Globalism is a neoliberally influenced focus on world markets and the knowledge economy particularly from the perspective of transnational economic entities. Nationalism concentrates on promoting the country as an entity distinct and special among other countries. When combined, as in Kazakhstan's case, the two perspectives constitute a paradox.…

Since the launch of the One Belt and One Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, the internationalisation of China's tertiary education has entered a new stage. Central to the BRI is investment and strategic planning for talent cultivation, knowledge production, and transmission. This paper explains how the BRI redirects, reinforces, and intensifies…

In 2011, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education issued a policy on the internationalisation of schooling. The policy assumes that being 'international' has become necessary in order to maintain economic competitiveness in a globalising world. It was published in two languages: Mandarin, the official language in Taiwan, and English, presupposed as a…

Bilingual education is spreading throughout the world as an approach for teaching content and language simultaneously. This is particularly true in Taiwan where implementation of bilingual education has begun as directed by the Blueprint for Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030. However, the spread of bilingual education is often…

This article recounts the lived experience of a Rwandan English teacher's journey from his village to international opportunities for scholarship and work, enabled by his agency in navigating the country's changing linguistic landscape. Using the narrative inquiry research method, the study uncovers an insider's perspective on Rwanda's switch from…

The Saudi English language education has experienced a continuous process of reform and revision. Recently, the Saudi English Language Curriculum (SELC) has been introduced to the research and practice community. The lack of research investigating language policies in the Saudi context is where the current study situates itself. Thus, a…

This study examines the language practices in educational settings in Pakistan, taking the multilingual groupings in society into account. In Pakistan, each province is linked to the single or multiple identities of its people and the languages spoken by the majority. The national language Urdu is limited to educational settings and its function…

In Japan, neoliberal discourses rationalize English language proficiency as a pathway to meritocratic reward and success in the global knowledge economy. With this ideology in mind, this review engages the market orientation of English domestically and the causative implications of class-distinguished capital. Specifically, Bourdieu's theory of…

Japan and Great Britain are both island nations with long histories. Nationalists in both nations like to emphasise the things that separate members of 'our' nation from others across the sea, and this includes language. In the British case the arrogant assumption that 'everyone else can learn English' has led to a serious decline in the number of…

This paper aims to establish that globalised social and linguistic changes have a more complicated impact on local behaviours and attitudes than is believed. Based on statistical analysis of nationally representative surveys in Japan, the paper presents evidence against the following two propositions: (1) globalisation increases local demand for…

The past few decades have witnessed an exponential growth in English-medium instruction (EMI) programs across the globe where English is used as a vehicle for subject matter delivery. Studies examining EMI issues have been conducted in various contexts, especially in European and Asian countries, but little has been documented regarding how EMI is…

This article explores language policy in Southeast Asia, focussing on two recent state and other institutional reform efforts and directions: one towards English, and the other towards the mother tongues. However, what needs to be highlighted is the bifurcated nature of language policy reforms in the region. That is, these two policy directions…

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has long been considered a global policy in language education. It has been borrowed and adopted by different polities across the world. However, it is still not clear why the CEFR, intended for European usage, has become a ubiquitous tool for overhauling the quality of teaching and…

This research provides an interdisciplinary and contextual study on the phenomenon of English promotion at the turn of the 21st century. Through documentary research and semi-structured interviews, it examines the politico-economic and socio-cultural dimensions of English promotion in the context of East Asian countries, including China, Japan,…

The spread of English is so much an integral part of globalization that it has become an essential global literacy skill. In Asia, this poses immense challenges to governments and English language teaching and teacher education professions as they attempt to meet this demand from students for a high level of English proficiency. This volume…