Globalization is no longer something to strive for. Like it or not, we all live in the global network of people, goods, ideas and languages that transcend national and political boundaries. In order to participate in the global society, everyone needs to develop the ability to communicate ideas effectively in writing. Today, the language of choice for global communication is often English, the dominant lingua franca. But whose English? Who owns English anyway? This presentation will explore what it means to teach and learn to write in English in the global context. I will begin by considering the question of ownership and then discuss why it is important for English language users and learners to develop a sense of ownership. I will then explain how the sense of ownership might translates into writing practices as well as the teaching and learning of English writing in Korea.

Paul Kei Matsuda is Professor of English and Director of Second Language Writing at Arizona State University, where he works closely with doctoral and master's students in applied linguistics, rhetoric and composition and TESOL. He has founded and chairs the Symposium on Second Language Writing, an annual international conference on writing, and edits the Parlor Press Series on Second Language Writing. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on topics related to writing, identity, technology, and the history of applied linguistics and TESOL. An award winning author and editor, he has edited over a dozen books and published in such journals as College Composition and Communication, College English, English for Specific Purposes, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Journal of Second Language Writing, TESOL Quarterly, and Written Communication, among others. URL: http://pmatsuda.faculty.asu.edu/