English Language Education Policy in Asia

Similar to other parts of the world, Kurdish speakers of English have been subject to English fever. They have a strong desire to learn and speak English. An army of teachers is currently teaching Kurdish speakers to learn English. However, few of them acquire the required level of English when they move from high school level to university one. This might partly be associated with their attitudes towards not only the English language but the English language policies and practices that are currently adopted. Attitudes towards the English language have been extensively investigated both quantitatively and qualitatively in diversified educational and cultural contexts. Furthermore, a few studies have been conducted to investigate the attitudes of Kurdish students towards the English language, but their attitudes to English language education policies and English language learning purposes have yet remained unknown. Therefore, this study is anchored on investigating Kurdish undergraduate students’ attitudes towards the English language, English language education policies that are currently applied in Iraqi Kurdistan, and students’ purposes for learning English. It further concentrates on the effect of such variables as gender and year of study on attitudes. For this purpose, the study utilized a questionnaire consisting of 42 items on a 6-point Likert scale surveyed online on a sample of 154 students belonging to different ages, genders, years of study, and majors. The analysis of the data showed that Kurdish university students held neutral to mildly positive attitudes to the English language and English learning purposes. Nevertheless, they held slightly positive attitudes towards English language education policies. The study concludes that, although fundamental transformations have been achieved in the past two decades, the neutral attitudes show that efforts are yet to be made to satisfy students’ needs and desires, particularly with regard to the policies and practices that are currently adopted. This study, different from previous ones, reveals students’ attitudes towards English education policies whose findings are significant for English language education policymakers.

This chapter discusses English language education and educational language policy in the three nations of Indochina: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. After briefly reviewing history, geography, demographics, and linguistic diversity, the authors of each country study detail the structure of education and the educational language policies in place in the relevant country, giving particular attention to policies supporting the English language. They continue by discussing English language teaching and learning in both formal and non-formal education, with attention to curriculum, pedagogy, textbooks, textbook development, teacher training, and evaluation. They conclude each country study with a brief discussion of anticipated or planned developments in English language policy, teaching, and learning.

This chapter focuses on English language policy and education in Thailand. We begin with a description of the linguistic profile of Thailand and the status of English as part of presumed monolingual and monocultural ideologies. We then discuss the current prominent role of English in Thailand and ASEAN, which has resulted in greater emphasis on English language education. The chapter then turns to a detailed investigation of current policy and its adoption of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) at basic and higher education levels, and reveals the tensions between the multilingual uses of English as a lingua franca across ASEAN and the monolingual Anglophone orientations of current language policy. We highlight the detrimental effects of these Anglophone ideologies on ELT and assessment. The chapter ends with a call for multilingual-oriented policy and practices which reflect the changing roles of English in global contexts, especially in the ASEAN community.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between English language education policy (ELEP) and teacher effectiveness (TE) at grade three senior high schools (G3SHS) in Mashhad, Iran. To this end, the English Language Policy Inventory (ELPI) designed and validated by Khodadady, Arian, and Hosseinabadi (2013) and English Language Teachers’ Attribute Scale (ELTAS) developed and validated by Khodadady, Fakhrabadi and Azar (2012) were administered to 48 teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) and their 1072 EFL learners. The correlational analysis of results showed that the two ELEP and TE domains correlated significantly with each other. The same analysis revealed significant relationships between Harmonic Curriculum, International Interaction, Internationalizing Native Culture, Methodological Development, International Understanding, All-Compassing Improvement and Functional Organization genera of the ELPI and Qualified, Social, Stimulating, Organized, Proficient, Humanistic and Self-Confident genera of the ELTAS. The findings are discussed from both theoretical and empirical perspectives and suggestions are made for future research.

