The International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives Vol 15, No 1, 2016, pp.

26-44
http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/IEJ/index

Globalization, English language policy, and

teacher agency: Focus on Asia
M. Obaidul Hamid

The University of Queensland: [email protected]

Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen

The University of New South Wales: [email protected]

This paper focuses on English teachers in Asia in the context of globalization,

the global spread of English and the emergence of English as an “Asian
language”. It highlights the dilemmas facing these teachers in meeting the
growing social demands of English proficiency in a technology-influenced,
managerial and neoliberal education environment with limited expertise, skills
and policy support. We locate the paper in language policy and planning
(LPP) within which the concept of micro-level agency provides a critical lens.
We draw on insights from several Asian countries including Bangladesh, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Vietnam. We argue that while
English teachers are found to exercise their agency to meet changing demands
of English proficiency, this agency can be seen as the result of what we call
“policy dumping” at the macro-level—i.e. education policymakers not paying
due attention to the requirements of policy implementation but dumping down
policies to educational institutions and English teachers for their
implementation. We conclude the paper by suggesting implications for English
language policies in Asian countries that respond to globalization and the
dominant discourses of English in a globalized world.

Keywords: English and globalization, English in Asia, Teachers of English as

a second language, Teacher agency, policy dumping, Language-in-education
planning

INTRODUCTION

English over the past few decades has emerged as a lingua franca for Asia. If it is the
official language of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is the de
facto language of communication for the whole of Asia (Kirkpatrick, 2007, 2011a, 2011b,
2012a, 2012b). Regardless of whether Asia can claim the ownership of English (Bolton,
2008, Kachru, 1998, McArthur, 2003), it is a fact that when an Indian communicates with
a Malaysian, or a Korean, or a Chinese for whatever purposes, the default means of the
communication is English.

Against this dominance of English for communication across the region and the world at
large, Asian nations’ English language policy responses to globalization and to the
discourses of English as a global language have resulted in two major education reforms:
1) introducing English earlier in the curriculum; and 2) adopting English as a medium of
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 Hamid & Nguyen

higher education (Hamid, Nguyen & Baldauf, 2013, Hu & McKay, 2012, Kirkpatrick,
2011a, Tollefson & Tsui, 2004, Tsui & Tollefson, 2007). Both reforms have brought
English teachers into the spotlight, particularly those from the public sector education,
requiring them to perform, often beyond their means, to deliver social and policy
expectations and account for how well they do what they do.

Traditionally, teachers in Asia have been viewed as authorities of knowledge and role
models, commanding social respect (e.g., Nguyen, 2009; Sullivan, 2000). In return,
teachers are expected to contribute to building the future of their students with sincerity,
devotion and some degree of selflessness (Alhamdan et al, 2014). While these traditional
social expectations of teachers and teacher roles are still relevant in many Asian contexts
(Nguyen, 2009), educational and socio-political realities of the contemporary world have
brought a new set of expectations of teachers, particularly in regards to teaching English
as an additional language. For instance, while English teachers in the past prepared
students mainly for examination, they are now expected to equip them with
communicative resources needed for their functioning as global citizens. In particular,
education policymakers expect that English teachers work towards transforming
schoolchildren into active agents who will effectively participate in a globalized economy
and contribute to national economic development. For this, English teachers are supposed
to possess advanced levels of English proficiency and pedagogical knowledge, particularly
in the principles and practices of communicative language teaching (CLT), which has
attained the status of a global pedagogy, and to keep up-to-date with educational
technologies to be able to work with children who are increasingly becoming digital
natives. Education authorities believe that teacher ability to perform these roles requires
monitoring through government mechanisms and media surveillance in a corporatized
system of education (Cohen, 2010). Furthermore, teacher accountability needs to be
ensured by examining student performance on designated tests of local and global
standards and comparing school performance both intra-nationally (e.g. Australia’s
National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy, NAPLAN) and inter-nationally
(e.g. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Program for
International Student Assessment, PISA). Student performance can also be linked to
teacher remuneration. In Bangladesh, for example, the Government is considering linking
non-government school teachers’ monthly payment order (MPO) to quality of education
and pass rates of institutions on national school-leaving examinations (Byron, 2015).

