This dissertation study aims to develop and evaluate intercultural communication pedagogical materials and assessment instruments for global users of English based on English as a lingua franca (ELF) research. ELF refers to the use of English as a common language among speakers who do not share a first language. ELF users do not necessarily rely on the linguistic norms of English-dominant countries (e.g., the U.S.), instead using English as a flexible communication tool. Communication strategies, such as self-paraphrasing to raise explicitness and requesting confirmation to check one’s understanding, among others, support effective communication in ELF contexts. Despite widespread and increasing use of ELF, global English language teaching continues to focus on language norms associated with English-dominant countries, which may not meet the real-world needs of global English users.

Although scholars recommend including ELF strategies in global English language teaching, very little empirical research exists on such instruction and few appropriate assessments are available. My dissertation aims to fill these gaps by developing and testing the effectiveness of ELF communication strategy instructional materials and assessments. The study relies on a sequential, complementary mixed methods design. A quasi-experimental instructional intervention will implement many of the recommendations in the conceptual literature on ELF-informed instruction. Three pre- and posttests will measure productive ELF communicative competence, receptive recognition of strategies in discourse, and attitudes towards ELF before and after instruction. Attitudes are included because they may impact willingness to use ELF. Semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants will investigate whether/how participants apply their learning to communication outside the classroom beyond the posttests as well as possible reasons for different learning outcomes. The results will inform English language teaching, intercultural communication training, and research in these fields.