English globalization entails the use of English by speakers from mother tongues other than English. Trained and professional non-native speakers of English have reportedly achieved communicative competence owing to bilingual or multilingual experiences. Their pragmatic competence developed through diverse interactions with speakers from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Kecskes 2015). In this study, hedges were explored in international briefings where English was used as a lingua franca by professionals of an organization. Three hedging devices including modal verbs, modal adverbs, and pronouns were analyzed to investigate their pragmatic competence. In addition, the professional non-native English briefings were compared with the U.S. briefings for their similarities and differences. Results showed developmental patterns from learner English while they shared similarities with native data. These findings were accounted for by the varieties of English and the genre differences. Implications for pragmatic competence are discussed as well.

This study examines student opinions into teacher use of English as a lingua franca as a second language to teach a third language. This research focuses on student recognition of the benefits of specific teacher uses of English as a lingua franca, student preferences of specific teacher uses of English as a lingua franca, and potential attitudinal effects of teacher use of English as a lingua franca. Thirty eight Korean university students participated in this study by completing a questionnaire. The data were analyzed through Mann Whitney U tests, a Borda count, chi-squared goodness of fit tests, and descriptive statistics. The results revealed students held the different uses in a similar and positive light but did not prefer uses that perform a social function. The results also showed students did not perceive of much positive attitudinal benefit (anxiety, connection to the teacher, and motivation). Nor did the students indicate teacher use of English as a lingua franca causes the students to lose face or feel that their mother tongue is disrespected. Classroom implications and limitations are discussed.

As the International Maritime English Organization (IMO) model course for Maritime English has been recently revised and updated, the requirements of current changes to both the 2010 STCW Manila Amendments and English education have been actively reviewed. In order to provide practical guidelines for language teaching, a wide range of new pedagogical approaches and their theoretical backgrounds are also suggested. However, considering the current spread of Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF) and its critical importance in maritime communication, the pedagogical approaches need to be re-evaluated, specifically in terms of teaching pronunciation in order to emphasize clear and effective communication among international interlocutors. Therefore, the core pedagogical elements of pronunciation should be clearly set and provided with consideration for Lingua Franca Core (LFC), which places importance on mutual intelligibility rather than following the rules of native speakers. In this paper, the current trends of BELF in the maritime industry will thus be introduced. Following this, the importance of LFC in maritime communication will be outlined, and its key features will be discussed in terms of effectiveness and clarity of international maritime communications. Finally, a close comparison between LFC and the pronunciation guidelines suggested by the IMO Maritime English model course 3.17 will be conducted, and pedagogical implications for future teaching pronunciation in cross-cultural global maritime industry will be suggested.