Critical Perspectives On Global Englishes In Asia

Although the notion of Global Englishes (GE) has been widely discussed in the literature, few books consider how GE can be translated into educational practice. This book addresses the incorporation of GE into language policy and curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices, and focuses on a wide range of geographical and language contexts. Incorporating GE into language curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices calls for a reframing of our pedagogical practices that take into account the use of Englishes in intercultural and multicultural encounters where people have different first languages and cultural backgrounds. This book will be of interest to policymakers, curriculum developers and practitioner-researchers in the area of English language education.

English is the most widely taught and learned language in the world and is used for communication among speakers from different language backgrounds. How it can be effectively taught and learned, what English means to, and how it can be "owned" by, non-native speakers of English in Asia and elsewhere, are all issues that warrant contemplation. This edited collection addresses these issues and more by looking at a wide range of topics that are relevant and timely in contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. The authors offer novel perspectives gleaned from theory and actual practice that can inform English language teaching in Asia and beyond. This book will be of interest to researchers, policymakers, curriculum developers, and practitioners in the field of English teaching and learning.

This volume explores the global spread of English or global Englishes, and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), focusing specifically on Asian Englishes. It is unique in the range of diverse perspectives across the languages and cultures by its contributors.

This book revisits the issue of China English as a developing variety of English and scrutinises students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards their own and other English accents from the critical phenomenological perspective of Global Englishes (GE) in the Chinese context. The research contributes to the field of GE by proposing a model of pronunciation teaching called ToPIC (Teaching of Pronunciation for Intercultural Communication) informed by interculturally responsive language pedagogy. Combining theory and empirical data, the book presents ground-breaking research on accent attitudes in the Chinese context within the GE paradigm and raises issues and concerns regarding teaching English, particularly speaking and pronunciation, from the GE perspective. Unpacking attitudes towards English accents from a critical perspective, this book will both show policy makers the need to consider the impacts of GE and help practitioners and language learners re-evaluate the goals and needs of English learning. The ToPIC approach also has significance for curriculum reform as it readdresses various issues in language policy and practice. The ToPIC approach is recommended for those interested in teaching and learning English in the expanding circle context and those seeking to learn more about learning and using English across the world.

This book provides a nuanced portrait of the complexities found within the cultural and linguistic landscape of the United Arab Emirates, unpacking the ever-shifting dynamics between English and Arabic in today’s era of superdiversity. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach which draws on a rich set of data from questionnaires to focus groups with Emirati students, Emirati schoolteachers, and expatriate university teachers, Hopkyns problematizes the common binary East-West paradigm focused on the tension between the use of English and Arabic in the UAE. Key issues emerging from the resulting analysis include the differing attitudes towards English and in particular, English Medium Instruction, the impact of this tension on identities, and the ways in which the two languages are employed in distinct ways on an everyday scale. The volume will particularly appeal to students and scholars interested in issues around language and identity, language policy and planning, multilingualism, translanguaging, and language in education.

The Springer International Handbook of Educational Development in Asia Pacific breaks new ground with a comprehensive, fine-grained and diverse perspective on research and education development throughout the Asia Pacific region. In 13 sections and 127 chapters, the Handbook delves into a wide spectrum of contemporary topics including educational equity and quality, language education, learning and human development, workplace learning, teacher education and professionalization, higher education organisations, citizenship and moral education, and high performing education systems. The Handbook is grounded in specific Asia Pacific contexts and scholarly traditions, using unique country-specific narratives, for example, Vietnam and Melanesia, and socio-cultural investigations through lenses such as language identity or colonisation, while offering parallel academic discourse and analyses framed by broader policy commentary from around the world.

Against the backdrop of uncritical promotions of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education globally, this edited volume maps out the political, ideological, and policy-related issues of EMI programs in multilingual and multicultural universities in Asia. In this volume, EMI researchers and practitioners involved in different Asian countries and regions have collaboratively unpacked the critical dimensions of EMI programs in higher education, with a goal to provide must-needed resources for researchers, graduate students, higher education leaders, and policymakers. This volume is the first of its kind in that it provides an exclusive and critical tapestry of EMI at multilingual universities from all parts of Asia, including Central Asia (Kazakhstan), East Asia (Mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan), South Asia (Bangladesh and Nepal), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), and Western Asia (United Arab Emirates). The key takeaway for the reader is to not only understand the current phenomenon of EMI in Asian universities but to also learn the dark side of its policies, programs, and practices that have led to unequal teaching and learning spaces in diverse societies. This collection will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in English-medium instruction, English language teaching, TESOL, and applied linguistics.

This practical resource book showcases both the theory and practical application for teacher educators in diverse contexts bringing a global Englishes perspective into their teacher education courses, both at pre- and in-service levels. The recent Global Englishes paradigm serves as a promising response to the complexity of identity, interaction, use, and instruction surrounding the English language. It is increasingly important to enhance teachers’ knowledge base—their specialized knowledge, skills, competencies, and commitments—vis-à-vis the changing needs of English Language Teaching. The chapters in the book provide accessible theoretical orientation to different aspects of the Global Englishes paradigm, from instructional materials to language assessment, and are complemented by a range of practical applications that promote teacher development. The volume is recommended as a viable professional development resource for teacher educators who are looking for activities and resources in preparing teachers for diverse teaching contexts, realities, affordances, and constraints.