Factors of English as a Lingua Franca

Abstract

This paper was written in order to reveal factors of English as a lingua franca in Asia by observing naturally occurring interactions with the participants. The author collected the data through a university project in Tokyo, and the participants sharing various backgrounds. The collected data showed a number of curious results. (a) English that the participants used in the research site had some strategies. (b) Although the participants understood the English requirement for the workplace, they probably intentionally switched the language between English and Japanese; localized code-switching was frequently seen. (c) Japanese used in the research site might have been used to mitigate face threatening acts or to make membership markers.