In this paper we discuss teacher responses to and strategies for dealing with these growing
social pressures, drawing on evidence from a number of Asian countries. We argue that
although exercising agency appears to be an important aspect of this response, the self-
exertion can be seen as a default choice for teachers given that macro-level policy actors
have transferred the onus of policy implementation to schools and teachers without
providing for on-going teacher learning and professional support.

We organize the paper in the following ways. First, we discuss English language policies
in a number of Asian countries, which have arguably responded to globalization. We then
examine the extent to which various Asian polities have developed qualified English
teachers to enact these policies. This examination creates the space for introducing teacher
agency in the context of language policy implementation and providing examples of
teachers’ agentive actions from classroom practices in the next two sections. We engage
in a critical reflection of teacher agency before suggesting implications of our analysis at
the end.

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Globalization, English language policy, and teacher agency

GLOBALIZATION, ENGLISH, AND ASIA

If globalization is understood as the interconnectedness of peoples, societies and nations

on a global scale, the role of English as a global language can hardly be overemphasized
in this process of global interdependence. Just as globalization has influenced all aspects
of contemporary life (Appadurai, 1996), English has influenced many aspects of life,
directly or indirectly, in many parts of the world. English is the dominant language of
communication, technology, academia, capitalism and entertainment (Crystal, 1997).
Whether English is the driver of globalization or vice versa may be unclear, but it is clear
that the relationship between them is symbiotic and mutually beneficial: if English
provides the linguistic and communicative infrastructure to globalization, the latter
promotes the cause of English by making the language imperative for participation in
globalized networks, markets and resources. It is the marriage of English and
globalization, whether arranged (see Phillipson, 1992) or co-incidental (Crystal, 1997),
and the merger of the underlying discourses of the two (see Coleman, 2011, Crystal, 1997,
Graddol, 1997, 2006, Hamid, 2010, Kachru, 1982, Pennycook, 2000, 2011) that drive
individuals, groups and societies towards more English. These discourses of English and
globalization can be seen as the driver of English-in-education policies in Asia.

For instance, Malaysia’s national ambition for English, as stipulated in its national
blueprint called Vision 2020 which aims to prepare the nation to become an industrialized
nation by 2020 (Malakolunthu & Rengasamy, 2012), is noteworhty. Like its more
successful neighbour, Singapore, internationalization of higher education is seen as a
crucial means for Malaysia’s success in a globalized world. It is expected that
internationalization will benefit the nation in two ways. First, this will enable Malaysia to
become an international hub of education which will attract international students and
foreign currency. Second, internationalization will widen the scope of employability of
local Malaysian graduates in a globalized job market. Based on this perceived role of
English, Malaysia has already switched to English from Malay as the medium instruction
for higher education. Malaysia had also experimented with English medium instruction
policy at the primary and secondary school level for science and mathematics subjects.
However, this was repealed in 2011 due to inefficient implementation, poor learning
outcomes and, more crucially, political ramifications (Gill, 2012; Lee, 2014).

Although the valuation of English by Japanese authorities can be hard to gauge, the
nation’s engagement with English as a global language for internationalization purposes
cannot be underestimated (Hashimoto, 2013). In a recent policy move, Prime Minister
Abe indicated that TOEFL testing will be used “to raise the standard of English of his
fellow countrymen” (Kin, 2013). It is suggested that the Japanese students will be
required to take the test as a requirement for admission in tertiary institutions and
graduation. The TOEFL strategy is part of a set of educational reforms for which the Mr
Abe is prepared to put aside one trillion yen, although it is not clear how much of the
amount will go into the TOEFL initiative.

In Vietnam, there was a growing realization by the 1990s that competence in foreign
languages was a key factor in facilitating the open door policy (Doi Moi) and enhancing
Vietnam’s economic and political competitiveness in the age of globalization and
internationalization. In a political move in September 2008, the Vietnamese Ministry of
Education and Training (MOET) issued the “National Foreign Language 2020 Project”
which emphasized foreign language education as a key driver in national development.

