Foreign Language Education Policy Research Articles

English Language Policy in Cyprus under the British Empire Period and it is Impact on Current Sustainable Education Policies

In this research, the foreign language education policy of Cyprus, which was under British rule between 1878 and 1960, with a special reference to the English Language and its reflection on the present day were examined. The study on the period in question is based on a qualitative analysis of British archival documents and domestic sources. As the history of Cyprus, it is still possible to see especially traces of the education policy formulated by the British who ruled the island in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early years, relatively minor attempts at colonialism were made compared to other British colonies, as the British gave the colonies the autonomy to govern their own languages and educational systems. The influence of the colonial power’s language, particularly in the Cypriot education system, started to be noticed after the 1930s when the political agenda changed and the British attitude changed. As a result, during the colonial period of the United Kingdom in Cyprus, the British tried to bring the education of the society, which was obtained as a result of education, to a common point by gathering it in a central structure.

A Review on Foreign Language Education Policies in China from 1949 to 2023

A Review on Foreign Language Education Policies in China from 1949 to 2023

European foreign language policies, national language testing and ambivalence towards the introduction of the logics of standardisation

Educational policies and priorities shaped at the supranational level by European and global agencies and players impact the processes of national policymaking in complex ways. In this study, recontextualisations of European foreign language education and language assessment policies in the Greek policy and pedagogical contexts are examined. Specifically, the politics of foreign language education and assessment are explored with a focus on English language teaching in public schools and the expected introduction of the Greek National Certificate of Language Proficiency (known as KPG) which is a state-led testing system formed by adopting the six-level scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. Drawing on Bernstein’s theory of symbolic control and pedagogic discourse, it is shown that extensive recontextualisations of European (and global) discourses on English language teaching and assessment in the Greek context project competency and outcome-based curricula and learning as the desirable pedagogic model. Furthermore, attempts to introduce certification procedures in public schools derive from market-driven discourses that sanction a standardised system of student performance while the implications of standardisation for schools, teachers and students alike are downplayed.

The Changes of Foreign Language Education Policies in Chinese Higher Education From 1949 To 1977

Since the reconstruction of China after the serious destruction caused by long-lasting wars, many aspects of Chinese society are influenced greatly including the education aspect. Specifically, the foreign language education field is also under great impact of many factors in terms of political and diplomatic aspects. This paper reviews the foreign language education policies (FLEP) in Chinese higher education at the beginning of the foundation of new China. This review is divided into four parts: the explanation of the study’s background and significance, an introduction of theoretical basis, a detailed inspection of specific foreign language education policies and some influencing factors, followed by some conclusions including some possible suggestions from the previous analysis and review. From the review of former studies and the analysis of some specific FLEP, an overall conclusion will be drawn. FLEP in Chinese higher education has not been researched in a comprehensive way, especially in the first three decades. This review aims to detect the changing trend of FLEP in the given period and some factors from both domestic and international environments, which hopes to offer some inspiration to the related subjects.

Beliefs & Investment of Undergraduate Students Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language

Considering the global and economic need for foreign language interactions, various educational institutes have incorporated foreign language teaching (FLT) into the curriculum. The languages offered include German, Arabic, Chinese, and Turkish (recently). To reconnoiter different aspects of Chinese language learning in Pakistan, research has been conducted in the context (see for example, Khan et al, 2023 and Aftab et al, 2022). However, the topical surge in learning Turkish as a foreign language (TFL) resulting from the cultural exchange programs, scholarship opportunities, Turkish dramas broadcast in Pakistan, and most significantly the strong Pak-Turk relationships have led education institutions to offer TFL at the undergraduate level. To explore the beliefs, imagined identity, and investment (Norton, 2001) of undergraduate students for TFL, a qualitative study was conducted. Since, the study probed into the beliefs, imagined identities, and investment of the students, narrative inquiries fit the objectives of the research. 4 participants volunteered to retell their experiences cogitating the temporality, sociality, and spatiality of the experience. The findings show that learners enrolled in the TFL course believed and imagined getting a better job and business opportunities, acting as a translator and diplomat with proficiency in foreign language. The learners imagined exploring educational opportunities for scholarships and higher studies in the future. Additionally, TFL learners foresee the Turkish language as a means of cultural and social identity, learning for tourism, and socialization with natives. The participants manifested these beliefs to invest in their imagined identities as TFL for professional identity, multilingual identity, and social identity. TFL beliefs and investment provide insights into learners’ perspectives and their future imagined identity in the broader scope of shifting foreign language education policy.

