East Asia and English language speakers: a population estimation through existing random sampling surveys

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many applied linguists have attempted to quantify the number of English-speaking populations, both globally and in specific countries. However, thus far, those in East Asia have not been estimated through a robust technique. This paucity of estimation can be partly attributed to the lack of censuses or large-scale sociolinguistic surveys; nonetheless, other secondary data can be used for this purpose. This study analyses two nationally representative surveys conducted in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan – the East Asian Social Survey (conducted in 2008 and 2018) and AsiaBarometer (2003–2008) – and estimates their English-speaking population. The results indicate that English speakers (those who evaluated themselves as having a fair or high level of English proficiency) account for approximately 10% of the population in China and Japan and approximately 20% in South Korea and Taiwan. Furthermore, English proficiency varied according to generation and educational level in all four jurisdictions. Based on these findings, this article discusses cross-national variations of English-speaking populations in the four jurisdictions, the absolute number of speakers, its implications, and possible self-report biases and their assessment.