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The project outlined goals, tasks and plans for implementing the teaching and learning of
foreign languages within the education system. As part of this initiative, MOET aimed to
ensure that by 2020 most Vietnamese youth who graduate from vocational schools,
colleges and universities could use a foreign language (English, in practical terms)
independently. This language planning goal has led to a number of changes in English
language education, including increasing the teaching time devoted to English, changing
textbooks, offering English as a medium of instruction programs, and training and
retraining English language teachers.

The role of English in national development can be illustrated more clearly with reference
to India. It is interesting that the Indian Vision 2020 documents—neither the general
(Gupta, 2002) nor the educational one (Rajput, 2002) — explicitly discuss language
questions in their emphasis on the “Indianization” of knowledge or on building a
knowledge society in a globalizing world. This does not mean de-emphasizing the role of
English in India, a key player in the Asian century. What this probably means is that policy
makers do not intend to make the language the centre of ethno-political controversies like
those experienced at the dawn of independence from British rule. Or, perhaps more
plausibly, English is taken for granted as an Indian language, thereby foreclosing the need
for further discussion. Indeed, it can be argued that India (and to some extent the
Philippines) has already been reaping the benefits of English in a globalized world by
establishing itself as the preferred destination of outsourcing and call centres (Bolton,
2008). Therefore, India’s commitment to English can be seen as more pragmatic and
outcome-oriented, which appears to be more discourse-driven for some other developing
nations including Bangladesh (see Hamid, 2010).

Bangladesh is faced with the struggle of addressing the basic needs of a massive
population, including food, health, sanitation and basic literacy. However, Bangladesh’s
commitment to English appears astounding, regardless of the practicality of investment in
English (Bruthiaux, 2002). Fortunately for Bangladesh, the major language education
reforms in the country have been facilitated by the regular flow of ELT aid (see Hamid,
2010). There have been a lot of English teaching and learning activities in recent years,
some focusing exclusively on English whilst others being part of general education
projects. Typically, the justification of these projects refers to the discourses of English
and globalization and how English proficiency development can accelerate economic
development of the nation. For instance, a 9-year English language project currently in
operation is very explicit about Bangladesh’s necessity of English in a globalized world:

English in Action will provide the communicative English to transform

the lives of people in Bangladesh and make a major contribution to the
economic development of the country [...] It will look to change the lives
of up to 25 million people using new approaches to teaching and
learning (Hamid, 2010, pp. 289-290).
Similar discourses of English and national investment in English can be drawn from other
Asian nations. There is a wider social perception across Asia that English is a must, the
more and the earlier English is taught the better.

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Globalization, English language policy, and teacher agency

ENACTING MACRO-LEVEL POLICIES: ENGLISH TEACHERS IN FOCUS

The national policy discourses of English, as previously discussed, have called for policy
development in a number of areas to translate the policies into action by educational
institutions, teachers and students as well as parents and communities. Kaplan and Baldauf
(1997, 2003, and 2005) have proposed a comprehensive framework that points out the
areas where policy development as a first step to policy translation is required, including
access policy, curriculum policy, materials and methods policy, resources policy,
personnel policy, community policy and evaluation policy. Language teachers constitute
a crucial segment of the personnel policy whose role is fundamental to the implementation
of the policy for effecting language learning and language change in the expected
direction.