Development of International Chinese Language Education in Iran: An Analysis in the Context of Iran’s Foreign Language Policy Characteristics

This paper focuses on examining the relevant policies concerning Chinese language education within Iran’s foreign language education policy framework from the perspective of its historical context. By analyzing the characteristics of Iran’s foreign language policy and the current situation of Chinese language teaching in Iran, this paper studies the future development of international Chinese language education in Iran.

Competence in multiple foreign languages as cultural capital in family language policy: Parents’ perceptions

AbstractFamily language policy for children's foreign language learning has emerged as an important topic for research on language education policy and second language learning in general. Whilst there is no shortage of studies that examine how parents engage in the formation and transformation of family foreign language education policies, little has been known as to how parents perceive the value of multilingual competence which influences their decisions about how their children's foreign language learning should be planned and resourced. Drawing on Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, this multiple‐case study explored the perceptions of the parents from 16 middle‐class families with children aged 6–14 in Shanghai via interviews (with their children as well) and textual data. Data analysis reveals that parents perceived the language‐derived cultural capital as measured by its exchangeable social benefits at present or in the future. Their perceptions were thus divided as manifested in the three distinctive approaches they took to conceptualize their children's competence in multiple foreign languages as cultural capital, that is, the extra‐point view (language competence as advantage), immediate deficiency view (lack of such competence as immediate disadvantage), and prospective deficiency view (lack of competence as disadvantage in a future scenario).

Future Scenarios for English Language Education in the Context of Foreign Language Education Policies in Cyprus from Past to Present

Bu araştırmanın amacı, geçmişte Birleşik Krallık hakimiyeti altında olan Kıbrıs’tan başlayarak 
 İngiliz dili eğitimine yönelik bugüne kadar izlenen yabancı dil eğitim politikalarını kapsamlı bir 
 biçimde analiz ederek, ‘Eğitimin Geleceğine Dönüş’ isimli OECD çalışmasında ortaya konulan 
 dört farklı gelecek senaryosu referans alınarak Kıbrıs’taki İngilizce eğitiminin olası geleceğinin 
 resmini çizmektir. Bu kapsamda geçmişten günümüze Kıbrıs Adası’ndaki İngilizce öğretimi 
 üzerine yapılan araştırmalar ve İngiliz arşiv belgeleri ile OECD’nin olası senaryolarını içeren 
 raporunun nitel analizi bağlamında bir doküman incelemesi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgularda öne 
 çıkan sonuçlar eşliğinde, İngilizcenin KKTC’deki geleceğine yönelik potansiyel senaryolar 
 eğitime katılım ve eğitimde geçirilen sürelerin artırılması, yaygın eğitim süreçlerinin de insan 
 yaşamında daha fazla yer bulması, öğretmenlerin rollerinin kritik bir şekilde dönüşüme maruz 
 kalması, yerel yönetimlerin yetki alanlarının genişlemesi gibi başlıca eylemler etrafında 
 değerlendirilmektedir. Mevcut eylemlerden yola çıkarak farklı gelecek senaryoları tanımlamak, 
 eğitim sistemi üzerinde ne gibi etkileri olabileceğini araştırmak ve olası politika çıkarımlarını 
 belirlemek KKTC'deki İngilizce eğitimin geleceği için fayda sağlayabilmektedir.

The Development and Enlightenment of Foreign Language Education Policy of Early 16 Years After the Founding of the People's Republic of China

Since the founding of China in 1949, policies in foreign languages have undergone earth-shaking changes, as well as continuous innovation and development. Until the Cultural Revolution happened in 1966, foreign language education suffered a lot of trauma, and foreign language education policy also stopped. Based on the previous studies of foreign language education policies in this period, this paper expounds on the development and changes in foreign language education policies in the past 16 years through the historical context. It found that people also play an enlightening role in the formulation of foreign language education policies in terms of politics, compulsory education and the international environment. The change and improvement of foreign language education policy during this period can be divided into two stages: the period of 1949-1957 when Russian was the main language, supplemented by English, and the period of 1958-1965 when English was the main language, and the period of Russian development. People can have a clearer understanding of the changes in education in foreign language policies.

