examines institutional support for multilingual learners in US.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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