The language planning literature has shown that teacher factors are often seen as
responsible for student underachievement in English in many Asian countries (Kaplan,
Baldauf & Kamwangamalu, 2011). Nunan’s (2003) investigation of English teaching and
learning in East Asia highlighted the issues of teacher supply and the inadequacy of teacher
proficiency, skills and expertise. Inadequacy of teacher proficiency and professional
capacity has affected English teaching and learning in Bangladesh (Hamid, 2010).
Classroom observation, as reported and analyzed by Hamid and Honan (2012), shows that
the dominant activities taking place in the primary classroom may not have a significant
impact on students’ proficiency development. More recent classroom research points to
the co-existence of traditional and communicative teaching and learning practices
arguably as a consequence of project intervention (Shresta, 2013). Nevertheless, it may
not be asserted that the reported classroom practices would help achieve the project goals
of English proficiency development in a significant way. In Malaysia, survey results show
that two-thirds of the 70,000 Malaysian school English teachers (as well as students) are
not proficient in English (Straits Times, 2012). Teacher English proficiency issues have
affected medium of instruction policies at the university level as well, as evidenced by Ali
(2013; Ali, Hamid & Moni, 2011). Similarly, Indonesia has struggled to equip English
teachers with adequate levels of English proficiency and pedagogical skills
(Dardjowidjojo, 2000, Kirkpatrick, 2007). The fact that there are still many English
teachers who are not proficient enough to teach English subjects has been identified as one
of the factors leading to students with poor English comprehension (Sunggingwati, 2009).
Studies have suggested that the teachers in this context need further training in effective
teaching methodologies (e.g., Lie, 2007, Renandya, 2004, Sunggingwati & Nguyen, 2013)
and classroom language competence (Freeman, Katz, Garcia & Burns, 2015).

In Vietnam, there are increasing concerns about the quality of English language education.
Studies indicate that the teaching of the language is fraught with many problems. For
instance, after years of learning English, secondary school students do not acquire
sufficient competence in English. Students seem to be structurally competent but
communicatively incompetent (Le, 2007, Le & Barnard, 2009). In a study into how
Vietnamese learners learn English, To (2007) found that Vietnamese learners tend to
“learn by heart” (p.11). These findings support those from previous studies (Le, 2001;
Pham, 2000, 2005) which claimed that Vietnamese learners of English do not seem to be
provided with opportunities to communicate in English or to use English in meaningful
contexts. Nguyen (2011), in her investigation of the implementation of a new language
policy at a primary school in Vietnam, identified major challenges in enacting English
promotion policy including teacher supply, training and professional development,

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resourcing, teaching methods and materials. Several researchers (e.g., Duong, 2003,
Nguyen, 2011, Nunan, 2003, Pham, 2001) have asserted that the poor quality of English
language teaching is partly attributable to a lack of effective teacher training and teacher
professional development.

POLICY METAMORPHOSIS: FROM PUBLIC TEXTS TO PERFORMATIVE

ACTION AND THE ROLE OF AGENCY

The gap between English language policy ambitions (i.e., developing communicative
competence) and the requirements of policy implementation (e.g., supporting teacher
professional development) has called for the exercise of teacher agency at the local/micro
level. Traditionally, language policy and planning (LPP) has been located in the macro
context, recognizing the agency of political actors (Kaplan, 2011, Kaplan & Baldauf,
1997) in policy formulation. However, the past couple of decades have seen a
diversification of LPP contexts, which are now located in transnational as well as sub-
national spaces (Chua & Baldauf, 2011, Hamid & Baldauf, 2014). Therefore, although
macro-level agency still remains crucial, the agency of actors at both narrower and wider
contexts has started receiving important attention. In terms of LPP framing, we now have
micro and meso together with macro contexts (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997, 2003).
Accordingly, individual agency, particularly at the micro-level— and the agency of
teachers in particular—has started to receive important consideration (Baldauf, 2005,
Menken & Garcia, 2010, Zhao, 2011, Zhao & Baldauf, 2012, Nguyen & Bui, 2016).

