Investigating Teachers’ Attitudes towards Teaching and Learning of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in Indonesian EFL Context

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has received increased attention in English teaching but is still less studied in an EFL context like Indonesia. This study aims at investigating teachers’ attitudes toward ELF and some possible challenges in incorporating ELF instruction into their teaching practices. Employing a quantitative descriptive method by administering a cross-sectional survey to 50 EFL teachers in Jakarta, the study revealed that the teachers had a positive attitude towards teaching and learning ELF in the Indonesian EFL context. However, it is also discovered teachers accentuated unfamiliarity with other accents, the readiness of teachers, students, and institutions in incorporating ELF instruction, providing suitable learning materials, and native speakers as challenges encountered in incorporating ELF into their teaching. This study offered several suggestions to shed a light upon teachers’ development and enhancement of teaching ELF in the Indonesian context.


INTRODUCTION
The global spread of English has caused the number of English speakers to grow impressively. The speakers of English have reached a third of the world's population and they will keep growing to more than 450 million in the following 50 years (Coskun, 2010;Crystal, 2003). With the number of its speakers, English undeniably has become an international language which is spoken by the majority of people across the world with covering different purposes such as economic purposes, educational purposes, and entertainment purposes which all refer to communication (Crystal, 2003;Kaur, 2010;Mairi, 2016). Consequently, it is clear that there is a change in the status of English. English currently has functioned as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) which facilitates communication among people with different lingua-cultures all over the globe (Fang, 2017).
In line with this, Soruç's (2015) study showed that non-native teachers in Turkey had a strong tendency for ENL norms in their teaching practices. In contrast, İnceçay and Akyel (2014) reported that most teachers were tolerant to students who used features similar to ELF yet they portrayed resistance to the use of ELF in their classes.
According to the aforementioned studies, it is apparent that most teachers were oriented to native speakerism and they seemed to be hesitant to incorporate ELF into their teaching practices. Given that fact, this study intends to fill the research gap by focusing on investigating teachers' attitudes toward ELF and the possible challenges of incorporating ELF instruction into their teaching practices. Therefore, this study attempts to figure out two research questions below: 1. What are EFL teachers' attitudes toward teaching and learning English as a Lingua Franca in the Indonesian EFL context? 2. What are possible challenges that might be encountered by teachers when they incorporate ELF instruction into their teaching?

RESEARCH METHOD
A descriptive quantitative approach was employed in order to answer the research questions of this study. In line with this, a cross-sectional survey was delivered to 50 EFL teachers in Jakarta. The survey was adopted from a questionnaire made by Luo (2016) which consisted of 32 questions. The questions were classified into 2 parts, which are, demographic information and attitudes toward teaching English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). The attitudes toward teaching English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) part covered awareness and legitimacy of ELF, attitude towards native and non-native users of English in the context of EFL in Indonesia, perceptions of teaching objectives in English language teaching, the goals of learning English as a foreign language and perceptions of incorporating ELF into teaching. Those questions were presented in Likert-scale and open-ended questions. The questionnaire was administered online through Google Form on the 10th -26th of February 2021. In relation to research ethics, consent was also delivered to the participants. Last, the questionnaire was analyzed by using descriptive quantitative to figure out the percentage of each item.
The first section of the questionnaire aimed at obtaining demographic information of the participants. The section covered questions of gender, education level, teaching experience, school level, and first language. Therefore, the findings of the participants' demographic information are presented in Table 1. First of all, the total number of the participants was 50 teachers of which 74 % were females and 26% of the students were males. They had different levels of education and teaching experience. The findings revealed that the education level of the participants was 54% bachelor degree and 46% master degree. Additionally, more than half the participants have been teaching English for 1-4 years. 14% of the participants have been teaching English for 5-9 years. Further, the finding also showed that 10% of the participants had experience teaching English for more than 9 years. In line with this, the school levels were also diverse. Most of the participants taught English at the upper secondary level (30%), 18% of them taught in university and less than 25% of them taught in primary and secondary levels. The finding also depicted some teachers have been teaching in multiple levels of schools such as in upper secondary and university level (16%). Finally, the last question focused on the first language of the participants. More than half of the total number of the participants spoke Bahasa Indonesia as their first language. Meanwhile, 26% of the participants mentioned their local languages such as Javanese and Sundanese.

