Lingua Franca

I have heard of the term 'Lingua Franca' before but was never really sure what it meant. Since the article focused so heavily on LFE, I expected to see a definition provided in Canagarajah's article, however, that seemed to be lacking. After researching a little bit, I understood LFE roughly as "Any language that is used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages." I was slightly reminded of the idea of a pidgin, which is more commonly defined as a language that comes into existence through speakers of two different languages attempting to communicate. A pidgin is a simplified form of the language with a reduced vocabulary. So, although they sound similar, I come to the conclusion that while a pidgin may be a specific language, although different varieties of it may exist (although that's so true for English), an example of lingua franca would be English--so many people from different cultures use English as a way to communicate even though they may have different L1 backgrounds. I also would consider Spanish a lingua franca (just not an LFE) in my experience. When I studied in Spain, I met a few people from varying cultures and L1s and we were able to have the Spanish language in common to communicate.

Wow.

The article goes on to mention more characteristics of LFE. It states the LFE belongs to a virtual speech community, one not hindered by geographical boundaries, such that when they interact with one another, they are able to "active a mutually recognized set of attitudes, forms, and conventions that ensure successful communication" (Canagarajah 4). Additionally, something I found interesting was that LFE's form is variable- constantly being negotiated for the participants, and it's always being brought into the specific context. The form of LFE is also very hybrid- borrowed words, patterns, etc.

LFE is such an important thing for future ESL teachers to be aware of and think about. Since "the rules, schema, and grammar of LFE users come loaded with significant social information" (Canagarajah 6). We can learn so much about our differing learners and why they form the relationships they do with one another through their LFE. The author also mentions the term 'social action'. I think that it's attempting to prove a point that the language used in the classroom is so much more than just the words coming out of a student's mouth. It's meaning, it's perception, it's a perspective, and it's a form of social justice.