Teaching and Learning English as an International Language in Portugal: Policy, Practice and Perceptions

This book introduces a new perspective on teaching English through the identification and analysis of the theory and practice of English language teaching (ELT) in Portugal as far as issues of English as an International Language (EIL) are concerned. Through qualitative and quantitative research approaches, it examines, firstly, aspects of EIL in the current basic and secondary education national policies and how ELT materials have interpreted the national guidelines and, secondly, how teachers and students view central aspects of EIL. The book also identifies possible consequences that the findings may bring to the teaching of English in the international, European and Portuguese contexts. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of promoting the EIL debate to include the voices of the Expanding Circle, in the sense that a thorough analysis of learners? and teachers? attitudes toward EIL can help identify the present state and future developments in the use of English all over the world.