© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.

Reviews

Primary School English-Language Education in Asia: From Policy to Practice

B. Spolsky and Y. Moon (eds.)

Routledge 2012, 151 pp., £84 (hardback)

ISBN 978 0 415 53406 2

English is widely considered the language of international trade and professional communication, and proficiency in it is perceived by many non-English-speaking countries as crucial in their efforts towards modernization and internationalization in an increasingly globalized world. In recent years, there has been a clear tendency among many Asian countries to lower the starting age for formal English language education from the first year of junior secondary schools to the third year and even first year of elementary schools. The rhetorics dominating the discourse for such a move are underpinned by historical, political, and economic reasons used to construct English as linguistic capital. These Asian countries where English is used as a foreign language constitute the Expanding Circle in Kachru’s (1986) model of Concentric Circles. Kachru’s model comprises three broad categories of regional varieties of English. Countries from which the English language originates and where English is used as the dominant language by its people form the Inner Circle. Examples of such countries are the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Countries where English has a long history and a significant official status, normally due to colonization, form the Outer Circle. Examples of such countries in Asia are India, Singapore, and the Philippines. The Expanding Circle comprises countries where English is used essentially for business and international exchanges but is becoming increasingly important for identity construction (Kachru and Nelson 2006). Examples of Asian countries that fall under this category are China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The recent accelerated spread of English language education in Asian regions has been phenomenal and in fact, it is estimated that the number of ‘Asian English users now represent[s] the largest number of English users in the world’ (ibid.: 2). Since Ho and Wong’s publications (2003a, 2003b), which provided an overview of English language teaching in 17 political entities in Asia, the book Primary School English-language Education in Asia: From Policy to Practice edited by Spolsky and Moon is a timely addition. As the title suggests, it describes recent developments in related policies and implementation issues in seven Asian countries. The countries featured in the book include India and Singapore which share a common British colonial history and where the English language, as a ‘neutral’ language, is adopted as the lingua franca for national development in both countries marked by cultural and linguistic diversities. Other countries included in the book are Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea which have been under US political influence through its financial aid after World War II, and where political and military bases can be found (Tseng 2013); and China and Vietnam, both of which are ruled by a communist government, with the former gradually becoming an emerging super economic power and the latter being integrated into the world economy after a series of economic and political reforms in recent years.

Most of the country chapters follow a broad structure in which a recount of the historical development of primary English education in the countries concerned is followed by a description of current situations and a discussion of ongoing issues and problems. Chapter 1 reviews the historical development of primary English education in China since the pre-1978 era to the 2001 reform which officially endorsed the teaching of English to primary students beginning from Year 3 (p. 3). To present a comprehensive depiction of current practices since the reform, findings are drawn from data obtained through

ELT Journal Volume 68/3 July 2014 345

at Tulane U

niversity Library, Serials A

cquisitions Dept. on A

ugust 26, 2014http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/

Dow

nloaded from

curriculum documents analysis, questionnaire surveys, classroom observations, interviews, and textbook reviews. The findings reported highlight teachers’ perspectives on the reform, quality of textbooks, and patterns of teaching methods adopted in the classroom. While the data collected reveal a high level of teacher acceptance and understanding of the 2001 curriculum goals and associated national standard, they also point to the gaps in actual practice which include the quantitative and qualitative differences in teacher qualifications and professional competence, and classroom environments. Such differences result in gaps in student achievement between advanced and less developed provinces. The suggestions proposed are generally comprehensive: targeting recruitment of enough qualified teachers, enhancing quality of textbook materials, and the mapping out of a better development plan based on past experiences.

