Language education policy and practice in East and Southeast
Asia
Author
Kirkpatrick, Andy, Liddicoat, Anthony J
Published
2017
Journal Title
Language Teaching
Version
Accepted Manuscript (AM)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444817000027
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Cambridge University Press. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper.
Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the
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Lang. Teach. (2017), 00.0,1–34
c
Cambridge University Press 2017
doi:10.1017/S0261444817000027
State-of-the-Art Article1
Language education policy and practice in East
and Southeast Asia
2
3
Andy Kirkpatrick Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Q1
4
a.kirkpatrick@griffith.edu.au5
Anthony J. Liddicoat Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, UK6
Tony.Liddicoat@unisa.edu.au7
East and Southeast Asia represents a linguistically and culturally diverse region. For example,
more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia alone. It is against this backdrop of
diversity that the ten countries that comprise Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) have recently signed the ASEAN Charter which, while calling for respect for the
region’s languages, cultures and religions also officially nominates English as ASEAN’s
working language. In this article, we examine the language education policies of the region
and consider the implications of these policies for the maintenance of linguistic and cultural
diversity on the one hand and the promotion of English and the respective national languages
on the other. As ASEAN is closely connected to the three major countries of China, Japan and
South Korea, as indicated by the ‘ASEAN
+
3’ forum, we also include these countries here.
We stress that, as space forbids an in-depth treatment of the language education policies of
each of the 13 countries, we have chosen to describe and discuss in some depth the policies
of 5 countries (China, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam), as these provide a
cross-section of language policy contexts and approaches in the region. We add brief notes
on the policies of the remaining countries.
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1. Introduction and background23
East and Southeast Asia is the most linguistically diverse region on earth, with some 2,500 of24
the world’s 6,700 languages being found in Asia (Lewis 2009). Given this diversity, it is not25
surprising that language education has been a key policy pre-occupation in East and Southeast26
Asia in the period following the Second World War. The post-war period, for many countries27
of the region, is the period in which they achieved independence from colonial governments.28
Independence has typically brought with it a focus on the development of national identities29
and economies which in turn has entailed modernisation and, more recently, integration30
into the global economy. Within this context, language has played an important role, both in31
2 ANDY KIRKPATRICK AND ANTHONY J. LIDDICOAT
terms of national consolidation through national languages and in terms of foreign language32
learning in the context of economic development and modernisation. For the countries33
of the region, English has played a particularly significant role as a foreign language in34
education.35
While national languages have been strongly supported in education systems, there is36
concern, however, that many of the languages of the region are threatened as they, with few37
exceptions, are not included in schools’ curricula (e.g. Nolasco 2008; Feng & Adamson 2015).38
Instead, generally speaking, the nations of the region are promoting their respective national39
languages along with English. This means that English is the major ‘foreign’ language taught40
throughout the region and its inclusion in primary schools’ curricula i s often at the expense41
of local languages (Coleman 2010; Hadisantosa 2010; Kirkpatrick 2012).42
This article examines the language education polices of a selection of the nations of43
Southeast and East Asia by considering the countries that constitute the ASEAN + 3forum.44
The majority of nations of East and Southeast Asia participate in this forum, which functions45
as a coordinator of co-operation between ASEAN
1
and three East Asian nations: China, Japan46
and South Korea. The focus of the ASEAN + 3 forum is currently primarily economic, but47
ASEAN leaders have confirmed that politics, especially security, and socio-cultural issues48
will be an integral part of the planned ASEAN Community, established at the end of 201549
(ASEAN 2015). This regional grouping thus represents a key element of Asian collaboration50
and its member nations have many similarities that justify considering it as a grouping for51
discussing language education policy.52
The purpose of this article is first to review the language education polices of these nations.53
As the total number of countries which comprise the region under review is 13, it will be54
impossible to provide a full review of the language education policies of each. Instead we55
will review the relevant policies of what we hope offers a representative cross-section of the56
countries, while noting that a common characteristic to almost all the countries here is one57
of their linguistic and cultural diversity. The countries to be treated in some depth are China,58
Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Reference to the other countries will be made59
where relevant. We shall also consider the potential impact of current language education60
policies upon the languages of the region. As will be noted, almost all these countries promote61
their respective national languages and prioritise English as the first ‘foreign’ language that62
students will learn in school. We will therefore address a number of questions including:63
• will the implementation of such policies be likely to lead to a reduction in the number64
of Asians who are multilingual in Asian languages?65
• will the diverse linguistic landscape of the region gradually be replaced by an66
increasing trend towards monolingualism in the national language for the majority67
and bilingualism in the national language and English for the elite?68
• might the elite, in some cases, even develop English as their first language?69
Language policy is an inherently ideological process (Liddicoat 2013) and a number of70
ideologies have shaped the existing language education policies of the East and Southeast71
1
ASEAN comprises Brunei, C ambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and
Vietnam.
LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE IN ASIA 3
Asian region. The nation-building practices of East and Southeast Asia have often been72
influenced by the one nation-one language ideology that developed alongside the rise of the73
nation-state in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. This ideology is an innovation of74
the European post-Enlightenment and historically linguistic uniformity was not considered75
as fundamental for the operation of a polity in Asia or elsewhere. As May notes, pre-76
enlightenment empires were not based on a requirement for linguistic uniformity but77
rather were ‘quite happy . . . to leave unmolested the plethora of cultures and languages78
subsumed within them – as long as taxes were paid’ (May 2012: 6). While this perhaps79
simplifies an extremely complex situation, and elites would undoubtedly have been required80
to become literate in languages of power, the notion of one language for one nation would81
have been foreign. The one nation-one language ideology received impetus particularly82
from the rationalist nation-building agenda of the French Revolution, which argued for83
a single language for the French state in two ways. The first is a pragmatic rationale:84
a common language allows effective communication and access to state institutions and85
political functions. The second was symbolic: a single language creates and represents a86
single, unified identity. This ideology was exported from Europe to the rest of the world in the87
wake of European colonial expansion and had become established as a linguistic truism at88
the time of nation-state formation in Asia in the wake of decolonisation in the 20th century,89
although its influence can be traced to earlier periods, notably to the emergence of the90
Japanese nation-state in the Meiji period (Liddicoat & Heugh 2014). One consequence of91
this has been that many Asian nation-states have opted for officially monolingual language92
policies, although some states such as Singapore and Malaysia have established multilingual93
policies. Even in these cases, however, as we shall show, the pragmatic rationale of the one94
nation-one language ideology has often led to one language being privileged over others for95
intranational communication.96
The Asian region has also been influenced by a number of newer ideologies that97
relate more specifically to language education. In particular, there has been a prevailing98
ideology of pragmatism in the framing of the educative purpose of language education.99
Language learning is seen as being primarily for the purpose of economic development,100
often accompanied with agendas of modernisation and internationalisation. This ideological101
positioning of language learning favours an orientation to languages spoken outside the102
nation-state, especially those perceived as having a significant international role (Liddicoat103
2013). In the Asian context, economic pragmatism as a rationale for language education has104
typically intersected with ideologies of English as THE global language (Pennycook 2000). It105
is as if there is a belief, as articulated by Mizamura and cited by Yoshihari & Carpenter, that106
‘the act of acquiring knowledge is wholly dependent on the language one knows. The less107
English one knows the less access one has to g lobal knowledge’ (Yoshiri & Carpenter 2015:108
4). It is also the case that English has come to be seen, at least in some countries, as a vehicle109
for disseminating one’s own knowledge and world view inter nationally.110
The focus on Eng lish in Asia is very apparent in the language policies of the ASEAN.111
The ten countries that comprise ASEAN signed the ASEAN Charter in 2009. The Charter112
privileges English by making it the sole working language of the community, but, in so doing,113
simply officially ratifies what had been common practice in the first 40 years of ASEAN’s114
existence (Kirkpatrick 2010). Nevertheless, the official recognition of English as the sole115
4 ANDY KIRKPATRICK AND ANTHONY J. LIDDICOAT
working language will provide further impetus for the learning of English in the region’s116
schools, and this, as we shall illustrate below, is already being seen by the earlier and earlier117
introduction of English into the curricula of almost all the member states. At the same time118
as privileging English, however, the Charter also seeks to inculcate ‘respect for the different119
cultures, languages and religions of the peoples of ASEAN while emphasising their common120
values in the spirit of unity in diversity’ (Article 2). As such, ASEAN represents a search for a121
new identity for which language education policy will need to play an essential role (Tochon122
2015). English is to p lay a vital role in the development of this ASEAN identity. As pointed out123
by the Secretary General of ASEAN himself, Le Luong Minh, ‘With the diversity in ASEAN124
reflected in our diverse histories, races, cultures and belief systems, English is an important125
and indispensable tool to bring our Community closer together’ (ASEAN 2013). We shall126
also therefore consider below the extent to which respect of different cultures, languages and127
religions, is reflected in language education polices and how this might be balanced against128
the promotion of English.129
The one nation-one language ideology and the pragmatic rationale for language learning130
have combined in many Asian nations to exert a constraining pressure of language policy131
that has often conflicted with the multilingual realties of these nations. This, as we shall132
demonstrate, has led to the promotion of national languages across the region.133
2. Language education policies: Country reviews134
The most recent i teration of language education policies of each of the selected countries135
will be described and the impact and potential consequence of any changes will be critically136
considered. The countries whose language policies will be reviewed and considered in depth137
are China (including Hong Kong), Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. T hese138
countries have been selected as they represent the diversity that can be found within the139
region. CHINA provides a typical example of a country which is rigorously promoting the140
national language along with English at the expense of Chinese languages. JAPAN represents141
a country that has rigorously denied internal linguistic diversity in which English has been142
introduced alongside the national language. Indonesia is the only country of the region which143
has not made English a compulsory subject at primary school. Even though or, perhaps,144
because it is extremely linguistically diverse, with over 700 language spoken, INDONESIA145
makes little attempt to introduce local languages as languages of education or as subjects,146
instead focusing on the promotion of the national lingua franca, Bahasa Indonesia. THE147
PHILIPPINES, where more than 170 languages are spoken, represents a contrast in that it148
has recently abandoned its Bilingual Education Policy (BEP) which privileged English and149
Filipino as the two languages of instruction in schools and adopted a new policy of mother150
tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE). VIETNAM represents an example of a151
country where French functioned as the official language during the French colonial period.152
It has suffered many years of civil war followed by national partition, when different language153
policies were adopted in North and South Vietnam. The current situation is the consequence154
of the policies of the North being introduced to the whole country on reunification in 1975,155
