English Fever Research Articles

Failing interventions to harness English fever infiltrating early childhood education in South Korea: politics of distraction

ABSTRACT As English is recognised as an influential language in the globalised world and social and economic capital for individuals, Koreans put tremendous effort and financial resources into learning English, instigating a social malady called ‘English fever.’ The fever has recently infiltrated early childhood education, leading to the expansion of exorbitant, half-day English immersion programmes for preschoolers, called English-medium kindergartens (EKs). Despite the recent policies to minimise the influence of English in Early Childhood English education and enhance students’ well-being and whole-person development, English fever is still prevalent, causing detrimental effects on children. Using the notion of politics of distraction and the ethics in language planning and policy as theoretical and analytical frameworks, this paper examines how and why the education policy fails to address English fever. Drawing on a qualitative case study at three EKs, this study reveals the perceptions, dynamics and processes in early childhood English education that are disregarded and remain invisible in relevant policies. The study sheds light on the harm of distractive policy, asking policy researchers and designers to refocus their effort on what truly matters, through integrating language ethics into policymaking, thus, refocusing on children's holistic development and emotional well-being.

Attitudes of Kurdish university students towards the English language, English language education policies, and English language learning purposes

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.

Winter is coming? University teachers' and students' views on the value of learning English in China

AbstractChina released two new policies in 2021, the ‘double reduction’ and a Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination) regulation, which have significantly impacted English learning and Languages other than English (LOTEs) learning respectively. This has intensified the existing dispute over ‘English fever’ and made people question whether the ‘winter’ of English education in China has come. In this article, findings from a multiple‐case study exploring teachers' and students' opinions on the value of English learning in Chinese higher education are discussed under the circumstances of such new policies. This study employs the Bourdieusian approach and involves English major, non‐English major learners as well as their teachers in Yunnan and Shanghai, two socio‐economically different areas, to see diversity. The participants reported a cooling down of the ‘English fever’ in the universities and the wider society, yet an increasing demand for a higher level of English proficiency in particular industries or disciplines. The findings also demonstrate the tension between the standardised national curriculum and regionally different language needs along with the influence of an incoherent national curricula for different educational stages regarding foreign language education. This paper concludes with suggestions to modify the curriculum and teaching practices for multilingual and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) education in China as well as other English as a Foreign Language contexts. Context and implications Rationale for this study The ‘double reduction’ and the new Gaokao regulation have a top‐down effect on English learning and the learning of LOTEs in China, while individual stakeholders' opinions have drawn little attention. Why the new findings matter This study provides a timely insight into English teachers' and learners' changes in thinking against the backdrop of recent policy changes. Implications for English teachers and policy makers This research revealed a trend away from the English‐only approach towards multilingual learning along with an increasing demand for ESP teaching and learning. English teachers can draw on the findings to design ESP pedagogical activities to accommodate their students' demands. This study also presents a refreshing new perspective on the curriculum by identifying the inconsistency in the national curriculum about foreign language subjects and the tension between the standardised national curriculum and regionally different language needs. Policy makers are suggested to use the findings to improve the curriculum for the greater continuity of language learning and the greater satisfaction of learners' demands.

Crazy English: Nation Strengthening and the Changing Politics of Neoliberal Selfhood in Reform-Era China

Abstract Since the late 1990s, China has experienced an explosion of popular interest in English language study. This nationwide “English fever” reflects how, with the global spread of neoliberal doctrines that were gradually adopted by Chinese governments, English was naturalized as the language of competitiveness and entrepreneurialism. While there is a growing body of literature examining the English-learning craze as a facet of the transnational neoliberalization processes, this anthropological study focuses on the frictions generated in the encounter of English, conceived as a neoliberal technology of the self, with the Chinese nation-state. It examines the understudied phenomenon of Crazy English, a language-teaching enterprise that received unprecedented state patronage among such edu-businesses in the decade of 1998–2008. Conceptualizing Crazy English as a self-cultivation method provides insights into how English study in turn-of-the-century China embodied tensions between key values that characterized the state's project of desirable citizenship: entrepreneurialism and patriotism. Through the idealization and promotion of the new exemplary model of the “wolf entrepreneur,” Chinese state agents, edu-entrepreneurs, and citizen-learners sought to reconcile their desires to simultaneously participate in neoliberal globalization and protect their cultural identities and national interests.

