Abstract
English is commonly regarded as an international lingua franca, yet international universities often teach the language as though it were still the preserve of native speakers (Jenkins, 2011). Coursebooks have a contribution to make in exposing learners to the reality of English as a Global Language. This research analyzes a selection of coursebooks in use at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Japan and identifies the extent to which they contain features relevant to the teaching of English as a Global Language. These features include linguistic varieties and accents beyond each coursebookʼs model of instruction, interactions involving non-native speakers, and features which are explicitly intended to introduce students to the current nature of Global English. The study found that non-US/UK varieties of native speaker English are underrepresented in the materials, as are Outer Circle varieties. Examples of English in use as a lingua franca between non-native speakers were also found to be rare. The paper concludes by sharing examples of features and pedagogic activities from the corpus which contain the potential to raise awareness of English as a Global Language. Possible ways in which higher education institutions could supplement teaching materials to increase studentsʼ understanding of English as an International Language are also discussed.