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The book investigates the way learners of the English language view native and non-native varieties of English with regards to the varieties they intend to acquire. The analysis is based on empirical data gathered in a small-scale empirical study with the participation of Hungarian learners of English of different ages, levels of English and educational background. The results reveal that native speaker varieties of English are favoured over non-native varieties by learners when they choose a target variety of the language. Moreover, several factors influence this choice of target variety, including knowledge of the varieties of English, personal influence, the situations in which learners of English use the language outside the classroom, learners´ aims concerning the use of English in their future, native and non-native interlocutors learners use the language with and certain language-related attitudes. The participants were also found to reject the norms of non-native varieties of English and English as a Lingua Franca as possible alternatives to the standards of the native varieties.

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Eszter Minich has an MA in English Language and Literature from Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary.

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