Construction and Validation of Critical Understanding of the Global Spread of English Scale (CUGSES)

The present study aimed to design and validate a “Critical Understanding of the Global Spread of English” Scale (CUGSES). To this end, a framework was designed based on the tenets of linguistic imperialism, English as an International Language (EIL), and globalization. The scale was then administered to a population of 425 participants, comprising English language teachers in language institutes, English language learners in language institutes, parents whose children attended English language institutes, university students majoring in English and English-major university professors. Rasch measurement was utilized to substantiate the construct validity of the instrument. The results of the Rasch analysis revealed that except for three items, the scale is unidimensional and meets the criteria to fit to the Rasch model. Next, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to extract the factors underlying the scale. Five components were extracted and labeled as: domination of English language and culture, preference for home culture and language, age and medium of instruction, native speakerism, and localization in ELT. Implications of the newly- designed scale in the Iranian EFL context were then provided.