English Fever in Nepalese Education System

This research paper analyses the role and attitude of English and other languages in Nepal. It also sheds light on how the English language is being used in areas such as education, media and business. Nepal is a country rich in cultural and linguistic diversity. In this study, the lifestyle of the user, the current and political situation of the country, use of science and technology, politics, education and transportation have played a major role in the language use in Nepal. Over the last 50 - 60 years, the influence of English as a foreign language in the Nepalese education system has been increasing. The attraction of English has increased in such a way that it has become like a tradition to learn English before own mother tongue. Not only in school but parents are also eager to teach English to their children from home. Parents are constantly trying to improve their child’s English. Due to these elements, the world is shrinking or narrowing day by day. Nepal has not been able to remain untouched by this kind of problem. People seem to be motivated to learn English for economic, social, political, international relations and other benefits. Therefore, everyone is trying to enable their children by sending them to English medium schools. The fact that reading only in English medium has affected the learning of the local language has been brought out from this educational research. The research sought to highlight the increasing use of English language teaching in Nepal, the state of the language, language change due to the language policy of the Government of Nepal, and the possibility of languages dying due to language change. Textbooks, medium of examination, question papers, giving a lot of opportunities to students who know English have drawn everyone towards English. Multilingualism, language contact and language change are the fundamental experiences in Nepal. This paper is concerned with the language changing forms in Nepalese context based on Fishman’s (1991) Reversing Language Shift (RLS). This paper presents the problems, solutions and suggestions in four different sections. In the first section, the early stages of English education in Nepal are discussed. In the second section, the influence of foreign languages on the original language and culture is discussed. Third, the fact that English influence has increased in important places like available textbooks, exams and question papers, schools, offices etc. is presented in graphs and bars. The final section includes research findings, solutions, and recommendation.

Parentocracy within meritocracy: parental perspective on lecture-style English private tutoring in Hong Kong

The shift from meritocracy to parentocracy in contemporary societies has resulted in a situation where children’s educational success increasingly depends on parents’ wealth and wishes rather than children’s ability and efforts. Better-off parents can afford extra learning activities to increase children’s competitive edge. This phenomenon is fuelled by ‘English fever’ in many non-English-speaking contexts, driving parents to subscribe to English private tutoring (EPT), or shadow education, for children. This paper reports on the findings from a larger year-long study on lecture-style EPT involving Hong Kong secondary students and their parents, schoolteachers and tutors. With a focus on the parental perspective, it expands the notion of parentocracy to EPT with qualitative empirical evidence from 14 parents. The findings unveil parents’ complex, ambivalent and contradictory attitudes toward EPT. These parents played a supporting rather than a dominant role in children’s education at the senior secondary stage. Despite their aspirations for their children, they did not have high expectations on the returns from their ‘investment’ in EPT because they believed children’s success ultimately depended on their own ability and efforts. This study reveals the subordinating role of parentocracy in a meritocratic curriculum where academic success is largely determined by results in high-stakes examinations.

English fever and coffee: Transient cosmopolitanism and the rising cost of distinction

This article examines the intersection of English and coffee in Seoul, South Korea, in order to document how distinction (ala Bourdieu, 1984/2008) functions under the prevailing conditions of neoliberalism. A mere two decades after Starbucks first opened in Korea, high-end specialty coffee shops proliferate. Drawing on photographs of the exteriors, interiors, and menus from 89 coffee shops in the trendy Seongsu-dong neighborhood in Seoul, we examine how coffee shops deploy English (in addition to or instead of Korean) in their signage, and how this deployment differs by type of coffee shop. We argue that English and coffee interact in a complex process of dual distinction. The coffee shops brand themselves as cosmopolitan and simultaneously offer the customers the distinction of demonstrating themselves knowledgeable about/proficient in both coffee and English. We explain this dual distinction in terms of the extreme competitiveness occasioned by neoliberalism in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. We conclude by suggesting the notion of “transient cosmopolitanism” as a way to understand specialty coffee shops, which we argue are crucial sites for understanding the contemporary subjectivities occasioned by the dominance of neoliberalism.