A Review of Pre-university English Language Education Policies in China 2011-2022

Chinese foreign language education policies (FLEPs) are changing during years of development in aspects of national planning, education, and policy formulation. And the most widely acknowledged foreign language in China is English. This paper critically reviews English language education planning (ELEP) in China under the historical context from 2011 to 2022. The ELEP developments are related to the modern era's economic, ideological, and political changes. At the institutional level, English is considered without controversy as a universal language that promotes national development and offers personal opportunity. However, the English-as-threat notion has been repetitively mentioned in the history of policy development. Examining the political alterations shows that even with doubts and concerns, providing pre-university students with English language education is inevitably strategic. And from reviewing a series of officially published documents and relevant research reports, this study ends with the implications for both English learners and educators in China. As the instrumental role of English has remained essentially unchanged, the concept that teaching language with its culture should be emphasized and encouraged in relation to English teaching and learning standards. Learning English is not only about learning a foreign language, it also involves learning a fresh way of thinking.

Retrospective and Prospective Analysis of Chinese Foreign Language Education Policies (1949-2018)

Retrospective and Prospective Analysis of Chinese Foreign Language Education Policies (1949-2018)

Native-speakerism in China: An Investigation of Foreign Language Education Policy and Learners’ Attitudes

Native-speakerism in China: An Investigation of Foreign Language Education Policy and Learners’ Attitudes

Exploring the standard language ideology in China's language policy

PurposeThis research explores the standard language ideology in Chinese foreign language education policies. The most substantial in relation to language policy and management in regard to language ideology are beliefs associated with the values on the named language and its varieties (Spolsky, 2009). In the standard language ideology, the standard is treated as being valuable linguistic capital and possessing prestige as well as authority. Mandarin is the most well-accepted standard Chinese, and similarly, UK English or US English is the most popular and Standard English (SE) in China.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework in this research is critical discourse analysis (CDA) and discourse-historical approach (DHA) to guide the data collection and data analysis. This research will review recent and seminal literature obtained from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) on language policy in China in relation to standard language ideology. The literature also investigates Chinese state's English language ideologies using official language education policies (FLEPs).FindingsThe results show that standard language ideology is a common mindset found within official state policies in regard to SE. The authors argue that the Chinese trust on the ideology of standard language appears to not be aligned to recent worldwide trends such as globalization and multilingualism.Originality/valueThis research can provide insights into future language planning and language policy in China and shows that the future research could do more on language planning in China.

Exploring Cultural Schemas in Foreign Language Education Policy (FLEP) Documents of Iran

Exploring Cultural Schemas in Foreign Language Education Policy (FLEP) Documents of Iran

Opinions of Teachers on Distance Education Applications in English Language Teaching Policies in Northern Cyprus During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected education institutions just like several other sectors. These institutions, which are among the places where people are found collectively, were the first places that were closed for precaution. Some problems of distance education conducted in online platforms which were assumed upon the termination of face-to-face education emerged in time. Especially in this urgent solution, where the workload of teachers has increased, some application difficulties have been identified in foreign language teaching. From this point of view, considering the foreign language education policy and planning, this study deals with the distance education practices of English teachers, the difficulties they encounter in the process, and their solution proposals. The research, which was designed as a qualitative study, was conducted with a case study design. The participants of the research are 13 English teachers working at the secondary school level in different districts of Northern Cyprus determined by the homogeneous sampling method. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews developed by the researchers. The qualitative data were analyzed with descriptive analysis. As a result of the interviews with the teachers, it has been determined that there are problems related to technology, students, online classes, and planning in English teaching carried out with distance education applications. Accordingly, the teachers offered their recommendations that could be a solution to the existing problems.

A historical analysis of modern Japan’s exclusively English-focused foreign language education policies

This paper discusses foreign language education policies in the school system in the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras in Japan. The country’s current exclusively English-focused policies in secondary school foreign language education were officially established with the enactment of the Middle School Teaching Rule Outline in 1881, in which English was listed as the only foreign language subject. German and French were added later, but their status was not as stable. In several policymaking-related meetings, such as the Upper-level Education Committee (1896-1913) and the Research Education Committee (1913-1917), exclusively English-focused foreign language education received criticism. However, the outcomes of meeting discussions always favoured English education. By examining discussions in the two committees and the Extraordinary Committee for Education (1917-1919), which succeeded those two, this paper notes that two factors contributed to the policy consequences: the purpose of foreign language education and the number of foreign languages for students to learn. The purpose of middle school education was prescribed as to provide male students with the most important higher-level general education and that of higher school education as to provide the complete achievement of higher-level general education. The purpose of foreign language education was not necessarily compatible with general education. Moreover, by adopting the One Foreign Language Principle, Japan’s foreign language education inescapably became almost entirely English-focused to the detriment of other languages. The paper concludes by examining the assumptions that Japan’s foreign language education policies have made about the Plural Foreign Language Principle.

