[00:01.80]instead of "th" ([think]),
[00:02.62]will say a "s" or a "t",
[00:04.39]as most of them do anyway at the moment,
[00:06.73]but it will just be legitimate then.
[00:09.98]There must, on the other hand,
[00:11.24]be students who will want to speak English
[00:14.02]the way that they perceive it to be spoken
[00:15.92]in Britain or America.
[00:17.30]So,what would you say to that?
[00:18.75]Well, I'd say, first of all,
[00:20.28]I'd want to explain the facts to them,
[00:22.83]the facts that they are the majority
[00:24.43]that the non-native speakers of
[00:25.53]English are the majority.
[00:27.17]And having explained that and also the fact
[00:30.16]that they're much more able to
[00:31.25]express themselves,
[00:32.64]who they really are, their identity, in English
[00:35.33]if they keep something of their background,
[00:37.89]of their "mother tongue",
[00:39.20]I would then say that
[00:40.75]we can't patronise learners,
[00:42.48]that if learners still want to learn to speak
[00:45.86]as closely as possible to a native speaker,
[00:47.81]say a British or American English,
[00:49.63]it's their choice,
[00:50.74]and the important thing is to give learners
[00:52.59]choices so that they can make up their own mind
[00:54.65]what it is they want to do.
[00:56.53]Well, Dr Jenkins,
[00:57.32]thank you for talking to me about that.
[00:58.87]It'll be interesting to see
[01:00.32]how far things change.
[01:00.32]