Teachers' attitudes towards ELF in Indonesian EFL context
The second section of the questionnaire aimed at investigating EFL teachers' attitudes toward teaching and learning ELF in the Indonesian EFL context. There were 18 questions designed to figure out teachers' attitudes in covering awareness and legitimacy of ELF, attitude toward native and nonnative speakers of English, perceptions of teaching objectives in English language teaching, and the goals of learning English as a Foreign Language.

Awareness and legitimacy of ELF
As can be seen in Table 2, the findings revealed that most of the participants agreed with the statements regarding awareness and legitimacy of ELF. All the participants agreed that English is used by people from different first languages and cultures globally. This finding indicates that the teachers were aware of the function of English as a lingua franca. In line with this, more than 50% of the participants were familiar with the notion of ELF and clearly explain the meaning. Moreover, the participants positively accepted that English teachers should be aware of students' local varieties and try to bring them into the classroom (item 15) and should accommodate students' L1 when teaching English (item 16) to be considered in the curriculum. In short, the participants were aware of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL classroom.

Attitude towards native and non-native users of English in the context of EFL in Indonesia
The findings in Table 3 showed that the participants mostly did not focus on native-speaker norms in teaching English (15 and 19) and they viewed that nonnative speakers of English also contributed to the development of the English language (20 and 21). Furthermore, they rather put more emphasis on adjusting their students' ability as nonnative speakers of English in teaching practice (16). Additionally, the participants focused on the effectiveness of communication by using multilingual resources and incorporating L1 into ELF practice to prepare learners involving in realistic situations (17,18,22). To conclude, the participants possessed a positive attitude to native and non-native users of English in the context of EFL in Indonesia.

Perceptions of teaching objectives in English language teaching
In regard to teaching objectives, there were some contradictories revealed in this present study. First of all, most of the participants accentuated standard norms of English in terms of teaching objectives and assessment (see Table 4). The participants claimed that EFL learners should be oriented to standard norms of English (24). It is indicated that the participants referred to native speakerism. In line with this, most of the participants believed that competence of English should be defined in reference to Standard English (25). In the same way, the participants agreed that EFL learners should be evaluated based on the standard norm of English (26). In opposite, even though most of the participants intensified the standard norm of English, they did not agree to teach only one specific variety of English, such as British English or American English (24). This statement is in line with teachers' positive attitude toward awareness of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL context mentioned in part a. Furthermore, more than 80% of the participants claimed that focusing on communicative effectiveness was much more essential than focusing on formal correctness in regard to evaluating the students (27). This fact was contradictory with the standard norm of English preferred by the participants since the standard norm of English focuses on native speakerism and formal correctness. In conclusion, the participants believed that standard norms of English were a necessity in teaching objectives yet they realized that communicative effectiveness was prominently important rather than formal correctness.

The goals of learning English as a Foreign Language
In Figure 1, The finding portrayed that almost all participants believed that the ultimate goal of learning EFL is to help students become efficient communicators in international and multilingual communication (98%). This finding indicated that the participants realized that achieving native-like competences did not relate to the reality of how English has been used across the globe nowadays. Hence, the participants perceived the ultimate goal of learning EFL was helping students to be efficient communicators in international and multilingual communication beyond language diversity and cultures.

Perceptions of incorporating ELF into teaching
The two items presented in Table 5 regarding the perceptions of incorporating ELF into teaching presented a similar percentage. More than 90% of the participants agreed that ELF awareness was a necessity for the learner. The participants also highly accepted the incorporation of ELF into the classroom. In short, the participants positively perceived the incorporation of ELF into their teaching practice.

