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Katie Harding
Dr. Manuela Gonzlez-Bueno
C&T 491
27 May 2016
In Search of a New Paradigm for Teaching English as an International Language by
Suresh Canagarajah
Suresh Canagarajah wrote an article covering a new pedagogical method for
teaching English as a foreign language. Canagarajah teaches English for college level
literacy and writing. His article discusses methods for language teachers to teach social
context and pragmatics rather than straight grammar and cognition. Canagarajah gives an
overview of these changes in pedagogy and provides a specific example of a course he
taught to demonstrate how to incorporate these methods in the classroom.
The definition of English now takes on the meaning of all of the forms and
varieties of international English along with the standard. Students can be made aware of
different local varieties and be guided to their preferred one, either local or native.
Scholars are proposing that now international language should be viewed as a form of
practice. Context for success can be measured by the students proficiency in adapting to
and utilizing the language according to the specific situations that arise. Proficiency is
beginning to be defined as an ability to speak and adapt rather than a rote memorization
of grammar. Canagarajah defines the difference between the two as procedural
knowledge and propositional knowledge. Propositional knowledge is the what of a
language, the rules and the grammar. Procedural knowledge is the how of a language,
dealing with unpredictable situations in communication with the global community.

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Learning grammar is very important, but it is equally as important to teach students how
to adapt to various communicative situations.
Canagarajah utilized three criteria to measure the development of procedural
knowledge. Language awareness is knowledge of how languages grammar works with
ones own experiences with language learning. Rhetorical sensitivity refers to the
awareness of what forms of language are appropriate for which settings. There are
different allowances for creativity in voice for different settings, for example, a social
media post versus a college paper. Negotiation strategies are the practices utilized to
communicate with others who may have different norms. These criteria help grade a
student on their development and proficiency in English.
When teaching his writing courses, Canagarajahs main requirement is a literacy
narrative to showcase the students development. This project allows the students to
discover how they want to present the narrative while incorporating their own life
experiences and cultural backgrounds. Canagarajah also describes the classroom as a
contact zone for different cultures to meet through various resources provided. In this
course, the students began with an academic personal narrative, but they then
incorporated more personal voice into later drafts. These drafts demonstrated the
progression of each students proficiency in English.
Canagarajahs article taught me several things about teaching English as a foreign
language. One practice I enjoyed was allowing the students to read and evaluate other
students narratives. Sharing the narratives gave the students access to others thoughts,
beliefs, and cultures. It also gives the opportunity to help each other and learn from
others narratives. In our situation, there is a variety of English proficiency in the

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Kyunghwa classrooms. It is crucial that we encourage all students to practice with us
regardless of their level. Many students are very shy to speak in English and that is
amplified if they feel they are not proficient. However, it is important that the students are
given practice in conversing at whatever level in different situations, as the article stated.
If we encourage them to engage and interact with us in English, it will help them feel
they have the ability to speak in English.
For our duration at Kyunghwa, our role to practice conversation with the students
reflects Canagarajahs viewpoint that situational communicative competence is an
important aspect of language proficiency. Developing their skills to communicate will
require to be available for conversation practice and creating activities in our lesson plans
that open up communication practice opportunities for the students.