English Policy Research Articles

The Elephant in the Room: Is a Nationwide English Language Policy Needed in EFL Contexts? A Study on English Departments in Saudi Arabian Universities

Both English and Arabic are used in Saudi higher education institutions. Research on English language policies (ELPs) in the Saudi context is limited, highlighting the need for further examination of their implementation and nature. This study investigates the need to introduce a top-down ELP in the Saudi higher education context and the best way to apply this policy from the perspectives of instructors and administrators. A mixed-method approach to data collection was employed: official documentation was analyzed and an online survey, with an open-ended section for faculty members affiliated with Saudi higher education English departments across the country (n=210), was employed. Thereafter, semi-structured interviews were conducted with chairpersons and vice-chairs of university English departments (n=8). The findings suggest that although the majority of English departments recognize the importance of using ELPs, they have either not introduced them or have practiced them implicitly, with a high degree of flexibility that has led to these policies playing a marginal role in academia. The study concludes by encouraging policymakers to design a unified framework for ELPs with the involvement of representatives from university English departments. Other implications are also discussed.

Artist involvement in settings

This is the first in a series of three articles, which explores artist involvement in early years settings. In this article I turn to academic theory, English early years policy and the inspiring practices of the pre-schools of Reggio Emilia to gain insights into how artists are involved in and collaborate with those in early years settings.

English language textbooks for improving the cultural competence of EFL learners in Korea

The aim of this study is to understand how English textbooks in Korea reflect English education policies for improving Korean EFL learners’ cultural competence. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, this research adopted the method of analyzing English textbooks because English textbook is an important tool that most specifically reflects the English education policy of a country. This study analyzed 15 English textbooks currently used in S. Korea. This research analyzed nouns/pronouns related to a culture presented in the reading passages and cultural sections included in each lesson, and investigated cultural diversity and national identity included in English language textbooks. As a result, this study could find that South Korea included cultural diversity through English language textbooks so that Korean EFL learners can cultivate cultural competence and promote their cultural pride in western culture in order to realize the goal of strengthening global capabilities.

Investigating the Effects of Logical Intelligence-based Activities on the Speaking Ability of Iraqi Male and FemaleEFL Learners: A case Study of Kufa University

Following innovations in intelligence and its basic changes from a unitary concept (IQ) to a multi-dimensional concept, i.e. multiple intelligences and the urgency to design classroom activities based on the second language (L2) learners’ cognitive styles, this study examined the impact of Logical intelligence-based activities on the speaking ability of Iraqi EFL learners. The participants, after being screened as intermediate level students and those whose Logical intelligences were acceptable, comprised of 29 male and 31 female learners. These were divided into experimental and control groups. Data was gathered through one questionnaire and two speaking tests and were analyzed through independent samples t-tests. The analysis of the results revealed the significant effect of Logical intelligence-based activities on Iraqi EFL learners’ speaking ability. Furthermore, the results indicated that in the experimental group there was no significant difference between males and females regarding their speaking ability. The study concludes with suggestions for EFL teachers to consider the role of Logical intelligence (LI) in their classes and provide more effective activities to help students improve their English language speaking ability. Finally, pedagogical implications of the study on how such instruction can impact language education policy in English as a foreign language (EFL) context are mentioned.

Exploring English as a Foreign Language Instructors’ Self-Derived English Language Policies at Higher Education Level: A Case Study in the Saudi Context

Education in Saudi Arabia employs English as a foreign language. Several researchers have examined language policies governing English use. Current research suggests that official policies do not exist and self-English language policies (ELPs) are in place without any type of governance. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the nature of self-ELPs in Saudi Arabia and how the country can benefit from engendering institutional changes. An eight-item survey was conducted with an open-ended section and received responses from faculty members affiliated with English departments around the country (n= 213). Semi-structured interviews with eight chairpersons from different English departments were also organized. The findings reveal that the majority of faculty practice self-ELPs very frequently, in both official and non-official situations. It is concluded that English departments in the academia in Saudi Arabia are ready to enforce official ELPs and accept the idea of internationalizing their academic services worldwide.