Some challenges in incorporating ELF into English teaching
This present study revealed some challenges accentuated by the participants concerning incorporating ELF instruction into the classroom. The challenges covered unfamiliarity with other accents, the readiness of students, teachers, and institutions, providing materials, and native speakerism. The explanations of the challenges are explained in the following sections.

The ultimate goal of learning English as a Foreign Language
Native speaker To become an efficient communicator in international and multilingual communication 98% Firstly, the findings showed that the participants agreed that unfamiliarity with other accents was a major possible problem. They added teaching British English and American English was a daunting task, so teaching other accents can trouble them. As mentioned by a participant, "The students are not familiar with other accents and they do not understand British and American English. So it is quite challenging to teaching other accents..." (Participant 1) Another participant also highlighted that unfamiliarity with other accents can make students confused since they are not well-acquainted with the accents. "Students will be unfamiliar with those accents spoken by different cultural groups of people. As a result, they are not quite understandable for students. They also need more time to grasp the idea of ELF and understand those differences." (Participant 26) Secondly, the participants mentioned that there was a need for the readiness of teachers, students, and institutions when they attempt to incorporate ELF instruction in the classroom. As claimed by a participant, "I think, as a teacher, we have to make sure that we understand the concept of ELF. Moreover, we also need to know whether it is appropriate for the students and teaching objectives." (Participant 6) The following statement indicated that teachers' readiness of ELF is important before attempting to introduce students to ELF.

"I think the first challenge is how teachers direct the students and make sure that the students have good understanding about English. In my case, my students' understanding of basic context, such as using 'to be' is still limited. They cannot even use it correctly, or simply pronounce 1 English word well."
Another participant highlighted that incorporating ELF in the classroom might be possible for a certain level of education yet considerations were prominently essential.

"In my case, as I taught elementary students, different standards of English might confuse them. It is such a dilemma to introduce many kinds of English since they just learn the language…" (Participant 13).
Additionally, providing suitable materials was also mentioned by the participants as a prospective challenge.

"Providing materials which include people who speak English with different first language is going to be hard. Maybe I can still find them but I am not sure if they are adequate. To be honest, it is clearly easier to get materials which contain native speaker norms…" (Participant 9)
Another challenge mentioned by participants was native speakerism. The participants argued that students actually expected to speak like native speakers because of its prestige and legitimacy. This fact was portrayed in the following statements expressed by the participants.
"To make the learners understand that English does not belong to certain countries but as the uni on language in the international community, and maybe to make the learners understand the concept of ELF will be the possible challenge as well." "Some students or parents might still think that the ultimate goal of learning English is to be able to speak exactly like NS, either British or American." "The Standard English and native English speakers are still the standard and school and they are still desirable. When students are asked about their learning goals, they still want to achieve native-like pronunciation and fluency. Besides, being introduced to varieties of English is nice but it is not yet their goal."