The recognition of agency at the local context is critical for the implementation of macro-
level policies and policy goals. First, macro-level policy is, by definition, abstract and
decontextualized which needs to be appropriated in a local context. Often the success of
the policy depends on how it is interpreted, particularly by those who are involved in its
implementation, and whether there are similarities between the different interpretations of
policy intentions across sites and stakeholders. The dissemination of the policy may not
ensure the adoption of its intended meanings and interpretations, as studies indicate that
different actors assign different meanings and interpretations to the same policy (Ali, 2013,
Zacharias, 2013). Second, even when there is a convergence of policy interpretations
(Hamid et al, 2013), it cannot be taken as a given that teachers will embrace the policy
whole-heartedly and work towards policy goals. They may resist the policy in a covert
manner if policy intentions do not reflect their interests, beliefs and realities. For instance,
Martin’s (2005a, 2005b) ethnographic work in peripheral classrooms in Malaysia and
Brunei shows that instead of taking the textbook knowledge for granted, teachers
appropriate this knowledge to make it accessible to local students. This teacher mediation
between policy represented by textbooks and students’ realities on the ground may be
characterized by accommodation, acceptance or resistance (Walford, 2001). Teachers may
also work against policy intentions in circumstances where acting on the policy may not
be easy due to various constraints. One familiar example can be drawn from CLT.
Although national policies have adopted CLT widely, classroom research shows that what
happens in the CLT classroom is different from common expectations (see Hamid &
Honan, 2012).

The metamorphosis of policy from the macro to the micro context is aptly captured in Lo
Bianco’s (2010) conceptualizations of policy in different sites (e.g. macro, meso and
micro) as “public texts”, “public discourses” (or debates) and “performative action”. In his

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Globalization, English language policy, and teacher agency

understanding, macro policies are textual artifacts which are statements of goals or
intentions (Kaplan, 2011, Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997). These texts are often subjected to
public scrutiny in different forums (e.g., print and electronic media) and thus become
public discourses. Language policies as public texts, regardless of whether these are
exposed to public debates, are not deployed as is by teachers at the local context; rather,
these texts have to be transformed into performative action. As Lo Bianco (2010) explains:

Public texts are therefore decided instances of LP [language policy],

public discourses are ongoing debates about language problems, and
performances are the ongoing modeling of language forms desired and
valued by speakers or writers. Performative action can reinforce or
violate LP distilled in public texts or LP as suggested in prevailing
discourses (p. 162).
Lo Bianco (2010) recognizes the “relative autonomy” of the site of performative action
which can either reinforce or violate macro policy intentions:

…language teaching becomes more than simply teachers enacting or

implementing in a functional way decisions taken by curriculum
authorities or education ministries. Classroom language use becomes a
site, not completely autonomous and divorced from ministry or official
requirements, but sufficiently separated and distinctive to count as a
factor in shaping how language develops and changes (p. 156).
Thus, teacher agency is directly linked to the policy process, which can “perform” policy
in agentic ways to produce or hinder policy outcomes.

TEACHER AGENCY AND ENGLISH TEACHERS’ AGENTIVE ACTIONS

The concept of agency—particularly the agency of individual actors—is increasingly

becoming important in LPP (Menken & Garcia, 2010, Zhao, 2011, Zhao & Baldauf, 2012).
However, the field has not adequately defined agency (see Johnson & Johnson, 2015) or
embraced its complexity as understood from its various conceptualizations in social and
behavioural sciences (e.g. Ahearn, 2001; Emirbayer & Mische, 1998). Agency in the sense
of contextually mediated capacity to act freely (Ahearn, 2001) seems to have been given
preference in empirical work, although often without providing an explicit definition.

Lin’s (1999) classroom research in Hong Kong in different socio-economic contexts is a

case in point. The ethnographic work illustrates how teacher agency and effort can make
a difference in learning experiences and outcomes of those students whose social realities
and dispositions put them at a disadvantage at school.

The students in Classroom D came from a disadvantaged

socioeconomic background, as their counterparts in Classrooms B and
C did. Like their counterparts' habitus, their habitus did not equip them
with the right kind of attitudes and interest or skills and confidence in
learning English. However, there were signs of their habitus being
transformed through the creative, discursive agency and efforts of their
teacher (Lin, 1999, p. 409).

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The author highlighted the incompatibility of cultural resources and habitus of students
from disadvantaged backgrounds with the curricular expectations. She pointed that it is
through the teacher’s mediational work that the students’ engagement in learning was
ensured. The study illustrates how social expectations of English can be met by teacher
agency in transforming public texts (English curriculum) into performative action (agency
work) in the micro context.