The Concepts of Universal Monarchy and Balance of Power in Charles Davenant’s An Essay Upon The Ballance of Power (1701)

In the 17th century – especially in the period after the Peace of Westphalia (1648) – more and more treatises were published about the European balance of power, which clearly appeared against the concept of universal monarchy (monarchia universalis) by this time. The balance of power principle became a prominent element of 18th-century state politics and political journalism, as well as one of the key concepts of the emerging theory of interstate relations. The term became part of the official language of diplomacy with the Peace of Utrecht (1713), becoming part not only of political thought, but also of the official political practice, and developed into one of the fundamental milestones of English foreign policy and political thought in the 18th centuries. This paper analyses the contemporary incorporation of the balance of power concept into English political thought with the analysis of English economist and political writér Charles Davenant’s (1656–1714) An Essay Upon The Ballance of Power (1701). The analysis is trying to point out how the principle of balance of power began to play an increasingly important role in European great power politics as well as in English domestic and foreign policy in the decades before the Peace of Utrecht (1713), and how Charles Davenant’s political pamphlet can fit in this context.

제 7차 교육과정기의 한국 영어교육: 동아일보 기사 분석을 중심으로

This paper investigates the historical development of English education in South Korea during the Seventh National Curriculum period from 1997 to 2007. By focusing on Dong-An Ilbo newspaper articles published in Korea, the research questions are: 1) how did the sociocultural issues influence English education during this period? and 2) what are the implications of the social issues in this period to the current English education policies in Korea? A total of 446 articles were categorized into five major themes: surging interest in private education, an effort of consolidating public education, implementation of various English tests, overseas employment and emigration, and other factors. It was found that the national interest in English education closely reflected the desire to occupy a better social position in Korea. In this process, instrumental motivation in English education dominated during this period. Such instrumental desire first influenced private English education, and accordingly, public education endeavored to address these changes initiated by the private sector. However, since English education policy lacked systematic preparation, these efforts did not provide intended, positive results. This paper concludes with educational implementation and future research suggestions.

Making Sense of ‘Mastery’: Understandings of a Policy Term Among a Sample of Teachers in England

This paper considers the term ‘mastery’ as used in mathematics education across different times and locations. A case study from England is offered to show how these pedagogical approaches morph as they move from one territory to another, in the context of each territory’s history. The paper first examines English policy documents, research and published curricula for their use of the term. This suggests that ‘mastery’ in England has become associated with mathematics teaching practices used in high-performing territories such as Singapore and Shanghai (China). But, the efforts to transport approaches predominately from East Asian sources, against the background of an existing Western set of meanings for the term, have led to considerable inconsistency in interpretations and definitions of the ‘mastery approach’. A subsequent case study of eight teachers involved in developing mastery approaches in England explores how they make sense of ‘mastery’ in the context of these inconsistent messages. We suggest that this generates challenges for teachers tasked with implementing mastery approaches, with the danger that anything can be done in the name of mastery.

English language development specialists' views on emergency remote teaching

For teachers of English learners (ELs), especially English language development (ELD) specialists, navigating federal, state, and local policies guiding the content and language education of ELs is a regular part of their professional role. However, during the swift move to emergency remote teaching amid the COVID‐19 pandemic in early 2020, the policy structures that normally ensure equitable education for ELs were severely challenged. In the present study the researchers sought to understand how ELD specialists implemented and interpreted policy to uphold the educational rights of ELs during the emergency remote teaching. Four major themes emerged in the analysis: instructional and assessment decisions, the multifaceted role of an ELD specialist, commitment to equitable instruction, and multistakeholder accountability. Across all themes, ELD specialists expressed an equity‐focused orientation and the desire for more explicit policy and guidance to support ELs. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Corruption in international commercial arbitration—Domino effect in the energy industry, developing countries, and impact of English public policy

Abstract Corruption has relentlessly posed a major challenge to investors especially in developing countries. However, less attention has been focused on such developing countries from the standpoint of individuals who are indirectly affected by corrupt practices. The relationship between international commercial arbitration, the role of domestic courts and the enforcement of obligations has come under more scrutiny with large awards. Successful parties bring many award enforcement proceedings in England because of the invaluable assistance which English courts provide. Sometimes, there are allegations of corruption with respect to these awards that parties seek to enforce. In this context, English court decisions have significant implications for many parties around the world. However, the traditional narrow interpretation of public policy has come under increasing strain. This article examines how English courts have navigated the matrix of fraud, corruption and public policy-overlapping areas which parties exploit in international commercial arbitration. There is a major argument in favour of striking a balance between various institutional, governmental and people’s interests in dealing with difficult cases.

