Critical approaches to World Englishes

As English continues to spread and become enmeshed in the local social, political, and economic contexts of various countries, English in these varied multilingual spaces has come under increasing scrutiny through three main streams of research that focus on English as a lingua franca (ELF), English as an international language (EIL), and world Englishes (WE). The first two research streams have focused primarily on the pedagogical concerns surrounding teaching, curriculum, and assessment in non-English speaking countries. In keeping with the activist origins of Kachru (1997), the third stream (world Englishes), after which this chapter is titled, has continually problematized issues of inequity and inequality brought forth by the spread of English. In accordance with our commitment to decenter the hegemonic ideals embedded in the global spread of English, this chapter problematizes what it means to engage in critical world Englishes as a paradigm. To achieve this aim, our chapter examines the ideological nature of English while considering the local politics of English, as it is acquired and learned against a wider backdrop of globalization, plurilingualism, and intercultural communication. Next, we unpack what it means to adopt a critical approach. Lastly, we discuss future directions to engage with this paradigm in order to further bridge the research/practice divide within the broader field of applied linguistics. Copyright © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.