Group items tagged

"This article presents an overview of the perceived importance and accelerated spread of English language education, both formal and informal, in three East Asian countries (i.e. China, Japan and South Korea) against the backdrop of globalisation and emergent ideological, sociocultural and educational trends. It begins with a review of the recent developments in English language education in each of the countries, the ostensible reasons for English language education and the ideological issues contributing to the recent English language education initiatives. This is followed by a discussion and a critique of the common trends and themes manifested in the three countries' recent initiatives to reform and improve English language education. The article concludes with a number of policy recommendations for English language education in East Asia and other countries, where English does not have an institutional role to play."

"Research has demonstrated that second language immersion is an effective means of facilitating primary school students' second language acquisition without undermining their competence in their first language. Despite the rapid growth of Chinese-English bilingual programmes in China, limited empirical research has been conducted thus far by which to evaluate the programme effectiveness in relation to students' academic achievement, their cognitive development and the teaching and learning processes with regard to teacher education. This article presents evidence from several related empirical studies recently conducted in three schools affiliated with the China-Canada-United States English Immersion (CCUEI) project. These studies focus on three broad categories of findings: first, on student academic achievement represented by English (L2), Chinese (L1) and mathematics (both literacy and numeracy); second, on cognitive predictors of English reading and listening achievement of these immersion students; and third, on immersion teachers who teach within the context of Chinese-English bilingual education. These combined results present a complex developmental picture of students' academic achievement and cognitive development; and an insight into the teachers who teach within the context of an aggressive fast growth of Chinese-English bilingual programmes in China."

"Greater China is used in this article to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Macao. While a holistic approach is adopted to present and compare the rapid spread of English and development in English language education in these geographically close, and sociopolitically, culturally and economically interrelated but hugely different societies, an emphasis is placed on mainland China owing to its size and diversity of its population. Through describing and juxtaposing English language use and education, this article unfolds the stories of the spread of English in these societies in the past few decades. It draws on the research data and discussions included in the author's recent book English language education across Greater China, with evidence and findings from other recent publications. On the basis of these discussions, this article critiques the frequently cited models and notions used to describe the spread of English in post-modern societies. It argues that there is a need to come up with new conceptual models in order to catch the essence of the phenomena in the contemporary societies."

In the new European higher education space, Universities in Europe are exhorted to cultivate and develop multilingualism. The European Commission's 2004-2006 action plan for promoting language learning and diversity speaks of the need to build an environment which is favourable to languages. Yet reality indicates that it is English which reigns supreme and has become the main foreign language used as means of instruction at European universities. Internationalisation has played a key role in this process, becoming one of the main drivers of the linguistic hegemony exerted by English. In this paper we examine the opinions of teaching staff involved in English-medium instruction, from pedagogical ecology-of-language and personal viewpoints. Data were gathered using group discussion. The study was conducted at a multilingual Spanish university where majority (Spanish), minority (Basque) and foreign (English) languages coexist, resulting in some unavoidable linguistic strains. The implications for English-medium instruction are discussed at the end of this paper.

The use of English as an international language (EIL) and its implications for teaching have attracted much scholarly attention. However, much of the discussion has remained at an abstract level and not provided pedagogical ideas that are theoretically sound, informed by research, and at the same time specific enough to be useful in the classroom. This poses a great challenge for teachers: while they receive a strong message that their current practice may be inadequate in preparing learners for using English in international encounters, they are not presented with suggestions of where to start implementing changes. The goal of this paper is to build upon the existing literature on teaching English for international communication with greater emphasis on pedagogical decisions and practices in the classroom. Using the conceptualization of EIL as a function of English as an international common language rather than a linguistic variety used uniformly in all international contexts, we explore key questions in TEIL and suggest specific ways to introduce an EIL perspective to existing English language classrooms.

"ABSTRACT: Over the last three decades scholars promoting the world Englishes paradigm (WE) have worked towards establishing a more positive attitude towards international varieties of English. However, despite the best intentions of Western linguists working in this field, there is an obvious imbalance between the developed and developing world in many contexts of English language education. Educators and teachers in many Outer Circle and Expanding Circle contexts face difficulties in terms of conditions, facilities, and resources very different from those of Western institutions. Academics in developing societies have parallel difficulties in publishing research, both in journals and in books with international publishers, while local options for publishing are often restricted. This paper suggests a number of ways in which linguists and other scholars might begin to engage with a range of issues related to 'developmental world Englishes'"

"This paper examines the ways in which world Englishes studies are developing into a distinct academic discipline, and discusses the consequences of this regimentation of knowledge for teaching and research. By first outlining the various ways in which bodies of knowledge are organized into discrete disciplines, and then surveying the history and current status of world Englishes studies according to these classificatory processes, the paper presents a metadisciplinary inquiry into prevailing approaches to the study of English in the world today. It is hoped that reflexive investigation of this type can contribute to research and education in this area by making explicit the organizational framework - in terms both of the politics and epistemology - which structures present-day investigations into the worldwide use of the English language."