English fever: educational policies in globalised Korea, 1981–2018

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between education policy and the trajectory of English fever in Korea. English fever refers to a fervent desire to become proficient in English at almost any cost. English fever started with governments’ globalisation efforts in the 1980s and further intensified in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Drawing on policy enactment theory and analysing policy documents, this paper shows how English fever, once having taken root in Korean society, defied all policy measures to tackle it. The English language having a close relationship with social equity, these policies pursued an additional aim of increasing educational equity for students from low-income families. Their impact, however, proved minimal, partly due to educational stakeholders’ resistance. In order to relieve pressure on students, presidents Pak Geun-hye and Mun Jae-in tried to decrease the strong emphasis on English in curricula during the last decade.

An emerging trend in English education in Korea: ‘Maternal English education’ (eommapyo yeongeo)

Korean parents are strongly committed to investing time, effort, and money into improving their children's English competence in order to maximize their human capital in the era of globalization, a phenomenon often referred to as ‘English fever’ (Park, 2009). However, because of the Korean socio-economic structure, there is considerable disparity among families in the financial investment they can afford. Therefore, in the educational privileges and especially English learning support that Korean children receive is an inequity often overlooked by the majority of Koreans. One response to this issue is the newly emerging movement among Korean mothers called ‘maternal English education’ (eommapyo yeongeo), which has become a widely used term throughout the country.

English fever and American dreams

The current paper examines how English has evolved to become valued language capital in South Korea (henceforth ‘Korea’). Since the late 20th century, Korea has experienced the phenomenon of ‘English fever’, which refers to the frenetic and at times over-zealous pursuit of English-language proficiency across Korean society (J. S. Y. Park, 2009). Researchers have examined ‘English fever’ through various prisms, including education (Park & Abelmann, 2004; J. K. Park, 2009), neoliberalism (Piller & Cho, 2013; Cho, 2015; Lee, 2016), and local socio-politics (Shim & Park, 2008). Rarely has the phenomenon been approached from a historical point of view. Considering the fact that a historical examination of language can provide critical insights into the local processes through which distinctive ideologies of language have been shaped and popularized (Cho, 2017), this paper traces the historical evolution of English in Korean society by focusing on three key periods, i.e. Japanese colonization (1910–1945); the post-independence period and modernization (1945–1980); and military dictatorship and globalization (1980-present). Drawing on the theoretical framework of global centre-periphery divisions embedded in Orientalism (Said, 1979), the analysis focuses specifically on the influence of the United States on the rise of English in Korea. In doing so, I show that ‘English fever’ is not a recent phenomenon but has its roots in historicity through which the seeds for the ongoing phenomenon of ‘English fever’ were planted in Korean society.

Peace Corps English Program and Language Planning in Korea : 1966-1981

Based on the theoretical framework of language planning, this paper unpacked aspects of language ideology in the Peace Corps/Korea program between 1966 and 1981 using a mixed method. It explored why and how the Peace Corps participated in committing to English program in general and communicative/spoken English in particular in terms of three types of language planning: status planning, acquisition planning and corpus planning. Though the Korean government and the Peace Corps agreed upon the general direction of the program in Korea, it was unveiled that they put more emphasis on status planning than acquisition planning or corpus planning depending on their own different agendas of English education. Despite their different perspectives on English, it was indeed true that English indexed modernization as one of the main goals of status planning. The overall language planning implemented by the Peace Corps (re)generated several English language ideologies, which later laid the groundwork for the societal phenomenon in Korea referred to as English Fever. (University of Seoul)

A reflection on South Korea’s broadband success

Drawing on the extant literature on information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Korea, this essay identifies and discusses three factors that have contributed to Korea’s broadband achievements. The first factor is the Korean state’s long-term objectives, including policy principles. The second is regulatory decisions, including late privatization. The third factor is unique attributes of Korea, including population density and the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. The essay also discusses Korea’s ICT successes alongside its ‘English Fever’.

