ELF Communicative Competence: Transforming from L2 English Learners into ELF Users

The current paper defines the ELF communicative competence while considering the global use of English and the diversifi cation of its users. First, I will review the major defi nitions of ‘competence’ provided by infl uential scholars such as Chomsky, Hymes, and Canae & Swain, followed by an alternative view of L2 communicative ability that accommodates the relationship between language and society. Then, the conceptual map of ELF (English as a lingua franca) communicative competence will be presented by adapting ‘a view of language as a dynamic complex adaptive system’ (Larsen-Freeman, 2006, p.195) Finally, emphasizing the social nature of language learning, the paper challenges the norm-conformity authorized in the Japanese ELT context and argues for the necessity of conceptual reform rather than curriculum change.