Language Teaching Research Quarterly

Investigation of the nexus between the beliefs of teachers and learners about English as an International Language (EIL) and the social attractiveness and comprehensibility of English varieties can provide insights into effective EIL pedagogy. To this end, the present study examined the beliefs of teachers and learners about teaching English as an International Language (EIL) and the social attractiveness and comprehensibility of English varieties. The first phase investigated participants' beliefs about English varieties and teaching EIL. Questionnaire data from 505 nonnative teachers and learners and follow-up interviews indicated that while teachers legitimized all intelligible varieties of English, learners did not assign legitimacy to nonnative varieties. However, both groups agreed that only native varieties should be used for language instruction. In the second phase, findings from a Verbal Guise Test (VGT) revealed that teachers and learners rated American and British English relatively higher than nonnative varieties in terms of both comprehensibility and social attractiveness. The study suggests the prioritization of native varieties by teachers and learners, which runs counter to the established EIL paradigm.