Ho Wah Kam & Ruth Y. L. Wong (eds.), English language
teaching in East Asia today: Changing policies and practices. 2nd ed.
Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2004. Pp. 474. Hb $30.00.
Ho Wah Kam & Ruth Y. L. Wong (eds.), Language
policies and language education: The impact in East Asian countries in the
next decade. 2nd ed. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2004. Pp.
384. Hb $30.00.
These two volumes, edited by two distinguished scholars in language
education from Singapore, provide basic, essential, up-to-date information
about the language situations and development of English language teaching
in East Asian countries. Together they form a valuable encyclopedic
reference work that will give scholars, teachers, and language policy
makers a bigger picture of the Asian region through which they can better
understand the position of their own countries and learn from the
experience of others. Although the two volumes can be read independently,
it is more logical to sequence Language policies and language
education before English language teaching in East Asia
today because the former provides an overview of language policies
and language education in the region from a macro perspective, which helps
to set out the necessary contextual background for a micro exploration
into issues of English language teaching in the second volume. The editors
take pride in the fact that the two books provide an “insiders'
perspective,” meaning that all the country-based chapters were
written by scholars who have lived in the given country for a long time.
Indeed, this helps to establish high credibility for the information
provided. On the good foundation that these two volumes have laid,
comparative studies across countries in the region can be conducted more
easily and efficiently.