Ever since 1989, there has been an intensification of efforts to reform English Language Teaching (ELT) in Japan. Policy initiatives such as “The Action Plan to Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities” launched in 2003, the implementation of “Foreign Language Activities” in elementary schools in 2011, the “Global 30” Project in higher education to promote English-medium learning in 2009 and the 2013 implementation of the revised national senior high school foreign language curriculum are all efforts initiated by the Japanese government to improve ELT practice and increase international awareness among Japanese learners. In spite of these initiatives, however, a continued disconnect between policy declarations and the realities of pedagogical practice has resulted in stasis in terms of policy implementation. We argue that the central agents of English language education policy in Japan – the teachers – are often left to their own devices to interpret and deliver policy initiatives that themselves may have conflicting messages, and may not provide teachers with specific educational tools to engage in meaningful, substantive pedagogical change. This disconnect must be addressed systematically in order to better empower teachers at the local level.

This chapter views language policy as consisting of language practices, language beliefs and language intervention, planning or management (Spolsky. Language policy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004; Spolsky. What is language policy? In: Spolsky B (ed) The Cambridge handbook of language policy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 3–15, 2012), and uses this view to describe and analyze English language education policies in China. Particular attention is given to the evolution of official views, that is the opinions and perceptions of the government, and popular views, that is the opinions and perceptions of the general public, towards English, and official efforts to build English language proficiency through the provision of English language education from the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) until the present day. This is followed by an overview of the current English language curriculum at the various levels of China’s education system. This chapter also assesses the effects of English language education policy on language practices, in terms of the use of English within China and levels of English language proficiency. Finally, it outlines some policy challenges and possible future trends based on policy outcomes and the broader sociolinguistic situation of China.

Due to the expected value of English proficiency for living in a global society, acquiring English proficiency has become a major concern for many people in Korea. This attention is because people in Korea believe English is providing them with premium opportunities to better their lives such as being admitted to prestigious schools or getting high-paying jobs. The differential investment in learning English thus has yielded a new form of social inequality, dividing people between the English rich and the English poor. Perceiving the potential negative effects of the English divide and the importance of equipping Koreans’ English proficiency, the Korean government has put effort and strategic investment into improving public English education in Korea. Studies on policies have often been presented in a multilingual context where the concept of language policies, language education policies, foreign language policies, and English language education policies are somewhat blurred. Looking at the English education policies in a monolingual society like Korea exclusively can present a focused view on the effectiveness of English education policies. This study presents the key policies put into practice to improve the quality of English education in Korea and highlights secondary teachers’ responses to those policies in attaining the policy goals. A total of 1039 secondary teachers working in Daegu participated in the survey administered twice: 557 in 2010 and 482 in 2016. The perceptual changes are discussed with the participants’ comments included in the results. The study will provoke discussion and intuition for managing English education policies in similar contexts.

In South Korea, the government has actively promoted English proficiency as an indispensable tool in ascertaining competitiveness of individuals and the country. This chapter examines English education in South Korea and its policies as contextualized in its socio-cultural backgrounds. The discussion draws on theoretical insights that view policies as an interactive process among policy documents, the context and the actors in it (Ball, Maguire, & Braun, 2012; Menken & Garcia, 2010). First, the background is laid out by illustrating the symbolic and practical meaning of the English language in the Korean context. Following that, the chapter traces the changes in English language teaching (ELT) policies through a historical survey of curricular reforms and also presents the current agenda of ELT policies, within which the communicative approach is strongly recommended, as reflected in the seventh National Educational Curriculum. In an attempt to investigate ELT practice in context, two case studies, one at the primary level and the other at the secondary level, are presented, particularly to determine the relationship between policy and practice. Both case studies demonstrate that while teachers make efforts to follow the policies, how they actually implement them depends on their unique contexts and individual beliefs. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and policy making.

In order to be more competitive in global job market, many countries, such as Japan, have adjusted the education policies for preparing capable talents for globalization. English Language Teaching (ELT) policy in Japan is used as an example of contemporary education policy to illustrate the influence of globalization in education field within a country. The aim of this essay is using the ELT policy in Japan as an example to critically analyze how globalization has influenced the development of current education policy. Positivism has been used to guide the policy-making process.

In order to be more competitive in global job market, many countries, such as Japan, have adjusted the education policies for preparing capable talents for globalization. English Language Teaching (ELT) policy in Japan is used as an example of contemporary education policy to illustrate the influence of globalization in education field within a country. The aim of this essay is using the ELT policy in Japan as an example to critically analyze how globalization has influenced the development of current education policy. Positivism has been used to guide the policy-making process.