Chapter 2 examines the issues in the transition of English education from elementary schools to secondary schools in Japan. The issues arise from the difference in the treatment and status of English education in these two school sectors. English education in primary schools is labelled only as ‘English activities’ and thus does not enjoy the full status of a formal subject, unlike secondary school English taught by qualified English teachers using censored textbooks, and graded in the same way as other formal subjects. Several surveys were conducted to examine student motivation for learning English, the relationship among various factors that illustrate the effects of English learning experience during the formative years on student learning of the language in later years, and the correlation between survey findings and students’ English proficiency results in the Society for Testing English Proficiency test, which according to the author, is the most widely administered English proficiency test in Japan. It is concluded that student confidence and interest in learning English decline as students move from elementary to junior high schools, and that the starting age of learning English seems to have an effect only on motivation, but not on student attainment. While the author’s argument for the use of cognitively demanding activities to enhance skills and knowledge acquisition for higher level communication purposes is pedagogically valid, an in-depth analysis of current English teaching practices in junior high schools, informed by triangulated data obtained through other methods, such as lesson observations, and a critique of teaching and assessment syllabuses

and associated pedagogies, would be needed to add an important dimension to complement the discussions of the issues involved in the transition.

Chapter 3 provides a concise recount of the methodological history of primary public school English education in Singapore. The account is framed within the political context of the country, and outlines the local methodological development under global influences, illustrated with extracts from textbook materials and classroom routines. While the account is informative, what the reader might welcome would be an analytical comment on the success of its literacy pedagogical approach (Chua 2011) and challenges (for example in its bilingual policy) that illuminates Singapore’s distinctive position in the development of Asian Englishes in the ‘Outer Circle’ (Kachru op.cit.).

Chapter 4 presents a brief history of English education in primary schools in South Korea, compares the latest National English Curricula, outlines the various initiatives (for example English Programme in Korea, Teaching English in English, English Villages) to address the issues identified, and highlights areas where further improvement is warranted. While most of the problems identified are quantitative in nature, there is some effort made by the Ministry of Education to upgrade teachers’ professional training.

Chapter 5 provides the historical background to English education in India, and discusses the pedagogical issues in the early introduction of English. Similar to China, India has to battle with the problem of finding enough qualified teachers to make English education accessible to the majority in a vast country that is among the most populated in the world. Like Singapore, India adopts English, a ‘neutral language’, as the official language amidst more than two dozen ‘recognized languages’ identified by the Indian constitution (Meganathan 2011). Drawing from classroom data from case study schools in Delhi, the author examines multifaceted implementation issues, and depicts classroom processes that illuminate the quality of student learning experiences in the classroom.

Chapter 6 discusses the issues of teacher preparation for primary school English education based on a case study undertaken by the authors in one rural province of Vietnam. Data were obtained through a questionnaire survey and lesson observations of selected respondents.

346 Reviews

at Tulane U

niversity Library, Serials A

cquisitions Dept. on A

ugust 26, 2014http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/

Dow

nloaded from

While teacher receptiveness about the English education policy was high, inflexibility and limitations in pedagogical approaches (resulting from teacher-related issues such as the lack of adequate professional preparation and limited English proficiency among the teachers) are the major implementation problems highlighted. Of all the chapters, the appendices of this chapter are very informative in providing important information on curriculum content and the questionnaire adopted as the research instrument. The recommendations made to address the problems identified are reasonable and multidimensional.

Chapter 7 presents a case study of the implementation of elementary school English education in Taipei City in Taiwan. This city is among the several metropolitan cities which engage in intensive interactions with other countries in trade and academic exchanges, and which implements English language at the first grade in elementary schools. In describing the planning and development measures employed by the local bureau of education, the author examines problems in relation to gaps in students’ English proficiency, teacher use of teaching materials to cater for learner diversity, transitional issues between elementary and junior school English education, and the solutions attempted. While such an account is indeed informative, a critical analysis of the coping strategies would help the reader to appreciate the challenges involved in their wide application in the whole of Taiwan, and pertinent issues relating to the tension between globalization and localization (Chen 2011).

Despite the differences in the state of developments in primary school English education in these seven countries, common issues concern the inadequate supply of qualified teachers and inequity of access to quality English education. Such problems lead to disparities, in quantitative and qualitative terms, among different regions within the same countries, and in many cases between the advanced and less developed areas. In countries such as Singapore in which English has a relatively longer history, and a perceived unifying function for nation building, and where resources distribution and quality maintenance are easily controlled by the government because of its modest population size, the challenges involved relate more to methodological enhancements than equity of resources provision. While there are chapters (for example Chapters 1, 5, and 6) in which the analysis of current practices