English, gatekeeping, and Mandarin: the future of language learning in South Korea

ABSTRACT While South Korea’s ‘English fever’ has long been the focus of popular and scholarly interest, Chinese has been increasing in popularity in South Korea, concomitant with the rise of China in the global economy. It has even been suggested that Chinese might in the future challenge the dominance of English in South Korea. Drawing on a wide range of government, popular and scholarly discourse, supported by interviews, this article considers the conditions under which Chinese might challenge English in South Korea. Specifically, this article pushes back against the idea that English fever is a result of international forces (globalization) alone, and makes the case that in order to supplant English in South Korea, Chinese would have to usurp the important intranational (domestic) functions of gatekeeping/credentialing that English plays within Korean society at present. The paper concludes by suggesting that Chinese may be more likely to be learned in addition to English rather than replacing English.

Thailand’s ‘English fever’, migrant teachers and cosmopolitan aspirations in an interconnected Asia

ABSTRACTOver the past decade, growing numbers of foreign-born English speakers from the Global South have begun migrating to Thailand to seek work as teachers in the region’s booming Teaching English as a Foreign Language industry. As citizens of so-called outer circle English-speaking countries (former British and American colonies in Asia and Africa), these migrants enter the highly competitive and racially stratified Asian Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages labor market at a significant disadvantage. In this paper I examine the growing demand for English education in Thailand and argue that it is best understood through an analysis of regional competition in a globally ascendant ‘Asia’. Government responses have been marked by shifting and contradictory entry and employment requirements, resulting in uncertainty for foreigners seeking work as teachers in Thailand. However, this same uncertainty enables non-Western teachers to utilize Thailand as a site for migration and employment in ways not possible in other parts of the region.

La fiebre en el niño: una mirada reflexiva a las prácticas de cuidado

Objetivo: Realizar un análisis crítico-reflexivo de las prácticas rutinarias de los profesionales de enfermería y de los cuidadores familiares en el cuidado del niño con fiebre, a fin de incentivar un cuidado basado en evidencia científica que asegure el bienestar infantil.Síntesis de contenido: Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de artículos científicos publicados entre los años 2007 y 2017, en las bases de datos ebscohost, ScienceDirect, medline, PubMed, cinahl, Web of Science y cuiden®, para lo cual se utilizaron los descriptores y sus combinaciones en español, portugués e inglés Fiebre; Cuidadores; Niño. Se elaboró un compendio de 45 artículos seleccionados y analizados que contenía las prácticas de cuidado con convergencias, divergencias y complementariedades.Los resultados se agruparon en los siguientes cinco temas: Concepción histórica de la fiebre; La fiebrefobia:una concepción en las actuales prácticas de cuidado; El baño de esponja:una práctica ancestral controvertida; El uso de antipiréticos: una rutina en contravía de la salud y la vidade los niños; La fiebre: en busca de una mirada desde su beneficio.Conclusiones: La concepción de la fiebre infantil centrada en el miedo y en el daño permanece. Las acciones de cuidado más comunes, como el baño de esponja y el uso/abuso de antipiréticos, son cuestionadas desde la evidencia científica, demostrando los efectos deletéreos que producen en la salud del niño. El cuidado del niño, después de una evaluación individualizada, deberá enfocarse en el confort, en un ambiente fresco y tranquilo y en el aumento de la ingesta de líquidos para evitar la deshidratación u otras complicaciones.

Compound Voids and Unproductive Entrepreneurship: The Rise of the “English Fever” in China

:China has emerged as an economic power due, in part, to government policies that opened China to the world and created a modern consumer culture. One of these policies is the advancement of English-language education, including private providers, which has spawned the “English Fever” phenomenon. We use the unique context of the private English-language education industry in China to illustrate the concept of “compound (institutional) voids” and their relationship to unproductive entrepreneurship. Our contribution is in untangling some of the complexities related to institutional relationships, and in describing how compound voids increase the likelihood of rent-seeking behavior.

