Jennifer Jenkins,

FAcSS The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

is a British

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and academic. She was Chair Professor of

Global English English is the concept of using the English language as a global means of communication similar to an international auxiliary language, and often refers to the movement towards an international standard for the language. Related and someti ...

es at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

until her retirement in 2019. She is a leading figure in the study of English as a

Lingua Franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

(ELF), and is an expert on communication in English between non-native speakers. This is a relatively new field of study and her opinions are sometimes seen as controversial. Her interests include attitudes to the international range of "Englishes", English as a lingua franca in higher education, and the implications of ELF for ways of teaching English as a foreign language. She has published and lectured widely and is a founder editor of the ''Journal of English as a Lingua Franca''.

Education and early career

Jenkins studied

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

and Icelandic at the universities of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and spent a few years as a teacher of

English as a foreign language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

before starting to train other teachers.

Career

In 1992 she began teaching at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and in 1995 completed her PhD at the

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

with a thesis on ''Variation in Phonological Error in Interlanguage Talk'', discussing a continuing research interest of hers: "English pronunciation within an international framework". She remained at King's College until 2007 where she designed and directed the MA in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics.Southampton University biography: Professor Jennifer Jenkins BA, DipTEFLA, PhD, FAcSS
/ref> While there, she introduced a fast-track MA for TESOL students. When Jenkins' book ''Phonology Of English As An International Language'' was published in 2000 it was seen as potentially controversialGlobal English debate, ''Guardian'', 18 April 2001
/ref> and stimulated debate about the prevailing emphasis on "correct" accents in teaching English as a foreign language, and Jenkins' idea of the Lingua Franca Core. This is a core list of pronunciation features which ELF speakers need to master in order to be mutually intelligible. Jenkins' idea that English is "an international language and as such no longer the preserve of its native speakers" has been seen as a challenge to teachers of English. In 2007 Jenkins was appointed to the Chair of Global Englishes at

Southampton University The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United K ...

and in May 2012 launched the Centre for Global Englishes there, of which she is the director. In her lecture inaugurating the Centre she said that UK universities describe themselves as international, and yet they expect overseas students to conform to UK norms of pronunciation, idiom etc. Earlier the same year, Jenkins co-founded the ''Journal of English as a Lingua Franca'' which aims to respond to the "unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, as both consequence and driving force of globalization". She has several other editorial roles.

Honours

In September 2014, Jenkins was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

Select bibliography

* ''The phonology of English as an international language: new models, new norms, new goals'', OUP 2000 * ''English as a Lingua Franca: attitude and identity'', OUP 2007 * ''Global Englishes: a resource book for students'', 3rd ed. Routledge 2015 revious editions under the main title ''World Englishes''* ''Global Englishes in Asian Contexts: Current and Future Debates'' - Murata, Kumiko and Jenkins, Jennifer (eds.), Basingstoke 2009 * ''Latest trends in ELF research'' - Archibald, Alasdair, Cogo, Alessia and Jenkins, Jennifer (eds.), Newcastle 2011 * ''English as a Lingua Franca in the international university: the politics of academic English language policy'', Abingdon 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Jennifer Living people British women linguists 1950 births Linguists from the United Kingdom Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Academics of King's College London Academics of the University of Southampton