Teachers' attitudes towards ELF in Indonesian EFL context
This present study revealed that the EFL teachers involved in this study had positive attitudes toward teaching and learning English as a lingua franca in the Indonesian EFL context. The teachers were aware of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL classroom. They also expressed positively about native and non-native users of English in the context of EFL in Indonesia. In addition, they believed that standard norms of English were a necessity in teaching objectives yet they realized that communicative effectiveness was prominently important rather than formal correctness. In the same way, they perceived the ultimate goal of learning EFL was not becoming native-like English users yet becoming efficient communicators in international and multilingual communication beyond language diversity and cultures. Furthermore, they positively assimilated the incorporation of ELF into their teaching practice. Therefore, the aforementioned findings are presented in the following discussion.
The present study depicted an interesting finding. The finding revealed that the teachers were aware of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL classroom. The teachers accepted the reality of English in today's globalized world and the importance of how teaching English should accommodate students' L1 and local varieties. This finding was intriguingly in opposite with studies in expanding countries. Most of the studies found the teachers focused on native norms and they refused to incorporate ELF into their teaching practices due to the attachment of native speakerism (e.g. Kaur, 2014;Rahayu, 2019;Soruç, 2015;İnceçay & Akyel, 2014). This study found that the teachers were aware of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL classroom. This finding might be caused by a variety of exposures that the teachers encountered. For example, some teachers might have studied ELF during their studies. Others might have been involved in ELF communication. Despite different exposures of ELF, the awareness of ELF benefits the teachers in encouraging and revising their teaching practices within the widespread use of English as global lingua franca (Topkaraoğlu & Dimlan, 2017), developing teachers' professional identity as nonnative English speaker teachers of English (Grazzi & Lopriore, 2020), allowing teachers to help their students aware of different ways of speaking English (Cogo, 2012) and providing students choices to see themselves as multilingual English speakers, not as inferior nonnative speakers (Galloway & Rose, 2014). However, it should be highlighted that even though being aware of ELF was considered as a good initial stage for teacher development, actions have to be taken to implement the recognition of the phenomenon of ELF in ELT practice (Topkaraoğlu & Dimlan, 2017).
Another highlighted point was the teachers expressed positively about native and non-native users of English in the context of EFL in Indonesia. They claimed that teaching English should not only rely on native speakers but also nonnative speakers. They believed that nonnative speakers can contribute to the development of teaching English practice. This point resounds what Jenkins, Cogo, and Dewey (2011) mentioned that nonnative speakers cannot be seen as failed communicators of English yet they are highly skilled communicators of English who utilize their multilingual resources and prioritize successful communication over formal correctness. In a similar vein, nonnative speakers of English may facilitate mutual intelligibility (Deterding & Kirkpatrick, 2006).
Further, the present study also demonstrated that the teachers believed that standard norms of English were a necessity in teaching objectives yet they realized that communicative effectiveness was prominently important rather than formal correctness. This finding was similar to Luo's (2016) study who found out that teachers in Taiwan emphasized the necessity of native-speaker norms in teaching English even though they recognized the importance of raising students' awareness of ELF. It is also

