The 25 chapters contained in this book were all written by scholars working in the field of applied linguistics and English language teaching in various East Asian contexts. East Asia is large and diverse in terms of socio-economic, linguistic, and ethnic parameters. Statistics alone cannot give a clear understanding of what goes on in rural and urban universities and what challenges English language teachers and learners face in those contexts. To understand this wide gamut of issues in English language teaching in East Asia is thus a very large undertaking. The book addresses some of these issues, arranging its 25 chapters into five sections: namely, Assessing Language Performance; Teaching English Writing; Learner Autonomy; Corpus and Discourse Research; and Learning English in East Asian Contexts. Many of the chapters in this volume concern familiar topics such as linking assessment to teaching, learning and curriculum; conducting assessment validation research; examining meta-cognitive strategies; investigating teaching and learning English for academic purposes; and profiling prevailing word lists for language learners. Other chapters are on novel or lesser known topics such as non-verbal delivery in speaking assessment; the use of visualization as a reading strategy; learner strategies in a Facebook corpus; effects of discourse signaling cues and rate of speech; and an ontogenetic analysis of college English textbooks. Collectively, these chapters showcase English language learning, teaching, and assessing in a range of contexts using a variety of methods and techniques to deal with issues relevant to East Asian teachers, learners and researchers.

This book investigates the current EFL market in East Asia, focusing on K-12, university, and cram school English education in Japan, China, and Korea. It explores prevailing educational practices by both Asian learners and teachers of English, contrasting them with Western practices, and illuminating why Western pedagogical methods have often encountered tremendous resistance from teachers, administrators, parents, and students in the East Asian classroom context. After establishing this cultural contrast of pedagogical norms, the book presents a series of practical means for adapting Western teaching practices and philosophies to better suit the learning styles of East Asian students and the cultural context and practical realities of the East Asian classroom, offering both Western teachers working in East Asia and native East Asian teachers realistic plans for turning theory into successful practice. These plans are divided by subsections, focusing on the linguistic subskills being taught: listening/speaking, reading, and writing. Each section includes two contrasting lesson plans to demonstrate how the educational theories and practices promoted by the author can often be implemented by making relatively simple changes to existing practices that incorporate a fuller understanding of how to actively assist students in developing new learning styles and behaviors.

This book uncovers the challenges posed by globalization to Asian jurisdictions in English language teaching and teacher education.

Silence is a key pedagogical issue in language education. Seen by some as a space for thinking and reflection during the learning process, for others silence represents a threat, inhibiting target language interaction which is so vital during second language acquisition. This book eschews stereotypes and generalisations about why so many learners from East Asia seem either reluctant or unable to speak in English by providing a state-of-the art account of current research into the complex and ambiguous issue of silence in language education. The innovative research included in this volume focuses on silence both as a barrier to successful learning and as a resource that may in some cases facilitate language acquisition. The book offers a fresh perspective on ways to facilitate classroom interaction while also embracing silence and it touches on key pedagogical concepts such as teacher cognition, the role of task features, classroom interactional approaches, pedagogical intervention and socialisation, willingness to communicate, as well as psychological and sociocultural factors. Each of the book’s chapters include self-reflection and discussion tasks, as well as annotated bibliographies for further reading.

Faces of English Education provides an accessible, wide-ranging introduction to current perspectives on English language education, covering new areas of interest and recent studies in the field. In seventeen specially commissioned chapters written by international experts and practitioners, this book: offers an authoritative discussion of theoretical issues and debates surrounding key topics such as identity, motivation, teacher education and classroom pedagogy; discusses teaching from the perspective of the student as well as the teacher, and features sections on both in- and out-of-class learning; showcases the latest teaching research and methods, including MOOCs, use of corpora, and blended learning, and addresses the interface between theory and practice; analyses the different ways and contexts in which English is taught, learned and used around the world. Faces of English Education is essential reading for pre- and in-service teachers, researchers in TESOL and applied linguistics, and teacher educators, as well as upper undergraduate and postgraduate students studying related topics.

This book investigates inherent, structural differences in the Chinese and English writing systems which predispose learners from childhood to develop specific literacy-learning strategies, which can impair later efforts at learning foreign language literacy if the foreign language script varies significantly from the native language script. It compares educational practices and philosophies in Chinese and English-speaking classrooms, and examines the psychological underpinnings of these literacy learning strategies. This book presents psychometric testing of adult reading strategy defaults and examines case study data, revealing that Chinese students are susceptible to misapplying Chinese character-level processing strategies to English word identification tasks, which decreases reading efficiency, and ultimately can lead to learning failure. Finally, a new educational framework is proposed for teaching beginning language-specific word identification and literacy-learning skills to learners whose first language script varies significantly from that of the target language.

Develops new and intriguing insights into globalization theory and internationalization practice, expanding the investigation of East Asian values and contexts in comparison and separate from Western-dominant thoughts of globalization and internationalization in higher education.

The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners celebrates the ‘coming of age’ for the field of research in primary-level English Language Teaching. With 32 chapters written by international scholars from a wide geographical area including East Africa, Mexico, the South Pacific, Japan, France, the USA and the UK, this volume draws on areas such as second language acquisition, discourse analysis, pedagogy and technology to provide: An overview of the current state of the field, identifying key areas of TEYL. Chapters on a broad range of subjects from methodology to teaching in difficult circumstances and from Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to gaming. Suggestions of ways forward, with the aim of shaping the future research agenda of TEYL in multiple international contexts. Background research and practical advice for students, teachers and researchers. With extensive guidance on further reading throughout, The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners is essential reading for those studying and researching in this area.

This volume tackles perceived myths surrounding the academic excellence of East Asian students, and moves beyond Western understanding to offer in-depth analysis of the crucial role that shadow education plays in students’ academic success. Featuring a broad range of contributions from countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Singapore, chapters draw on rich qualitative research to place in the foreground the lived experiences of students, teachers, and parents in East Asian countries. In doing so, the text provides indigenous insights into the uses, values, and meanings of shadow education and highlights unknown cultural and regional aspects, as well as related phenomena including trans-boundary learning culture, nomadic learning, individualized learning, and the post-schooling era. Ultimately challenging the previously dominating Western perspective on shadow education, the volume offers innovative theorization to highlight shadow education as a phenomenon which cannot be overlooked in broader discussion of East Asian educational performance, systems, and policy. Offering pioneering insights into the growing phenomenon of shadow education, this text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in international and comparative education, curriculum studies, and East Asian educational practices and policy. Those interested in the sociology of education and educational policy will also benefit from this book.

This book aims to promote a better understanding of the education policy choices and implementation modalities that have enabled many East Asian countries over the last 30-40 years to move from education and economic conditions similar to those of many Sub-Saharan Africa countries to attain the level of development they enjoy today.