Sociolinguistics and Language Education.pdf

104 Part 2: Language and Society
“break-the-code” of print’ (Turbill, 2001: 274) and to see literacy in a
broader framework. Finally, up-to-date hardware is needed along with
more innovative software. While it is clear we have gained a lot of insights
into the role of imagined communities, identity and technology in language
learning, it is important to consider some of the challenges that
current research is posing to the profession.
Challenges Ahead
Inequality of access in English learning
An economic divide in the teaching of English is evident in South Korea
where, Park and Ableman (2004) argue, ‘English has long been a class
marker in South Korea: namely knowledge of and comfort with English
has been a sign of educational opportunity, and for some of the experience
of travel or study abroad and contact with foreigners in South Korea’
(p. 646). The size of the English language market in South Korea is estimated
to be about $3333 million dollars a year with another $833 million
spent on study abroad programs. The private after-school education
market is also booming, particularly after it was announced in 1995 that
English would become an elementary school subject. Many Korean parents
are sending their children to English-language kindergartens, even
though such schools are typically three times more expensive than ordinary
kindergartens (Park, 2006).
Unfortunately, this economic divide in access to English is often reinforced
by Ministries of Education themselves. China is a case in point. In
1976, Deng Xiaoping launched a national modernization program in
which English education was seen as a key component: ‘English was recognized
as an important tool for engaging in economic, commercial, technological
and cultural exchange with the rest of the world and hence for
facilitating the modernization process’ (Hu, 2005: 8).
In 1978, the Ministry of Education issued the fi rst unifi ed primary and
secondary curriculum for the era of modernization. This curriculum introduced
foreign language learning at Primary 3. The directive also mandated
that efforts in promoting English language profi ciency were to be
aimed at strengthening English language teaching in elite schools, which
were expected to produce the English-profi cient personnel needed to successfully
undertake national modernization. In fact, in 1985 the Ministry
of Education exempted poorly resourced schools from providing English
instruction. In addition, the Ministry of Education gave several economically
developed provinces and municipalities the autonomy to develop
their own English curricula, syllabi and textbooks for primary and
secondary education (Hu, 2005). These materials tended to be more innovative,
learner-centered and communicative than earlier classroom texts
and materials.