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.

Experiences and practices of English as a lingua franca communication in the international university: An integrative view of student voices

Students’ experiences and practices regarding English as a lingua franca (ELF) have been central to the discussion in research on intercultural communication in academia as it provides the basis for English language policy and practices in the international university. To date, however, few previous studies have explored diverse factors for perceptions of ELF communication with a single framework. To fill this gap, this study provides the integrative research model for perceptions and behaviours regarding ELF communication in the international university context, using Theory of Planned Behaviour. It further explores the effect of those factors on actual intentions to engage in ELF communication. Data were collected from 232 questionnaires and seven interviews on the offshore campus of a Hong Kong university in mainland China. Findings showed that factors such as acceptance, social expectations, the sense of control over linguistic knowledge for intercultural communication, and self-esteem had significant effects on intentions. The study concluded that ELF speakers’ decision-making process to engage in ELF communication is not simply based on individual behaviour, but on social performance in academic communities of practice. This study suggests academic and educational implications for incorporating the ELF perspective into English language policy and practices in the international university.

TERTIARY LANGUAGE PLANNING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT: CHALLENGES TO VIETNAMESE STUDENTS

Research in the field of English language education has shifted towards interrogating the real role of English in development across disciplines and countries. Vietnam English language policy, especially the National Foreign Languages Project (The NFL Project), have promoted English as a key success factor for Vietnamese students in the labour market as well as the well-being of the nation. This paper focuses on examining the notion of development which investigates the roles of English in Vietnamese tertiary students’ employability. The researchers conducted 527 surveys with tertiary students in four university in the North Vietnam. Moreover, five students and three EFL tertiary instructors from each institution were selected to participate in a follow-up semi-structured interview (N = 32). The results indicated students’ limited level of confidence in both their English skills as well as career-related skills performed in English. In other words, students showed their lack of sufficient English for employability purposes. Aligning the research results with the promising and well-intended agendas of ELP and The NFL Project illuminates a clear mismatch between English and employability. In reality, the relationship between English language education and career development is highly complex and contested, which may influence students’ full development in the long run. Towards the end, the paper offers suggestions for improving pedagogies, policies and practices to promote English as one of vital employability skills for multifaceted personal and national developments.

Problematizing EMI language policy in a transnational world

Language policies generally seek to establish, regulate, and conform linguistic practices – whether explicit or implicit – that occur within an ‘authorized’ domain. While there are multiple levels (societal, institutional, and interpersonal) at which such policies are enacted (Hornberger & Johnson, 2007), academic institutions are often significant policy arbiters as they serve as crucial switchboards (Blommaert, 2010; De Costa, 2010) that connect policies at the societal and interpersonal levels. In particular, English medium of instruction (EMI) policies that mandate English as the primary means of academic content delivery have played a pivotal role in enabling universities in countries such as Bangladesh (Rahman & Mehar Singh, 2019), China (e.g., Hu, 2009; Song, 2019; Zhang, 2018), Saudi Arabia (Barnawi, 2018; Phan & Barnawi, 2015), and Vietnam (Phan, 2018) to establish themselves on the world stage and engage with the global community. Even though several scholars (e.g., Coleman, 2006; Jenkins, 2019a; Knight, 2013, 2016; Macaro et al., 2018) have investigated EMI policies across different contexts, the following central question concerning these policies still persists: in what ways has the implementation of EMI policies transformed the higher education sector, and subsequently affected primary social actors, such as students, teachers, and administrators embedded within these shifting contexts? These concerns, we posit, are amplified by the transnational movements of people and institutions (Duff, 2015) and the ever-increasing speed and agility with which TESOL as a field has to respond to the shifting tides of globalization (Barnawi, 2020). Given this conspicuous gap in an ever-evolving English language policy landscape, we set out to critically review previous works that have examined the implementation of EMI policies within a transnational higher education (TNHE) context. TNHE is characterized by the transformation of higher education across the globe (Knight, 2013; Kosmützky & Putty, 2016) as Western-based universities export models – driven by a neoliberal agenda to maximize financial profit – through the establishment of overseas branch campuses. In reviewing works that examine TNHE, we aim to stimulate dialogue on this contemporary phenomenon.

The Teaching of English in Indonesian Primary Schools: a Response to the New Policy

In this study, I investigated the teachers' current practice without curriculum of English lesson at primary schools and teacher's response to the new policy on English lessons in primary school. The participants of this study were 46 respondents which consist of 17 males and 29 females. The data was obtained by distributing an open-ended question to teachers who teach in a primary school in Jember district of East Java. The questionnaire was administered to the teacher to be filled in directly. The first finding showed that most of the teachers agreed that teachers should be qualified, teachers need appropriate teaching media for students, and most of the students are very enthusiastic in learning English. The second finding about the teacher's response to the new policy on English lessons in primary school showed that most teachers expected the government to return the English language policy to be taught in primary school as a compulsory subject. Conclusion, the current practices of teaching English in primary school are divided into three parts, 1) most the teachers who involve become sample in this study agreed that the teachers should be qualified in teaching English in primary school, 2) most the teachers needed teaching media appropriate for the students in primary school, 3) most the students were very enthusiastic about learning English. Keyword; Indonesian primary school, teacher, new policy.