1.1 Introduction
Before developing the actual subject matter of the book, that is the young EFL learning (YEFLL) indiscipline in educational contexts, it would be constructive to see whether it is truly worthwhile to show genuine, systematic interest (especially, in research) in educational problems connected with teaching EFL (TEFL), such as the central one of this book, by briefly mapping the global stance adopted for English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching and learning, particularly in a young-learner context. Therefore, this book seeks to establish an evidence-based approach to the issue of the misbehavior of young EFL learners by first providing data in support of the international demand to raise instruction and learning standards in the TEFL sector and, consequently, to face the particular educational complication promptly and effectively.
More generally, the data here are going to reconfirm the importance of the English language for the development of countries worldwide and for oneâs self-improvement within this flourishing universal context. During an exploratory journey through this book, the readers and the author will share common background knowledge with respect to the urgent need to regard TEFL as a significant, autonomous subject throughout the world, to consider important teaching and learning issues gravely and seriously, to examine these issues in detail and, on the basis of findings and conclusions, to target surmounting obstacles and improving the teaching and learning contexts.
Reference to EFL learning with children in individual countries across the globe is supplemented in section three with details about existing indiscipline problems in the learning environments of primary school-age children. So ultimately the book will document not only the focal issue worldwide but also provide international frameworks in which the educational problem can be studied and alleviated.
1.2 The Internationalization of EFL
An extensive bibliographic study illustrated the common understanding of English as a universal language medium. Besides the claim that it is spoken widely as a native language, that is, the third most common mother tongue (L1) after Chinese and Spanish according to Lewis et al. (2015c), statistical figures at the start of the twenty-first century prove that a constantly increasing quarter of the worldâs population speaks English effortlessly or proficiently (Crystal 2003). In Crystalâs writings, English is recorded as the foreign language (FL) taught most extensively in more than 100 countries, in most of which it is also becoming the main FL in educational establishments like schools. Furthermore, TEFL knowledge and experience indicate that the positive stance of a large number of countries to English can influence educational decision making and practice targeted to the acquisition of the language in other territories.
Generally speaking, Crystal ascribed the international status of a language to the development of an exceptional role of that language acknowledged by all countries. Regarding English, he attributed its status to the spread of the British colonial power and the prestige of the United States of America (USA) as the principal twentieth-century power in economy. Following the development of his thinking and his extensive background knowledge, we see him capturing the added weight of English, in particular, as a lingua franca by placing the focus on the social, cultural, educational, political, and economic value of the language universally, and on the role it plays as the L1 of a vast number of individuals (e.g., in the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia), as an official language or second language (L2) such as in Hong Kong, Nigeria, Ghana, India and Singapore, and as the preferable FL in the European Union and at the United Nations.
At the yawn of the last decade of the twentieth century, Kachru (1992) also acknowledged the universality of English and put it down to a number of similar factors such as the large number of English speakers who had a different mother tongue, and the variety of sectors in which it was used (e.g., commerce, banking, tourism, technology, and scientific research). To these sectors, Crystal added communication, education, international relations, and travel, and Dahbi (2004) added aviation, petroleum engineering, and diplomacy. Fishman (1992) mentioned popular media, technical publications, and teenage slang too, and underlined the importance of English by referring to the positive role that non-native speakers of it, rather than the English L1 world, play in its expansion. Last, but not least, Brown (1991) identified the emphasis on English as a world language and the resulting sociopolitical issues (e.g., language policy and international varieties of English) as one of the major topics of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), and not surprisingly called the increase of English language use âstaggeringâ (p. 250).
Since then, a large number of authors have been providing supportive data to the preceding claims to the extent that, despite the existence of opposing critiques (e.g., see Pennycook 2007), the notion of English as a global language has become a highly unquestionable fact around the world. As a result, governments sharing the belief that English is a powerful tool for the growth of their countries and the improvement of the standards of their citizensâ lives have been proceeding with adaptations of their educational systems and, in particular, of their EFL learning policies and practices, to current worldwide demands. It is astonishing that this has been taking place even in countries where EFL does not emphasize or enrich, but is perceived to threaten, its learnersâ cultures or the local curricula, as is the case in Islamic countries (Fredricks 2007).
A study of local political, economic, and social developments around the world in relation to the globalization of English is obviously beyond the scope of this book. Nevertheless, mention can be made that is indicative of examples of countries that have responded to the need for what can be called the âTEFL boom.â This can further substantiate the existent need for teaching and learning English in creative, well-managed environments, and for studying relevant issues intensely and in reliable ways so that problems can be alleviated, instruction is improved and the aims of a populationâs language development and the relevant dependent countryâs advancement can be achieved.