and ongoing challenges is clearly grounded in the data, there are chapters in which the content is largely descriptive, and the discussions not directly derived from the data collected, nor well illustrated with properly labelled tables and clearly printed figures (see, for example, Figure 2.2 on p. 33 and Figure 4.3 on p. 71). For readers who are interested in pedagogical issues stemming from mismatches between cultural traditions and imported ideological thinking and methodological approaches (Hu and McKay 2012), there seems to be inadequate coverage on recent developments in pedagogical practices and classroom processes, which is what the second part of the title (i.e. practice) suggests. This is, of course, largely attributed to the prevalent concern in most of the countries over the quantitative issues of supply and resources provision. The structure and content of each chapter could be further strengthened with a common framework that not only encompasses a full spectrum of English education-related polices, but also stresses evidence-based analysis of developments in curriculum design, classroom practices, and assessment pedagogies. The seven interrelated policy goals identified by Kaplan and Baldauf (2005) could form a useful framework that guides the descriptions and analysis of language-in-education policy development that is specific to each country. The seven policy goals are (1) access policy that focuses on who learns what and when; (2) personnel policy that deals with the selection and training of teachers; (3) curriculum policy that specifies the educational objectives in language teaching and learning; (4) methodology and materials policy that advocates the types of teaching methods and instructional materials to be employed; (5) resourcing policy that stipulates the provision of finance and materials resources; (6) community policy that involves the consultation with stakeholders; and (7) evaluation policy that connects assessment with methods and materials that define the educational objectives. A common structure would ensure balanced discussions of policy developments and pertinent pedagogical problems that reflect the tension between global/regional trends and local issues and make cross-country comparisons possible. On the whole, applied linguists and practitioners interested in the development of primary school English language education in Asian ‘Outer’ and ‘Expanding’ Circle countries will find the book informative and up to date in its descriptions of the latest policies and associated implementation issues.

Reviews 347

at Tulane U

niversity Library, Serials A

cquisitions Dept. on A

ugust 26, 2014http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/

Dow

nloaded from

ReferencesChen, A. 2011. ‘Parents’ perspectives on the effects of the primary EFL education policy in Taiwan’. Current Issues in Language Planning 12/2: 205–24.Chua, S. K. C. 2011. ‘Singapore’s E(Si)nglish-knowing bilingualism’. Current Issues in Language Planning 12/2: 125–45.Ho, K. W. and R. Y. L. Wong (eds.). 2003a. English Language Teaching in East Asia Today: Changing Policies and Practices. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.Ho, K. W. and R. Y. L. Wong (eds.). 2003b. Language Policies and Language Education: The Impact in East Asian Countries in the Next Decade. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.Hu, G. and L. McKay. 2012. ‘English language education in East Asia: some recent developments’. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 33/4: 345–62.Kachru, B. B. 1986. The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions and Models of Non-native Englishes. Oxford: Pergamon.Kachru, Y. and C. L. Nelson (eds.). 2006. World Englishes in Asian Contexts. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.Kaplan, R. B. and R. B. Baldauf Jr. 2005. ‘Language-in-education policy and planning’ in E. Hinkel (ed.). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Meganathan, R. 2011. ‘Language policy in education and the role of English in India: from library language to language of empowerment’ in H. Coleman (ed.). Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language. London: The British Council. Available at https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/dreams-realities-developing-countries-english-language (accessed on 20 February 2014).Tseng, C-L. 2013. ‘The myth of English language education in Asia: the language of power and promise?’. The International Journal of Learning 18/12: 77–84.

The reviewerAlice Chow is Associate Professor in English Language Education at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Her experience in education has been extensive and varied, having previously worked as a school teacher in Hong Kong and in Toronto, and as an assistant inspector and a lecturer in the Education Department of Hong Kong. Her

research interests include English language curriculum and pedagogy, teacher preparation, and school-based staff development. She has also provided academic advice on school-based curriculum development, language enhancement schemes, and award schemes for teaching excellence.Email: alice@ied.edu.hkdoi:10.1093/elt/ccu025

348 Reviews

at Tulane U

niversity Library, Serials A

cquisitions Dept. on A

ugust 26, 2014http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/

Dow

nloaded from