Teaching English as a foreign language to primary school students in East Asia Challenges and future prospects

• Published in: English today Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 16 - 21
• Main Authors: Rao, Zhenhui, Yu, Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.09.2019
• Subjects: Education policy; Elementary education; English as a second language; English as a second language instruction; English teachers; Globalization; Shortages; Socioeconomic factors; Teaching methods; East Asia; South Korea; China; Japan
• ISSN: 0266-0784; 1474-0567
• DOI: 10.1017/S0266078418000378

With the spread of economic globalization and the accelerating demand for English, governments in East Asian countries have been updating their English-in-education policies so as to enhance the quality of English education in the region (Hu & McKay, 2012). Of all these policies, the introduction of English as a compulsory subject at younger and younger ages is ‘possibly the world's biggest policy development in education’ (Johnstone, 2009: 33). It is widely believed that those who start learning English at an earlier age can utilize their ‘critical period’ to learn English more efficiently (Nunan, 2003; Y. Hu, 2007). However, the expansion of teaching English to young learners has not been unanimously supported and there is no conclusive evidence for the benefits of early exposure to a new language (Copland, Garton & Burns, 2014). Some researchers point out ‘the advantages of postponing formal teaching in specific contexts’ (Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, 2001: 163).