Because of the TEFL-centered topic of this book, attention focuses on what Kachru (1992) has called âthe outer and expanding/extending circleâ (p. 356), where English is not granted official status but is recognized as a universal language and is prioritized as a foreign one. For this reason, no mention will be made to âinner-circleâ territories, where the dominance of English is a status because of the mother-tongue feature attached to it (e.g., the USA, Britain, Canada, and Australia), or to âthe outer-circle countriesâ that have experienced lengthy colonization periods, and where English is spoken as a second official language (e.g., Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia, India, Malta, Namibia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and the city of Hong Kong). Readers interested in these two sectors can study other sources such as Abdulaziz (1991), Adika (2012), Brown (1991), Crystal (2003), Kachru (1992), and Nunan (2003).
1.2.1 Asia
Starting from the Asian countries, it is worth pointing out Crystalâs precise claims that all over South Asia English is adopted as âthe medium of international communicationâ and that in the community of young South Asians it is understood to be âthe language of cultural modernityâ (2003, p. 49). Regarding the Asia Pacific region in particular, Nunanâs (2003) qualitative research on the influence of English as an international language on Asian schoolsâ educational policies and practices provided a detailed picture of the innovations implemented as a result of the domineering power of it. Nunanâs multiple case study involved the collection and analysis of 68 guided interviews and of a variety of documents. The researcher identified a common interest in these countries in the reinforcement of TEFL in state education, and the rising importance of proficiency in English for employment, occupational promotion, and university studies.
China, for a start, exemplifies the case of a country that has experienced the influence of an English-dominant culture. Since the 1980s the countryâs economic advancement has attracted foreign financial activities, technological influences, joint ventures, tourists from overseas, and profit-making imports. This has led largely to a multiplying number of chances to show oneâs English proficiency (Cortazzi and Jin 1996; Hu 2005a, b) by using it for social and vocational purposes (Nunan 2003). Moreover, China participated in the World Trade Organization and was awarded the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, both of which heavily influenced the course of development and governmental decision making, and led to an increased demand for EFL learning. Soon, large investments were launched for private English language institutes, and the teaching of EFL in secondary schools was encouraged more.
In the early 1990s, elementary school EFL education was introduced too (Hu 2002), with the starting age for learning the language lowered from 11 to 9 in 2001 (Nunan 2003), and started spreading swiftly in the socioeconomically developed areas (Hu 2005a, b). University studies with bilingual tuition (in Chinese and English) started being offered from foreign universities in China (Nunan 2003). Last, but not least, according to Nunan, in September 2001 the Chinese Ministry of Education introduced content-based instruction in English at the tertiary level for certain subjects (e.g., finance, foreign trade, law, and economics).
Moving eastward to Korea, English proficiency has been regarded as such a strong cause of concern in education, government, and business (Nunan 2003) that at tertiary level and in the employment sector, the language has become a requirement. Thus one can understand the reason why some instruction has been provided in both content and language in English at the university level. At the same time, large sums of money have been spent by families for their childrenâs EFL private tuition, and compulsory English instruction was lowered from age 13 to 9; as of 2001, the school policy of teaching English using English was adopted.
Koreaâs eastern neighbor, Japan, is an additional example of a large investor in school learnersâ development of EFL skills. According to the 2002 policy statement of the Japanese government (JGPECSST 2002), a series of policies were launched in education, culture, sports, science, and technology emphasizing the significance attached to school EFL learning. More specifically, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has made efforts to realize the aim of improving âan individually targeted teaching approachâ through a policy that designates upper secondary schools as âSuper English Language High Schoolsâ (SELHi).
Besides doing practical research and cooperating effectively with universities and sister schools overseas, the Ministry entrusted these schools with the responsibility for developing a curriculum focusing on English education and teaching certain subjects in English. Furthermore, it developed a strategic plan to cultivate âJapanese with English Abilitiesâ because, as stated, within the context of globalization in the economic and social sectors and of the use of English as a shared universal language, they considered it necessary for their childrenâs future and the future of the Japanese nation to help the young become skillful at communicating in English. For these reasons, the Ministry forwarded an action plan with the aim of helping English teachers become more qualified, utilizing English native speakers, encouraging overseas study, upgrading foreign language education, multiplying the number of SELHi, and offering English-speaking activities in primary state...