English Language Education Policies in the People’s Republic of China

Author(s):  
Jeffrey Gil
Author(s):  
Wenyang Sun ◽  
Xue Lan Rong

Language education is becoming an increasingly important topic in education in Asian countries, especially as schools in Asian countries have become more multilingual and multicultural as a result of rapid urbanization and globalization. A comparative analysis of the issues in language education reform in Asian countries—using China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore as examples—shows that, historically and currently, English language education policies are shaped by various underpinning ideologies such as linguicism, nationalism, and neoliberalism. English can serve as a vehicle for upward socioeconomic mobility, or an instrument of linguistic imperialism, or both, in Asia contexts. These ideologies, through language education policies and reforms, impact the status as well as the pedagogy and promotion of the English language. There is a trend and a need with regard to addressing critical consciousness in English education in order to counter the forces of linguicism and neoliberalism in an increasingly multilingual, multicultural, and globalized world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Beni Kudo ◽  
Giancarla Unser-Schutz

Discussions on English education policies often focus on their reception by teachers. However, this can overlook what students think about policy, and students’ support of policies may be crucial to their success. This is especially relevant to English education at universities, given the autonomy that university students have. To understand what students think about policies, a survey on certain aspects of Japanese educational policies and English language education was conducted at a private university. The survey focused on students’ attitudes towards guroubaru jinzai or global workers, a buzzword in Japanese EFL policies. Overall, students reported interest in becoming global workers, but they did not feel that this was realistic for themselves. This suggests that to gain the support necessary from students for their own cultivation as global workers in line with current EFL policies, it may be necessary to show the relevance to their own lives, from their own perspectives. 文科省の英語教育におけるポリシーの1つは「グローバル人材育成」であるが、大学英語教育では、学習に対する学生の主体的な意識や態度が重要である。中堅大学の学生を対象とした調査の結果、彼らは「国際的に活躍することが現代社会で求められている」と認識している一方、「そのような人材になることは自分にとって現実的ではない」と考えていることが分かった。理由の1つは「英語に対する自信のなさ」であるが、同時に「英語学習」には興味を持つ学生も多かった。「グローバル人材の必要性の認識」と「英語学習に対する興味」を利用することで、中堅大学の学生にとっても文科省のポリシーの実現が可能であると考えられる。


Author(s):  
Tao Xiong

Immersion and bilingual education have been key concepts in English language education policies and practices. Though discussions have been made on the theoretical and practical issues of bilingual education in China, there has been much disagreement between which model of bilingual education is suitable for the Chinese context, as well as which terminology to use. Drawing on interview, observation, and documentary data gathered during a three-year study of a public-funded foreign language school in Shenzhen, one of the most economically developed cities in China, this chapter is focused on the impact of a Sino-Canadian collaborative educational program on the teachers, students, and school leadership, and reports some preliminary findings and thoughts on related issues. The conclusion is that immersion and bilingual education in the Chinese educational context needs to be reconceptualized and reinterpreted.


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