Foreign language education policies at secondary school level in England and Germany: an international comparison

ABSTRACT International comparative curriculum research is becoming more important in a globalised world. However, up-to-date comparative studies of international foreign language education policies are still rare. This study compares current modern foreign language curricula in England with that in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany at Key Stage 4 and equivalent, to identify points of convergence and divergence in learning intentions. The analysis shows systematic differences and similarities regarding philosophical underpinning, learning goals, curriculum content and the level of alignment to international frameworks for teaching, learning and assessing foreign language proficiency. The paper discusses the findings with reference to the implications for the development of modern foreign languages teaching and learning in both educational settings.

Characteristics of Foreign Language Education in Italy and Implications: From the Perspective of National Foreign Language Capacity

This article reviews foreign language education in Italy using a national language competence-oriented evaluation approach. Foreign language education is at the heart of the acquisition component of language planning, and assessing foreign language education from the perspective of the purpose of language policy, i.e. the promotion of national language competence, which refers to the sum total of the government’s ability to deal with all language-related issues of strategic interests and allows for a more direct application of language planning theory. Based on the theoretical framework of National Foreign Language Capacity and acquisition planning, this study presents a detailed analysis of the characteristics and problems of Italian foreign language education policy, taking into account its ‘rationality,’ ‘coverage,’ and ‘influence,’ which are three interrelated indicators that allow for a comprehensive and specific assessment of national foreign language competence. By revealing the inadequacies of Italy’s national language proficiency system, the author intends to provide an insight into the gap between the effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation in foreign language education in Italy and to suggest some widespread problems in foreign language education that are similar to those in China.

IN-SERVICE TEACHERS' VIEWS ON DEVELOPING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AT PRIMARY LEVEL IN THE PROCESS OF TEFL IN SLOVAKIA

Reaching communicative competence in a foreign language is one of the key objectives of the foreign language education policy of multiple European countries, including Slovakia. The unified concept of communicative competence provides learners with equal opportunities for mastering languages at their best and enables its development from the very beginning of learners' studies. In low proficiency levels (A1) in primary education teachers play a crucial role in developing communicative competence of their learners. Research in the field reveals that although teachers are aware of their great influence and importance in the development of communicative competence, they often do not provide sufficient circumstances for learners to reaching it. A qualitative inquiry conducted with a number of in-practice English teachers working in Slovak primary schools presents the importance of having balanced development in all the components of communicative competence in TEFL, its implementation into the lessons of English, as well as an overall view of teachers’ standpoints towards its development at the primary level. The results show the tendencies of teachers to concentrate more on certain (especially linguistic) elements of communicative competence, whereas other competences (mainly of pragmatic character) are often neglected.

Rethinking the ‘ideal native speaker’ teacher in early childhood education

ABSTRACT Current foreign language education policies advocate plurilingual approaches to learning and teaching languages and call into question the ‘ideal native speaker’ as the ultimate model. Observations within a teacher training context indicate that this ideal still holds considerable weight among pre-service teachers. A study was carried out with students enrolled on the degree programme in Early Childhood Education at a university in Catalonia to explore the extent to which the ‘ideal native speaker’ model prevails within this community. The study analysed data from different instruments applied within the context of a core module which includes an innovative approach to embedding English as a foreign language in the early years. Findings confirm the prevalence of the model and reveal beliefs and assumptions which not only perpetuate the ideal itself, but also reinforce disempowering and discriminatory attitudes which are incongruent with current policies regarding language education. Changes reported in post-intervention findings highlight the need to develop reflective skills alongside linguistic and didactic competences in Early Childhood EFL Education. One of the main contributions of the study is its identification of deficit views of non-specialist teachers and its call for collaborative practice in which all linguistic abilities have a place.