Similarly, Martin’s (2005a, 2005b) ethnographic research in rural classrooms in Malaysia

and Brunei demonstrates the critical role of teachers and their agency. The curriculum for
English and English-medium content subjects produced by central education authorities is
brought to the local classroom in the form of textbooks (public texts). However, the world
of the textbook is different from the students’ realities on the ground, making it difficult
for them to engage with the textbook knowledge. Teacher agency is called for which
mediates between the textbook knowledge and the local givens. Through “safe” practices,
teachers appropriate textbook knowledge in the interest of their students.

Likewise, in the context of Vietnam, teachers’ agency is argued to be imperative for

pedagogical transformations. Within the context of Vietnam where educational reforms
were implemented without adequate preparation, it is critically important to foreground
teachers as policy actors with agency (Bui, 2013, Phyak & Bui, 2014, Nguyen & Bui,
2016). Teachers in these studies are reported to be engaged in exploring multilingualism
as cultural and linguistic resources for students’ learning. They are motivated and guided
to incorporate minority languages in class to maximize students’ linguistic repertoires.
Through working collaboratively with teachers, the scholars (Bui, 2013, Phyak & Bui,
2014) acknowledge that they simultaneously support and respond to "students’ voices
through applying more linguistically and culturally responsive pedagogical approaches"
(Phyak & Bui, 2014, p.14) which are based on students’ English abilities and needs. It can
be seen that appreciating teacher agency crucially helps them interrogate and negotiate
their beliefs, roles, and agencies based on their teaching experiences. It affirms that
teachers could teach differently when responding to students’ needs while reinterpreting
and appropriating education policies. This example emphasizes the importance of teacher
agency in responding to language policies that are unresponsive to linguistic and cultural
diversity.

Teacher agency emerges in English-medium classrooms in Indonesia, as reported by

Zacharias (2013). In order to create an elite cohort of Indonesian citizens who would
navigate successfully in a globalized economy, the government introduced the so-called
International Standard Schools (ISS) where English as a medium of instruction gradually
replaces Bahasa Indonesia. However, being educated in Bahasa Indonesia and not having
the opportunity to develop high levels of proficiency in English, the content teachers were
placed in a situation where they struggled to teach in the foreign language. Pressed by the
policy dictates and having limited choices, the teachers in the research site exerted
themselves in innovative ways to manage English-medium teaching. For instance,
Zacharias (2013) quoted a computer science teacher who bought a Samsung X2 phone and
“made a personal technology leap”:

When I teach, I open google translate in my desktop. So whatever I want

to say to the students, I type it into the google translate. I like google
translate because it also includes the pronunciation. So, it helps me.
Especially when the electricity is down and I cannot use my desktop.

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Globalization, English language policy, and teacher agency

That’s why I buy this phone. Too expensive for me, actually. So I can
just type the phrase/word I wanna say in Indonesian and then, I can see
and listen how to say it. For example ‘pindah ke atas’[let’s move
upstairs]. But the problem is when there is a connection problem, then
I use Indonesian (Mr Eko, 2 April 2012) (p. 101)

Zacharias (2013) interpreted the use of technology by this teacher in the following way:

Here, I found Mr E’s buying Samsung X2, a phone that is way above his
pay grade, as an act in activating his agency in surviving the EMI policy.
It helps him to navigate his teaching around the expectation to use
English as well as local constraints (occasional power blackouts) (p.
101).

As the researcher interprets, the teacher illustrates his agency by taking an agentic action
(i.e., buying an expensive device for educational use). While the action is inspired,
ironically, by an unsupportive policy (EMI), the teacher is also driven by the interests of
his students to ensure their learning in the EMI class.

Ali’s (2013) research illustrates teacher agency in higher education in Malaysia where the
introduction of English-medium instruction in response to globalization has created
challenges for teachers and students due to low levels of English proficiency (Ali, Hamid
& Moni, 2011). Although the policy itself was interpreted in different ways by different
teachers, there was a general consensus that content teachers were not responsible for
explicit teaching of English, for which they had neither the time nor the expertise.
Nevertheless, some teachers made extra efforts and covered language in their content
teaching in the interests of students. The agentive engagement of one teacher was
particularly remarkable who perceived the struggles of the students in learning content
through English, in which they had limited proficiency, from the experience of one of his
own children who also had had limited English but had been set to study medicine.
Viewing the students as his own children, he provided English language support so that
learning became meaningful to them.

