Policies on minimum English language requirements in UK higher education, 1989-2021

Abstract

ABSTRACT English language proficiency has long been recognised as important to the academic success of non-native English-speaking international students through the setting of minimum English language requirements as a condition of entry to Anglophone universities. The present study provides a historical account of the evolution in language entry standard setting in UK higher education from 1989 to 2021 from supply side, language policy perspectives. The primary minimum language entry policies from a range of micro, meso, and macro actors are contextualised within the broader political ideologies of the time, their rationale explained, and impact on higher education described. The trend of minimum standard setting from institutional self-regulation to government intervention and scrutiny underlies the study. Broadly, three periods of policymaking are delineated: 1) 1989–98, the era of institutional autonomy within a period of small-scale overseas student participation, 2) 1999–2008, the failure of minimum standard self-regulation unleashed by the economic imperative instilled by the Labour Government’s Prime Minister Initiatives, and 3) the introduction of government regulation from 2009 in the form of the CEFR B2 minimum standard, ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ status, and Secure English Language Testing.