English Education Reform in Asian Countries

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。


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-523
Author(s):  
Subhan Zein ◽  
Didi Sukyadi ◽  
Fuad Abdul Hamied ◽  
Nenden Sri Lengkanawati

AbstractThis article reviews the significant and diverse range of research on English language education in Indonesia in the eight-year period 2011–2019. It brings together a body of research consisting of 108 sources, ranging from journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings and doctorate dissertations, to inform the international research and practice community. The contributions cover primary education, secondary education and tertiary education in highly diverse Indonesia where 707 living languages co-exist and struggle to find space in its linguistic ecology. The discussion will provide insights into how factors such as educational policies, ideologies as well as sociocultural and religious values are in contestation in shaping research into and the practice of English language education in the complex, dynamic and polycentric sociolinguistic situation of Indonesia, which has been recently conceptualized as superglossia (Zein, 2020). It is hoped our insights will help inform other multilingual contexts facing the unprecedented need for transforming English language education in this increasingly globalized world.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Burhanuddin Yasin ◽  
Hijjatul Qamariah

This research attempts to suggest an alternative solution for writers in general and graduate students in particular in writing a proper research article introduction. In order to do so, the authors explored how the Swales’ model is applied in writing a research article introduction. The exploration was approached through a library study on the Swales model application. Some previous studies applying Swales Model were gathered and categorized into three categories − application of Swales model on different types of genre besides the research article introduction, different discipline or field and the last is the application of Swales’ on the research article introduction across languages. Another three articles written by professional writers were also collected as samples of introductions that have successfully presented three obligatory moves – establishing a territory (Move 1), establishing a niche (Move 2) and occupying the niche or presenting the present work (Move 3) − proposed by Swales’ model. Those introductions were segmented into those three moves and analyzed based on a communication purpose in every step derived from each move. In order to add more comprehension about the model, an analysis was also conducted on introductions for seven articles in the English Education Journal (EEJ) published by the Graduate Program in English Language Education at Syiah Kuala University. The purpose of the analysis was to show the differences in structure of introductions organized without following the CARS Swales model. Conclusions are that the CARS Swales model is relevant for the teaching of introductions for research writing and it can be a guideline to teach students the moves and steps of this model for communication purposes.


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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Simpson

AbstractThe English language is seen by the Chinese as a tool of significant pragmatic value, both by the individual and the state. Discourse on English language education within China has, both historically and at present, pitted the pragmatic value of English against concerns of cultural and linguistic erosion and imposition. Concerns over the corrupting impact the English language may have on the Chinese language, and further on Chinese culture, uneasily coexist with an acceptance of the English language’s role as the key to modernization and economic development. Voices of past and present, have at their core a desire for the protection of a reified cultural identity or essence. However, cultural and linguistic influence has not merely been imposed upon China from external forces, but has been actively drawn in by domestic forces. Such domestic forces range from foreign language education policies that meet the demands of a globalized market-driven economy, to a market demand for English language media such as TV programs, movies and literature. Ultimately, the presence and significance of these domestic forces undermines a view of the English language as a vehicle of cultural imperialism in China.


Author(s):  
Abdul Hakim Ali Abdul Aziz ◽  
Radzuwan Ab Rasid ◽  
Wan Zhafirah Wan Zainudin

As Malaysia sets out to realise their plan of the English Language Education Reform, the adaptation and implementation of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is an obvious choice; however, creating a high-calibre teaching workforce to carry it out poses a significant challenge. This critical reflection article elucidates the implementation of CEFR in Malaysian Pre-, Primary and Secondary schools from the perspective of a National Master Trainer (NMT) who attended multiple courses by Cambridge English Super Trainers (CEST) before going on to train English language teachers using the Cascade Training Model. Based on the trainer’s experience, this article discusses the progress of the training, starting from CEST as the first tier, NMT as the second tier, and District Trainer (DT) as the third tier, until it reaches the teachers who will apply their knowledge and skills in the classroom. We conclude that despite the long and careful planning in terms of teacher training for the CEFR implementation, there are various aspects that need improvements, to better guarantee success in producing an English language programme along with international standards, as the plan dictates.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Reza Zabihi ◽  
Momene Ghadiri ◽  
Dariush Nejad Ansari

<p>The aim of this research was to describe what Iranian ESP teachers believe to be the main pedagogical<br />principles and what their perceived barriers seem to be. The examination of these principles and<br />barriers were mainly based on the interviewees’ English background, followed by the elicitation of<br />teachers’ beliefs about the main pedagogical principles of English Language Education in their<br />department, their teaching practices inside the class, dilemmas and obstacles they faced with during<br />their English teaching career and how they cope with or manage those dilemmas, and ended with their<br />suggestions for improvement of English education in Faculties of Humanities. Data were subsequently<br />transcribed, modified, analyzed and translated into English. The results properly reflected various<br />perceived theoretical beliefs of ESP teachers regarding pedagogical principles as well as the obstacles<br />which prevent them from following those principles.</p>


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