The focus of this article is on English language policy in Thailand and education policy in particular as the most obvious manifestation of official overt language policy. As such English language education policy offers a lens through which to examine current language ideologies and the connections between language policy and practices. We place English within the wider linguistic landscape of Thailand in relation to Thai and other languages and explore the monolingual and monocultural ideologies that underpin much policy in this area. However, we also suggest that recent policy reflects an increasing awareness of multilingualism. Nonetheless, Thailand along with many other countries in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) has invested considerable resources and time in English, based on an underlying ideology that views English as the language of development and globalisation. At the same time, there has been persistent dissatisfaction with the perceived results of education practices as regards English proficiency levels. We argue that much of this supposedly low level of proficiency is due to inappropriate native speaker and Anglo-centric models of English which do not reflect the growing use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) globally and particularly as the official lingua franca of ASEAN. We also note the concerns that have been raised as regards the detrimental effects on other languages and areas of education resulting from an over-emphasis on English and the inequalities that this may reinforce.

Taking commercial English language tests is becoming common practice among young English learners in Japan. With a specific focus on the Jidō Eiken test, this study examines English language test-taking activity by analyzing textual data retrieved from three data sources. Jidō Eiken is found to represent a complex phenomenon involving many stakeholders, including very young learners of English who have not fully acquired their first language and adults who often initiate the test-taking. This test-taking phenomenon is embedded in a “testing culture” in which individuals’ ascribed social worth is based on test results, resulting in severe competition. In light of such findings, I discuss how Jidō Eiken might be used in the near future, and draw attention to the negative and unintended consequences of the potential scenarios with respect to English language education and language policy in Japan and other contexts in the Asia-Pacific region.

This chapter sets out to provide a descriptive, yet critical exploration of the complex nexus of history and policy of English language education (ELE) in Bangladesh. The intention is to combine ‘history’ and ‘policy’ in order to develop a wholesome understanding of ELE policy (ELEP) development process and its impacts in Bangladesh. In reviewing pertinent historical and education policy reports, the analysis identifies a series of influences, a clear indication of conflicts of ideologies deriving from macro-sociopolitics – the imposition of colonisation, the idealism of nationalism, and the emergence of globalisation in the process of developing ELEP in the country. The chapter then explores the outcomes of the tensions informing the current ELE landscape of Bangladesh. The chapter concludes by arguing for a reassessment of the present socio-political and economic context of Bangladesh so that a context-based, inclusive, and appropriate ELEP could be developed to reap and maximise the benefits of ELE in the longer term.

The English language education policy in Israel is shaped by the varying social meanings of the language throughout the country’s history. The chapter begins with a brief historical sketch that tracks the formation of these social meanings, from the British Mandate of Palestine, which imposed English as an official language (alongside Arabic and Hebrew), through the rise of Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel, where English was excluded and regarded as the language of British imperialism, to the current state of affairs, in which American influence is strong and English is regarded as an asset in a globalized world. Implications of the prolonged Israeli-Arab conflict on the status of English in Israel are also considered. Following the historical sketch, aspects of the English language in Israeli society and education are discussed, including issues of social and economic inequality, exposure to English in the mass media, and minority populations with particular needs and difficulties such as Israeli Palestinian (Arab) students, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and immigrants. We conclude the chapter by discussing ways in which the Israeli educational system can address the multiple social meanings, uses, and manifestations of the language, as well as the specific needs and capabilities of different types of learners.

The English language, in its local variations, is thus one element of a language ecology in which plurilingualism is a practical necessity for many, but in which language rights and loyalties have been a prominent political and policy issue, and associated recently with nearly three decades of armed conflict. The enactment of English language education policy not only further cemented the status of an already privileged class, and divisions between urban and rural Sri Lankans, it created ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils that contributed to post-independence turmoil. During the decade after independence in 1948, English language education policy became progressively caught up in political and ethnic rivalry. English was planned to remain the official language only until its phasing out by 1956, but it became clear English proficiency was continuing to act as gatekeeper to employment in government and business.