The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca

The first ever handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is a most welcome publication, providing in one comprehensive volume an excellent overview of this relatively new but burgeoning research field, extending over many research areas currently identifiable in publication. It may come as no surprise that the handbook comprises as many as 47 chapters, given that ELF has attracted attention all over the globe from researchers and professionals alike, including language teachers and education industry stakeholders. The chapters are interrelated but independent, and readers can therefore start with any chapter and proceed in any order, according to their interest. In this regard, those who are new to ELF may well want to start with Jenkins’s final chapter (chap. 47), which succinctly bridges its past development and possible future. The 47 chapters of this volume are divided into seven sections: (1) Conceptualising and positioning ELF, (2) The regional spread of ELF, (3) ELF characteristics and processes, (4) Contemporary domains and functions, (5) ELF in academia, (6) ELF, policy and pedagogy, and (7) ELF into the future: Trends, debates, predictions. Below is a brief description of each chapter, followed by overall notes section by section.