Teaching English Writing at the Secondary Level in Vietnam: Policy Intentions and Classroom Practice

The need for writing is undoubtedly pervasive in our lives, especially in modern societies of the 21st century. When examining the everyday world, one finds people engaged in many varieties of writing such as sending a text message, writing a covering letter or a scholarship application form, composing a research paper, etc. In short, writing not only is an integral part of our social and professional activities but also determines our life chances. The growth of English as a lingua franca makes English writing more important than ever before, which results in more attention paid to teaching English writing in non-English speaking contexts. This paper reports on part of the findings of a study that investigated practices of teaching English writing at the lower secondary level in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam. The research employed a qualitative, multi-case study approach. The findings revealed a significant gap between the English education policies of the Vietnamese government and classroom practice. The teaching of secondary English writing did not prepare learners well for the 21st century language skills as expected.

The wild blue yonder: a speculative glance at English education policy and practice in the mid-century

This article looks back in imagination from the mid-21st century at the development of education policy and practice in England's school system since 1944.

A Qualitative Exploration of Stakeholder Involvement in Decision-Making for Alcohol Treatment and Prevention Services.

The concept of providing individuals with a ‘voice’ via stakeholder involvement has been advocated within English health care policy for several decades. Stakeholder involvement encourages people affected by an issue to contribute to planning and decision making regarding treatment and care, inclusive of providers and recipients of care. This paper explores stakeholder involvement in the design and delivery of public health alcohol services. A qualitative case study approach was adopted, including in-depth interviews with 11 alcohol commissioners, 10 alcohol service providers and 6 general practitioners plus three facilitated focus groups with 31 alcohol service users. Findings show that most participants were aware of, and could name, various methods of stakeholder involvement that they had engaged with; however, the extent and impact of stakeholder involvement in decision making are not transparent. It is essential that a deeper understanding is generated of the different roles that stakeholders can play within the entire decision-making process to maximise its utility.

The ‘everywhere and nowhere’ English language policy in Queensland government schools: a license for commercialisation

ABSTRACT The paper explores the policy logics of privatisation through service provision for students with English as an Additional language or dialect (EAL/D) in the state education system of Queensland, Australia. In the context of EAL/D, specifically targeted policy has been subsumed by a broader umbrella or meta-policy of inclusion, whilst at the same time, funding support for EAL/D learners is substantial. The devolution of EAL/D support to individual schools through autonomous targeted funding results in policy ‘everywhere’, distributed across broad portfolios dedicated to ensuring schools provide quality education services for all learners, but also ‘nowhere’, lacking systemic support and detail on how inclusion should be enacted for EAL/D and with no accountability placed on schools to demonstrate that they are addressing EAL/D learner needs. The co-location of EAL/D policy with a broad systemic policy of inclusion, the absence of systemic professional support, combined with devolution to school sites has had real effects on the policy in practice. The analysis demonstrates there is the potential opening of EAL/D provision to market forces at school sites, where the private sector can potentially sell commercial ‘solutions’ directly to schools, which have greater autonomy over one-line budgets.

Japanese school administrators\u2019 experiences after the implementation of the Top Global University Project language policy

As a result of globalisation, many higher education institutions in Japan have made changes to their curriculum and administrative system to attract international students. The Japanese government has also carried out different policies to support universities across the country and accelerate their internationalisation process. The study focuses on the implementation of the 2014 Top Global University Project (TGUP) in 37 Japanese higher education institutions. School administrators were interviewed in relation to their experiences with policy implementation. After coding and analysing the interview data, three themes were selected for discussion a) the financial burden; b) the English policy for staff; and c) policy transmission within an institution. Bernstein’s notion of the pedagogic device was employed to analyse school administrators’ discourses concerning the policy. Findings revealed how the process of implementation has taken place and the issues affecting its proper execution. The study concludes that top-down relations of power and control, hierarchies, people’s ideologies, and management culture affect and delay the internationalisation process of higher education.

