Many English tests and texts based on Western culture are inappropriate for regions where English use differs from that of Europe and North America. In these non-Western settings, it is desirable that English instruction and assessment be based on real-world English use.{09}Therefore, identifying tasks of non-Western English language use is a beginning step in developing culturally appropriate English language texts and tests.; This cross-cultural sociolinguistics research project (through interviews with 29 English teachers from Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Qatar, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, India, Singapore, and the Philippines) developed a sociolinguistic data base of 1,042 task descriptions of non-Western English use. These tasks were categorized by language skill, domain, and setting based on Baine's (1988) ecological inventory. Through a confirmation survey and member checks, the informants rated the tasks according to cultural appropriateness in their home regions. As such, the findings presented here are a pre-tested sample of tasks appropriate for English instruction in the countries of the informants.; Tasks of English use deemed culturally appropriate in the informants' home regions, in addition to the English classroom, included job training for English teachers, reading instructions for foreign products from abroad and prescriptions, health care, international business, tourism, and air travel. Problematic areas included religion, communication in the home, particularly with servants, and interaction with police in emergencies. ("Culturally inappropriate" refers to offensiveness as well as being outside of established sociopragmatic language use.); The Informants cited their reasons for international and intranational language choice decisions, categorized as involving people, foreign products, and settings. Interactions with people included communication of emotion and strategic manipulation (secrecy, gossiping, requesting, silencing someone, and boasting). Cultural components affecting language choice involved religion, socioeconomics, type of region, and language policy in government and school.; Language educators can evaluate the appropriateness of these tasks and select ones suitable for instruction and assessment for their students. They can develop the selected task descriptions into task types to use in task-based assessment and/or curricula or incorporate them into existing curricula.
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