Globalization and Language Ownership with Reference to English in Korea

Duality characterized by globalization and nationalism emerges from the literature on English education in Korea. One is the recognition of the role of English as a global language. Teaching English is reinforced through education policies and the national curricula. According to recent developments in Asian countries, policies and curricula were renovated in order to promote language ability in official institutions. On the other hand, attitude and ideology studies indicated the main view on English in relation with nationalism. Distinction between native and non-native varieties of English is clearly cut among Koreans. In addition, Koreans showed strong preference for native model. Cultural values on formality encourage English fever in Korea, too. In sum, need to develop linguistic competence has been noted by policy makers and already put into practices. Here, English is taken as the language associated with inner circle nations. The interest of the study is to examines how such duality affects education and curricula. For arguments, the study focuses on teaching culture in English education and investigates the connection between awareness and culture learning. Review of the previous studies on analysis of textbooks raised the question whose culture should be taught presenting imposition on learners as well as teachers. English associated with nations turns out to be obstacles for teachers and learners for overloaded tasks and inappropriate positions

‘Go Away, Mute English!’ Selling English in Web Advertising

Triggered by the increasing use of the Internet, the ‘English learning boom’ and ‘English fever’ in South Korea, web advertising is used by English language institutes as one of the most popular modalities of marketing to compete in the highly competitive domestic English-language teaching market. This study examines 20 randomly selected web-advertising texts about English language institutes and programmes in South Korea. The findings of the study suggest that the concept of ‘global’ is commonly incorporated into cyber marketing materials, recurring as the main rationale for why Koreans need to study English. Native-speaker favouritism is also unequivocally present in instructional staff-related ads, highlighting the importance of learning ‘authentic’ English. This study argues that English is used not only as a means of advertising, but also the product itself, performing a dual purpose in web marketing for English language teaching in contemporary South Korea.

Sleepless in Seoul: Neoliberalism, English fever, and linguistic insecurity among Korean interpreters

AbstractThis article examines the socially constructed nature of significant linguistic insecurity with regard to the English language in Korean society as informed by neoliberalism. It specifically explores how linguistic insecurity leads to the pursuit of linguistic perfectionism under the popular discourse of neoliberal personhood. Participants are English-Korean translators and interpreters who spent extended periods of their youth abroad in English immersion contexts. Informants’ narratives trace their linguistic journeys from linguistic adjustment overseas to readjustment and career decisions back home. This study examines their experiences at school and work, with a particular focus on their relationships with non-returnees. The findings reveal that in contrast to the commonly-held beliefs that returnees are competent and confident speakers of English, they suffer from anxieties related to unrealistically high “native-like” expectations of their English back home. Their career choice can be traced to a strong belief in the ideals of neoliberal personhood, through which they hope to transform themselves for social recognition. This, however, remains elusive due to heightened competition over English against an ever-rising bar. The article concludes that the current state represents a “no-win” situation, in which linguistic insecurity and perfectionism continue to be reinforced in neoliberal discourses of individual accountability.

Language Travels and Global Aspirations of Korean Youth

The so-called English fever and the international mobility of South Korean youth are linked to the popular pursuit of English-language education in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. From the perspective of young overseas travelers, these are short-term, semistructured “international experiences” beyond mere language training, and they are widely perceived as necessary for enhancing one's value and career prospects in the competitive job market back home. Based on an in-depth study of temporary Korean residents in Vancouver, this article explores the everyday experiences and subjective transformations produced by English-language travel overseas. Drawing upon surveys, interviews, and focus groups, the authors find that temporary sojourns to English-speaking destinations such as Vancouver represent more than rational, instrumental strategies to enhance one's future employability and socioeconomic advancement. They constitute a critical evaluative terrain in which Korean youth assess and reassess their mobility strategies, life trajectories, and identities in the context of Korea's seemingly relentless pursuit of individual and national advancement in an economically and racially stratified world order. In this sense, overseas language travels operate as spaces that both reinscribe as well as destabilize existing social hierarchies along race, class, and nation.