This article uses Foucault's (1977/1995) concept of normalization to analyze contemporary opposition to bilingual education in the United States. These contemporary movements have 'normalized' English language learner (ELL) students by appropriating the technology of language in order to become 'Americanized.' This has become urgent and emergent in educational research, in part, because of the growing number of ELL students in United States' public schools. English-language proficiency is an essential element for academic success in the US's current English-only, high-stakes testing environment. This analysis questions the notion of an ideal American as the standard for how educators implement English-only curriculum and pedagogy for ELL students. The article concludes with a critique of the impact and implications of 'normalizing' ELL students with an English-only education.

This article uses Foucault's (1977/1995) concept of normalization to analyze contemporary opposition to bilingual education in the United States. These contemporary movements have 'normalized' English language learner (ELL) students by appropriating the technology of language in order to become 'Americanized.' This has become urgent and emergent in educational research, in part, because of the growing number of ELL students in United States' public schools. English-language proficiency is an essential element for academic success in the US's current English-only, high-stakes testing environment. This analysis questions the notion of an ideal American as the standard for how educators implement English-only curriculum and pedagogy for ELL students. The article concludes with a critique of the impact and implications of 'normalizing' ELL students with an English-only education.

Stimulated by one public-friendly argument that foregrounds the integration of local identity and global citizenry and a second that is more mindful of the global-scale Othering, the present study draws attention to the seemingly intensified rivalry between global and local identities in Japan and argues that the nationwide interest in globalisation through the fervent yet often unsuccessful learning of English has contributed not only to the increasing call for English education and multiculturalism but also to a unified identity as we-Japanese. Thus, a sense of Japaneseness remains sustained, or rather fortified, within Japanese educational and industrial settings, in which English has acquired a crucial role. The present study hopes to serve as one attempt to critically interrogate a globalisation-endorsing state, Japan, from the broad macro perspective, by providing critical insights into the interaction among Global Englishes, globalisation and national identity.

Critical thinking (CT) skills are generally considered to be vital to success at university, but Asian students are sometimes perceived as lacking these skills. This research explores the effect that thinking in a second language has on CT performance. To assess this, two groups of students were tested on a split-test version of the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal ® Short Form A in both English and Chinese, one group taking the English half of the test first and the second group taking the Chinese half first. Three participants were also interviewed about the test-taking experience. The findings indicate CT performance is more difficult in an L2: participants who took the English test first performed significantly better when they took the Chinese test second, the group who took the Chinese test first performed significantly better than the group who took the English test first and interviewees reported experiencing the English test as more difficult.

"Compared with other countries in Asia, Japan is far behind in terms of introducing and delivering bilingual education, let alone effective immersion programmes. In order to make its citizens more bilingual, Japan has been introducing innovative measures including the implementation of the teaching of English in elementary education and a new curriculum guideline requirement of using English exclusively in all high school English classes. However, these innovations are met with opposition and obstacles. Before Japan can introduce effective bilingual and immersion programmes comparable to those in Europe, North America and other Asian countries, it is crucial that Japan addresses these concerns. At the same time, other linguistic resources unique to Japan are being neglected. To elaborate and explore the above issues, this article focuses on public English education and ethnic bilingual schools in Japan."

"The history and evolution of English in all its diversity is the subject of David Crystal's edifying new book, Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices, published by the British Library in conjunction with its acclaimed exhibition of the same name. Crystal is a highly regarded author of over a 100 books and is no stranger to anyone keenly interested in language, linguistics, and the history of English. Combining a hobbyist's enthusiasm with an academic's erudition, he has a knack for writing in a down-to-earth style that appeals to a wide audience regardless of how familiar they are with the subject matter."

"Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study presents the perceptions about research of six Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics in a context of growing institutional demands for research. One-on-one interviews of 35-60 minutes' duration were conducted with these academics from an institution in north China. Thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated that the Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics held positive perceptions about the teaching-research nexus. However, the value of research to them seemed to be limited to teaching and career advancement. They also expressed varied concerns about the institutional research requirements. The findings suggested several implications for the institution's administrators to further enhance academics' research capacity building."

"English is an arts subject," she tells the HES between sessions of a University of Sydney conference on English teaching last week. "The problem is that it has become part of communication studies or cultural studies. "But English is a language art and t

Child pornography and English language learning"?! Could there be a connection?! Difficult to believe but true - I'm referring to a best selling English phrase book for Japanese high school students, Moetan: English phrase book.

This paper presents data from a doctoral study of the relationships between A Level English Literature and university English, a study which examines the experiences of one class of first year university English students. It argues that, whilst the socio-

This text discusses the locus of English in globalisation discourses. Assuming that languages constitute discursive formations informing ways of knowing, discourses of English as a global language (EGL) are positioned in relation to teaching English as a

The paper examines the changing status of English studies through English textbooks in contemporary West-Bengal, India. The texts are marked by the cross-currents of the post-colonial impulse to discard the English literary canon, the acceptance of the hi

Being in thrall to an English language teaching industry that is so rampant that it makes people value proficiency in English more than family relationships and that is geared to instilling a perpetual sense of inferiority is surely a recipe for great pro