Teacher agency can also be observed in the context of teacher learning and professional
development. As previously discussed, the introduction of early English or English as a
medium of instruction in Asian countries has not seen commensurate policy initiatives for
teacher professional development (Hamid, 2010, Nunan, 2003). The inadequacy of teacher
learning and skill enhancement has left English teachers in a precarious situation in dealing
with the mounting pressures from stakeholders including policymakers, employers,
students, parents and the media. For instance, it is argued that Vietnamese university
graduates’ poor performance in an Intel recruitment in 2008, in which only seven per cent
of the 2000 information technology students met the required standards of the English
language, might have triggered a massive overhaul of the English language teaching and
learning in the country by launching the 2020 project, as previously discussed. While the
government initiative taken in response to globalization to create opportunities for
Vietnam in a globalized economy is laudable, it is unclear whether the policy will succeed
in creating an army of qualified English teachers to cater for the English learning
population country (Le, 2012, Le & Do, 2012, Nguyen, 2011). Under these circumstances,

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English teachers in some countries are found to exercise their agency in enhancing their
professional skills on their own, not relying on government-provided teacher learning
opportunities. For instance, Shahab (2013) explores, through a narrative inquiry, a group
of English teachers’ self-initiated learning activities in Pakistan where government
provisions for teacher skill enhancement are minimal, if not non-existent. She interviewed
15 secondary level teachers—five from each of the three streams of education including
public-sector general education, religious (madrasa) education and privately funded
English-medium education—to understand their self-initiated activities for improving
English proficiency, content knowledge and pedagogical skills. Although the study shows
that teacher engagement with learning activities was mediated by institutional support (for
instance, the private sector English-medium institutions provided more encouragement to
their teachers than the two other sectors), teacher initiation of the learning itself is
noteworthy.

Similarly, Nguyen (2008) explored “self-directed learning” of a group of English teachers

teaching at the tertiary level in Vietnam. The motivation behind such learning was the
inadequacy of pre-service and in-service training opportunities for English teachers in the
country. Although the study does not divide the kinds of professional development
activities (e.g., workshops and action research) that the teachers were engaged in into
government-provided and self-initiated categories, the teacher interview data showed that
self-direction, which underlies teacher agency, was an important characteristic of teacher
activities for professional development.

AGENCY OR POLICY DUMPING?

In the examples of English teachers’ agency work discussed above, we can see the
inadequacy of macro-level policies and the lack of support for teachers that would equip
them linguistically and pedagogically for developing students’ proficiency in English. The
absence of teacher support and learning means that teachers are required to exercise their
agency for the benefit of their students. While it is rightly argued that macro-level policies
need to recognize the agency of teachers in the micro context (Ali, 2013, Menken &
Garcia, 2010, Zacharias, 2013), the background of teacher agency as described in this
paper raises the question of whether teacher agency involves free choice for teachers or
whether it is the predictable consequence of the avoidance of responsibility by policy
actors at the macro level. This is not suggesting that teachers do not have a choice. Indeed,
teachers who are found to be exercising their agency could also have given lip service to
the policy (see Zacharias, 2013, for example) as “passive technicians” (Kumaravadivelu,
2003), without reflecting on policy outcomes for their students. However, the teachers, as
referred to in this paper, probably considered themselves “transformative intellectuals”
and acted in the interests of their students, even while dealing with policies that apparently
did not make sense, or for which they had not been fully equipped from a pedagogical or
resource point of view (Kaplan & Baldauf, 2003). In other words, although ambitious
English language policies have been initiated at the macro level in the wake of
globalization, the pre-requisites of policy implementation (as described in Kaplan &
Baldauf’s 2003 policy development framework) are not fully addressed for reasons related
to resource constraints or a lack of political will. This creates a case of policy (goals)
without planning (action) (Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997), as described by Pearson (2014) with
regard to language-in-education policy implementation in Rwanda. Under these
circumstances, the onus of policy implementation is transferred to the meso and micro

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contexts. It is through their agency that English teachers “deliver themselves up to policy”
(Ball, 2009, p. 87).