Some challenges in incorporating ELF into English teaching
To begin with, this present study portrayed some benefits of ELF awareness in teaching and learning English. Those benefits include helping students to increase their confidence, motivating students in learning English, promoting intercultural communication, and expanding better job opportunities. Despite all benefits, the teachers claimed several challenges that might be encountered when they incorporate ELF instruction into their teaching practice. Firstly, the teachers agreed that unfamiliarity with other accents was a major possible problem. Secondly, they mentioned that teachers, students, and institutions should be cooperatively ready when they attempt to incorporate ELF instruction in the classroom. Further, providing suitable materials was also mentioned by the participants as a prospective challenge. Last, native speakerism was also mentioned as a challenge. Therefore, all challenges mentioned previously are presented in the discussion below.
This study revealed that the teachers agreed that unfamiliarity with other accents was a major possible problem. The teachers stated they often encountered difficulties even when they taught British English and American English. Hence, the teachers believed that teaching other accents was exceptionally demanding. It is supported by Shibata (2009) andShim (2002) who argued that teachers, especially in Asian contexts, appeared to be more attached to western culture and the American English variety. In a similar vein, Kaur (2014) accentuated that British and American accents were seen as superior and standard compared to nonnative English accents.
Another finding showed that there was a need for readiness for teachers, students, and institutions when they attempted to incorporate ELF instruction in the classroom. This finding was in accord with Sifakis (2004) and Young and Walsh (2010) who clarified that to incorporate ELF instructions (or teach ELF-related skills), teachers require understanding not only knowledge of English but also an understanding of local context and related cultures. Furthermore, teachers' knowledge about the nature of ELF was also significant. If the teachers had a limited understanding of ELF, they might have been eminently reluctant to teach it (Young & Walsh, 2010). Regarding institutions, Sifakis (2009) highlighted that schools should prepare learners for realistic situations. To exemplify, the school can invite nonnative English speakers as teacher guests so that students can involve in communication with nonnative speakers.
It was worth pointing out that providing suitable materials was also a prospective challenge. The lack of teaching materials potentially drove teachers hesitant to expose ELF instruction even though they have already been aware of ELF (Luo, 2016;Nagy, 2016). Hence, it would also be a concern for teachers who attempted to incorporate ELF in their own teaching context to engage with growing ELF literature and develop learning materials and pedagogical practice (Sifakis, 2014). Dealing with this issue, Sifakis (2009) proposed an ELF teacher education program that emphasizes the ability of teachers to use technology to make links with nonnative speakers from other countries and help to raise teacher awareness of the communication value of ELF.
Furthermore, native speakerism was also mentioned as a predicted challenge. It is evident that expanding circle countries such as Indonesia, where English is taught as EFL, are dependent on innercircle norms or exonormative norms (McKay, 2003). Studies revealed that being oriented to native speakerism has been a prominent feature of teaching English in expanding circle countries (Evans, 2010;Kang, 2015;Monfared & Khatib, 2018;Saengboon, 2015;Snodin & Young, 2015). There are three reasons why expanding circle countries favored native speakerism (Kirkpatrick, 2007). First, native speaker models have prestige and legitimacy (Kirkpatrick, 2007). To exemplify, grammar and dictionaries were available and codification led to the acceptance of a standard. Secondly, language teaching materials were based on native speakers were effortlessly available (Kirkpatrick, 2007). Last, the Ministry of Education was keen to provide the best standards and facilitate students with an internationally recognized and internationally intelligible variety of English (Kirkpatrick, 2007). Responding to the issue of native speakerism, this study indicated that there is a need of preparing teachers to deal with native speakerism which is highly attached to teaching English in Indonesia.

CONCLUSIONS
The present study aims at investigating EFL teachers' attitudes towards teaching and learning English as a lingua franca and possible challenges that might be encountered by teachers regarding incorporating ELF into their teaching practice. Firstly, this study revealed that teachers have been aware of ELF and its legitimacy in the EFL context. This finding is interesting since many studies show that teachers in expanding circle countries are attached to native speakerism in their teaching practice. Additionally, they also viewed native speakers and nonnative speakers contributed to teaching English. Further, they acknowledged the necessity of standard norms yet they recognized the importance of communicative effectiveness over formal correctness. In a similar vein, they believed that EFL learning does not merely aim at achieving nativeness but becoming efficient communicators in international and multilingual communication beyond language diversity and cultures. In conclusion, the teachers had a positive attitude towards teaching and learning ELF in the Indonesian EFL context.
It should be noted that the teachers highlighted several challenges that they needed to deal with in regards to incorporating ELF into their teaching practice. The teachers mentioned unfamiliarity with other accents could possibly trouble them and their students. They were also concerned about the readiness of teachers, students, and institutions in incorporating ELF instruction. Moreover, they accentuated providing suitable learning materials as a daunting task because the materials were not as available as exonormative norm materials. Last, they expressed the attachment of teaching English in Indonesia with native speakerism as their huge challenge.
There are several suggestions offered for policymakers and future researchers. For policymakers, teachers' awareness of ELF signaled the need for teacher training. The training can facilitate teachers to raise their awareness of ELF, foster their knowledge about ELF, and help them deal with challenges of incorporating ELF in teaching practice such as providing suitable learning materials. The training can also prepare teachers to cope with the ELF era effectively. For future researchers, it is suggested to explore students' attitudes toward ELF since this present study only focused on teachers' attitudes. Additionally, since the number of participants in this study was limited, conducting studies with a wider scale and range would be beneficial to represent Indonesian EFL teachers' voice of teaching and learning English as a lingua franca.