The linguistic landscape and its potential for english language teaching
This paper provides a short exploration of the possibilities offered by the Linguistic Landscape to enhance students’ language awareness and to act as a tool for language teachers. After briefly introducing the main features that characterize the Linguistic Landscape in urban spaces, namely its multilingual aspect, the informational and symbolic functions and the differences between top-down and bottom-up messages, the article describes the roles of English both as a lingua franca and as a symbol of prestige.