Teacher agency resulting from the absence of planning at the macro-level policy has been
substantiated by Hamid (2010) with reference to Bangladesh. English language teaching
programs and educational reforms in this country have been significantly influenced by
donor-funded English language projects. In the late 1990s one such project called English
Language Teaching Improvement Project (ELTIP) was jointly funded by Government of
Bangladesh and the British Department for International Development (DfID) which
introduced CLT in the country (Hamid, 2010, Hamid & Baldauf, 2008, Hunter, 2009).
When the first phase of the project came to an end in 2002 and the DFID did not want to
fund the project in the second phase, the Government of Bangladesh was in a dilemma: It
did not want to discontinue the good work that the project had done but, at the same time,
it was unable to manage external funding. Ultimately, the government decided to finance
the project from internal resources. The seven education boards and the National
Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) were dictated to pump money into the project,
even though these institutions did not have a revenue-generating capacity. Despite the
uncertainty of funding, project staff, including teacher trainers, continued their work
without receiving salaries for months. This policy transfer from the macro level to meso
and micro levels can be called “policy dumping” in which traditional policy actors take
credit for policy initiation, but the onus of implementation is left with those at the lower
strata of the policy hierarchy. We would argue that the examples of teacher agency that
we have discussed in this paper reflect the role of teachers as transformative intellectuals
who are committed to policy action despite the contextual constraints and the inadequacy
of professional and social support. However, what we call agency can also be seen as a
result of policy dumping—the macro-level actors not taking full responsibility for policy
implementation and inviting teacher agency to fill the gap by self-exertion.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper has examined the implications of the globalization of English and the growing
use of English in Asian societies for English teachers’ professional development and
practice. We have examined how globalization has led education policymakers in Asian
countries to subscribe to the dominant discourses of English for internationalization of
higher education, participation in a globalized economy and national economic
development. Consequently, Asian educational policy response to globalization has
resulted in introducing more English either at an earlier stage of the curriculum or making
it a medium of instruction or both. As we have argued in the paper, the policy reforms
have exerted tremendous pressure on English language teachers who are expected to live
up to social and policy expectations often with little or limited pedagogical training and
support. While English teachers in many Asian classrooms are found to exercise their
agency to meet policy demands, their agency can also be seen as a case of self-exertion in
the absence adequate professional and pedagogical support. We would argue that this
emerging agency is the result of policy dumping at the macro-level—i.e., educational
policymakers not paying due attention to the requirements of policy implementation but
dumping policies to educational institutions and teachers for their implementation. Thus,
the teacher agency that we have reported in the article drawing on works from a number
of education contexts in Asia is interesting because agency is not exactly an exercise of

36
 Hamid & Nguyen

freewill; rather, teachers are, in a way, forced to exert themselves if they wanted to help
students to meet policy goals.

While it is encouraging to see innovative teaching practices as a result of teachers

exercising their agency, it also needs to be emphasized that the implementation of policies
should not be contingent on teacher agency in the sense of self-exertion. Although some
teachers may be willing to follow this path to meet the needs of students viewing
themselves as transformative intellectuals, not all teachers will necessarily take this
direction in their teaching practice. In fact, it is also common to see teachers either resisting
policies or subverting policy intentions, as reported by Ali (2013) and Zacharias (2013).
Therefore, policymakers need to pay attention to the requirements of policy
implementation, particularly with reference to personnel policy including teacher training
and ongoing professional development in the light of changing expectations of English
teachers and teacher roles. As we have highlighted in the article, if English language
policies have produced only modest outcomes in many of the Asian societies, it is largely
due to teachers and teacher education and professional development issues. Therefore,
English language policies should be informed not just by what societies needed, from the
linguistic point of view, to meet the challenges of globalization but also whether policies
can be translated into action taking into account various requirements including teachers,
teacher skill development and expertise.

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