This paper explores the relationship between education policy and the trajectory of English fever in Korea. English fever refers to a fervent desire to become proficient in English at almost any cost. English fever started with governments' globalisation efforts in the 1980s and further intensified in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial…

Ofsted's (2021) Curriculum research review for languages (OCRR) draws conclusion on what 'high-quality language education' may look like. This opinion piece problematises the status of these conclusions as 'features' or recommendations. Before delving into a selection of identified 'features' in more depth, the author highlights the complexity of…

Nicaragua published its first series of textbooks for the teaching of English in public secondary schools in 2016. This article reports on an investigation of the first three textbooks belonging to this series. The aim was to see how the textbooks follow up the Nicaraguan national curriculum, which emphasizes the need for learners to develop…

With the UK entering its fourth decade of this crisis with no end in sight, it is timely to ask how current policy directions for language learning beyond the compulsory phase (currently age 14 in all 4 UK nations) align with learners' psychological needs in relation to language learning. After a review of these psychological needs within…

This article assesses the impact over nine years of the "Mother Tongue Other Tongue" multilingual schools' poetry competition led by Carol Ann Duffy from Manchester Metropolitan University, in which over 35,000 pupils from 77 schools have participated to date. It reviews evidence from a 2019 evaluation of the project and from a project…

Taiwan's National Development Council recently announced plans for the country to become bilingual by the year 2030. However, the Council did not lay out a clear road map for how this major accomplishment is to be achieved, and the curriculum presently in place does not seem to meet the challenge. This article will review the current status of…

Common approaches to language teaching in many New Zealand schools typically show a lack of attention to students' own language-learning strategies. This article argues that the success or otherwise of language immersion programmes, in particular within Maori-medium educational settings, depend as much on the skills and strategies of the student…

This article will investigate the place of language learning in the new Curriculum for Wales and the value of a multilingual approach and ethos. The article will begin by setting out the historical context for modern foreign language teaching in the United Kingdom. It will then discuss the context for language learning in Wales, focusing on the…

This article offers a critical perspective on Ofsted's (2021) "Curriculum Research Review for Languages" (OCRR). Whilst the OCRR contains much that we would agree with (including its underpinning principle of drawing on research evidence to inform policy and pedagogy), we are nevertheless concerned that it could result in unintended…

This article reflects on the epistemological steamrolling that the 2021 Ofsted Curriculum Research Review (OCRR) accomplishes: in part, by the positioning of the problem and solution through highly selective cherry-picking (omitting key causal factors); in part, through the discursive move of acknowledging complexity before offering simple and…

This article reviews possibilities of raising learners' language and culture awareness or that of multilingualism as subjectively experienced, based on a review of two collections of studies that have made use of arts-based methodologies. This kind of data makes it possible to recollect past experiences, envision future events and reflect on…

Although "VCE English Language (EL)" has been offered for twenty years in Victoria, Australia, the subject, and especially students' experience of it, has had little evaluation. Using data from four surveys conducted across seven years with over 1500 Unit 3-4 "EL" students, augmented by VCAA enrolment data, a profile of…

Colombia, as other Latin American countries, has not been indifferent to the power of English as the language of business, international communication and academia. Since the end of the 20th century, there has been a great push in the country to promote the teaching of English: language policies have been formulated, ideal levels of proficiency…

Many Korean scholars have praised progressive initiatives in the current Korean National Curriculum (KNC) and Korean National English Curriculum (KNEC), although they also state that the actual teaching practices have changed little. With each new iteration of the KNC it is apparent that the Korean Ministry of Education (MOE) is encouraging a…

Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia are similar in many ways. Both were colonised by English-speaking British settlers, and English is a national language in each country. In recent years, both countries have become destinations for immigrants speaking languages other than English and international fee-paying students. Both have a chequered history…