PAKISTANI ENGLISH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH VARIETIES: A STUDY FROM A WORLD ENGLISHES PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This study investigates Pakistani English school teachers’ attitudes towards Inner Circle and Outer Circle varieties of English within the framework of World Englishes. Drawing on a quantitative survey design, data was collected from 300 Pakistani English teachers through a structured questionnaire. The analysis focused on teachers’ learning preferences, their evaluative ratings of selected English varieties across eight personality traits, and their views on English varieties in educational contexts. The findings show that Inner Circle varieties, particularly British English and American English, were preferred more strongly than Outer Circle varieties. British English emerged as the most preferred variety for learning, while American English received the highest overall evaluative rating across personality traits. British English was associated more with clarity, familiarity, and friendliness, whereas American English was linked more strongly with intelligence, confidence, and fluency. Pakistani English received more favourable evaluations than Indian English and was viewed positively on traits such as friendliness, familiarity, fluency, and clarity, although it did not attain the same prestige as Inner Circle varieties. The study also found that teachers generally supported introducing students to differences among English varieties, but they were less certain about the representation of such variation in school textbooks. Overall, the findings reflect the persistence of traditional prestige hierarchies alongside limited acceptance of Pakistani English.