【Abstract】The wide use of English has diversified teaching contexts. The role of English as an international language （EIL） challenges traditional English language teaching pedagogies. The study aims to explore the pedagogical implications of EIL in Chinese context. It is found that Chinese teachers and students should feel more confident in the claim of ownership of English.
　　【Key words】English as an International Language （EIL）; inner circle; outer circle; expanding circle; English varieties; ownership of English
　　【作者簡介】刘雪（1988.01-），女，汉族，山东潍坊人，天津中德应用技术大学应用外国语学院，硕士，对外英语教学，研究方向：英语教学。
　　1. Introduction
　　Kachru （1985） divided the countries where English is spoken into three concentric circles. The inner circle includes countries that are regarded as “the traditional bases of English” （Kachru， 1985）： UK， the US， Australia， New Zealand and Canada. In those countries， English is either the only or major official language. The outer circle consists of countries that are more linguistically diverse， such as Sri Lanka， India and Singapore. English spread initially in the outer circle due to colonization and has an official status in certain significant sectors， such as education， the press， administration and so on （Kachru， 1985）. The expanding circle is virtually “rest of the world” （Kachru， 1985） where English is learned as a foreign language to carry out international communication.
　　It is evident that English plays different roles in different countries and English learners learn English for different purposes. The spread of English has diversified teaching contexts and the role of English as an international language （EIL） has different implications in pedagogies in different contexts. English being an international language has changed its nature and challenges traditional English language teaching pedagogy， which has its root in linguistic imperialism and native-speaker models （McKay， 2003）.
　　2. Body
　　The recognition of English varieties. The role of English as an international language implies that English is no longer owned by specific countries and people who use English to communicate can actually take the ownership of the language （Widdowson， 1994）. Nonetheless， it turns out in reality that many non-native speakers are not confident enough to claim the ownership since they feel intimidated by the native-speaker norm （Jenkins，2000）.Nonnative speakers are the majority of English speakers with increasing numbers and proficiency while much of the interaction through the medium of English does not involve native speakers （Kachru， 1991）. Considering the fact， the native-nonnative dichotomy needs to be reexamined. 　　The ambivalence in attitudes towards the claim of ownership has been manifested by the divergence of attitudes people in the outer circle hold towards their own local variety of English. Some people believe the variety is a claim of ownership of English and a self-expression of their own identity while others regard the variety as sub-standard （McKay， 2003）. This controversy implies that theoretically speaking， all varieties of a language are equal. That equal status needs to be recognized pedagogically for EIL teaching.
　　The pedagogical implications of the variety of Englishes. The variety of Englishes leave the educators with different instructional models to choose from. In most of English courses， only one particular variety of English is selected as the main instructional model.
　　No matter which variety is adopted as the main instructional model， students must be aware that what they are learning is not the single legitimate variety of English. If only one variety of English is presented in class， students are misled to assume this variety is superior to the others and this wrong assumption could lead to their failure in communication that involves different varieties of English. It is highly significant that students are exposed to multiple varieties of English and recognize the diversity in world Englishes since each variety is a manifestation of culture and indigenous values （Matsuda