An ethnographic study on the “Use of English Language by the Students of Grade nine” in a Private Boarding School of Chitwan

English in Nepal is generally believed to be used only for international communication. The medium of instruction in private boarding schools is English & in most public schools are also practicing English medium classes. Most of the private schools have applied compulsory English language policy. English continues to play a crucial role in the communication among the students in those schools. This study has made an attempt to analyse the reason behind adopting compulsory English language policy and also tried to explore the trend of following the language policy by the students of grade nine. The study concludes that parents in particular and the society as a whole is responsible for the compulsory English language policy and the students of grade nine do not follow the school policy for exercising the freedom.

English use policy and additional support for bilingual learners in Singapore

The aim of this essay is to describe and critically review the English Use policy in Singapore towards bilingual learners, followed by a case study a Vietnam girl in an English-medium school. The further intention of Singaporean official achieving “English-knowing bilingualism” will be discussed. Additionally, this essay makes recommendations to the teaching and learning methods adopted by the bilingual school in Singapore to the diagnosis and support of SEN students. In this essay, SEN students in Singapore will be focused on bilingual learners causing concern. The aim of this essay is to give a critical review of the English Use policy in Singapore and give some suggestions towards the practice in Singapore and other Asian countries for those bilingual learners causing concern.

The fringe is the centre: Racism, pseudoscience and authoritarianism in the dominant English education policy network

The term ‘chumocracy’ has been used to describe a tendency within the UK's Conservative government to appoint friends and allies to key public positions; this image seriously underestimates the scale and influence of networks that shape policy and supply individuals to key roles. This paper maps networks that converge around conservative and sometimes extreme views on race and education. These networks include media figures, academics, public officials and a range of campaigning organisations. They are characterized by an authoritarian ideology, including hereditarian and pseudoscientific beliefs, that views Black and working-class populations as unstable and threatening. They shape policies that seek to silence critical debate about structural racism, while promoting an education characterised by intensified testing, selection, curricular control and strict discipline.

An Exploration of Nonnative English Speaking (NNES) EFL Teachers’ Perceived Language Proficiency and Self-efficacy in an off-Campus English Language Training Institutionin in Xiamen

In the realm of education, teachers’ perceptions or beliefs have been one of the main topics that researchers have focused on over the past four decades (Ghasemboland & Hashim, 2013). For nonnative English speaking teachers, level of English proficiency is often a matter of concern and it has close relationship with their beliefs about teaching abilities, which is known as self-efficacy (Faez, Karas & Uchihara, 2021). This study aims to explore the nonnative English speaking (NNES) EFL teachers’ perceived English proficiency and its impact on their self-efficacy of teaching in an off-campus English training institution in Xiamen, a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, China. The institution has an English only policy for both teachers and students to use English at all times, in order to create an English immersion environment for students. Teachers’ special needs for language training were also interviwed as well. Semi-structured face-to-face individual interview is the only method implemented in this study, in which the interview questions were designed drawing on prior research and the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES; Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). The results showed that the teachers’s self-efficacy was positively correlated with their self-perceived English proficiency, which concurs with the previous studies, and that teachers haves strong needs for development in language profiency to improve their slef-efficacy of teaching.

Languages in Education: A Critical Ethnography of a Micro-level Policy

This article explores the language policy in education (henceforth, LPE) at the local level. Adopting the critical ethnography study for 6 months at Vyas Municipality, I reveal what ideological awareness the policymakers and arbiters have on LPE and how do they interpret and appropriate it in multilingual school setting. The information collected through in-depth interviews, FGD, participant observation, and document reviews have been analyzed, interpreted, and triangulated critically. The study shows three major findings regarding LPE in local government; first, LPE has created a public debate and ideological discrepancy in multilingual school contexts; the second, the local LPE has diverse interpretation, appropriation, and practices; and the last, the English language policy (ELP) appears as a ‘black hole’, which has been gradually swallowing other local and indigenous languages. However, the language policymakers and arbiters have been gradually raising critical awareness for appropriate LPE and its practices that seems a positive advancement at the local level.