English Today is pleased to bring readers new and innovative research on all aspects of the English language. In this quarterly issue we are especially excited to highlight new research in various aspects of attitudes toward the use of English in university contexts. Seongyong Lee and Hohsung Choe investigate the use of ‘nonce borrowings’ from English and the various attitudinal factors that significantly influence Korean university students’ use of these borrowings. Continuing in the theme of language attitudes, Siranush Seyranyan and Michael Westphal explore university students’ attitudes toward language variety in Germany and in the often overlooked Armenia in a study that examines the interplay between English as a global and local language. Using a verbal guise technique, they test attitudes toward two dominant international varieties (Standard British English and Standard American English) as well as the local varieties of German English and Armenian English. Finally, Susanne Mohr, Sandra Jansen and Julia Forsberg use a more ‘direct’ approach to language attitudes in a questionnaire delivered to English teachers in Germany and Sweden, asking them to describe the English varieties that are used in classrooms in both countries. These three studies suggest that research into attitudes toward English and Englishes continues to play an important role in contemporary scholarship.
Three remaining essays in this issue explore other unique aspects of English internationally. In an innovative study of the varieties of English used at the United Nations, Tomoyuki Kawashima surveys the English used by heads of state when addressing the UN, in a corpus comprising 1540 speeches delivered between 2004 and 2018. Xuan Minh Ngo critically introduces the Vietnam government's Project 2020 and its intended purpose to reform English education within the country. Finally, Gang Sui draws upon his experience teaching short fiction writing to English students in China to propose an integrated approach to the teaching of creative writing.
The editors
