Book Review: English for Young Learners in Asia: Challenges and Directions for Teacher Education by Subhan Zein and Yuko Goto Butler

Theoretically, the process of young learners acquiring language and how a teacher teaches the language is different. The process requires pedagogical and linguistic skills for the development of learning and teaching, primarily in the Expanding Circle (Asia). In sociolinguistics, Expanding Circle refers to the categorization of English-speaking populations based on their relationship with the English language. Kachru (1990) proposes this framework in his “World Englishes” model to the countries where English is taught as a foreign language and does not have official status. For example, in Indonesian primary schools, English is introduced as a local subject. English can be taught in primary schools considering relevant and appropriate to the circumstances such as the availability of facilities with learning materials and teachers to support learning English as an additional language in the school (Zein, 2017). However, with various policies and educational changes, this book discusses the ways in which English is increasingly taught and learned by young learners in many schools in Indonesia and other countries such as in South Korea, Japan and Turkey. This book sheds light and raises critical issues around different perspectives on whether learning a foreign language is better at young age (Nunan, 2003).

Teaching English to young learners genuinely requires specialised knowledge of what to teach and how to teach. In this book, Zein, Xiaong and Peng all argue that it is essential for teachers to develop a set of knowledge and skills to teach English to Young Learners (EYL) effectively. This book shares the challenges faced by the English teacher to be qualified, linguistically proficient and pedagogically skilled. Undoubtedly, this book touches on extremely important topics regarding some encounters faced by the teacher including educational policy and direction. The authors convey wide views on current issues like trilingual education policy found in Kazakhstan, concerning its trilingual languages. I note, that the current minister (Aimagambetov) states that English as a subject will still be introduced in primary school, but from grades 2, 3, or 5 (ages 7–11). The minister asserts that “it is difficult to start learning a new language until the children in Grade 1 master their writing and reading skills in their mother tongue” (Aimagambetov, 2019). Other issues like English teachers found in South Korea, regarding who teaches the language and why they decide to teach are genuinely vital to understand since the teacher's assignment and rotation system issued influence their commitments to English Language Teaching (ELT). Despite their motivations for teaching English coming from intrinsic to extrinsic, the rotation system can direct their commitments (see chapter 2). In this book, Zein and Butler succeed in promoting collective cases to benefit all, and this is something that governments and/or policymakers should note, as well as readers who might be interested in the field. English-language acquisition can be very varied related to aspects of cultural, geographical and environmental issues that young learners acquire. Nevertheless, the authors provide some recommendations or notes for policymakers, scholars and readers in each of the authors’ work.

The authors divide this book into ten chapters based on their empirical research. The chapter opens with an introduction to English for young learners to broaden the comprehensive knowledge to the reader and it ends with an innovative Professional Development (PD) model for in-service primary school teachers (generalists) to teach English in the context of Osaka, Japan. This approach is considered innovative in comparison to the cascade model (top-down). It begins with a direct and very localized model. Additionally, and most significantly, this paradigm is practice-oriented and associated with localized PD for English teachers in secondary schools (as opposed to the silo model). Zein and Butler argue that “despite the high demand for PD for teachers in Asia, the governments struggle with developing sufficient and effective PD opportunities for the teachers” (p. 5). Consequently, the authors give attention to policymakers, government and teacher education for improvement in teaching English, especially for young learners. Issues such as teachers’ lack of PD found in Japan, and others make this book a new catalytic as a future reflection. In Japan, for instance, the government's decision to introduce primary-school English policy is “seriously impeded by the lack of trained teachers” (Ng, 2016: 7). At the same time, this book shares the practice, critical thoughts and direction of English teachers for children in Japan, and in the Asian century in general. This book conveys a comprehensive overview of the future direction for teacher education as discussed by Zein, to what and how English should be taught to children (see Zein, 2017: 131). In practice, teaching English to young learners is challenging, considering the level of proficiency of teachers. Zein and Butler retrieve sources and directions for developing teacher education in Asia. Similar to this, Cameron (2001) suggests that learning a foreign language from an early age can function several language skills, for example, listening comprehension and pronunciation. This fact reflects a higher initial demand for English teachers and children to learn English at an early age and for teachers’ PD nowadays.

Looking to the future, Zein and Butler share more ideas on the intention to comprehend expectations as well as implementation primarily in this largest land, and it is not just reasonable but also noteworthy to advance critical discussions on teacher education for EYL instructors in Asia, and it is an important read for scholars and early language learners. The complexity of teaching English to children outlined in Asia, with several themes and new advances, including policies on teacher education, needs analysis, classroom discourse, practicum, knowledge foundation, and program evaluation discussed, which benefits reader understanding, but the book does not explicitly criticize the need for online modes to refine future education in the twenty-first century. It is regrettable that this book also does not explain in depth the importance of emotional engagement (or lack of it) of young learners, and although in chapter 4 Kambatyrova et al. address the emotional aspect of learning and teaching, the explanation is not explored in detail despite the growing number of academics arguing for recognition of emotional involvement when working with young children (Mikuska and Fairchild 2020). The book encourages ongoing discussions on teacher education covering various issues such as challenges faced by teacher education of EYL in Asia, knowledge-based EYL, teacher identities discussed by Shrestha in chapter 7; as I note, he examines Bangladeshi primary English teachers’ classroom practices and their personal attitudes, beliefs and perceptions about ELT practices, specifically traditional and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) practices through large-scale datasets towards English in Action (EIA). Surprisingly, the results show that the predominant ELT practices in Bangladeshi primary classrooms were traditional and teacher-centred. The conversations and interactions of the students received minimal attention. His findings give implications to take into account local pedagogies, teacher needs and their beliefs and existing practices. He then proposes that instead of imposing a top-down approach on teachers through the frequent introduction of new donor-funded ELT projects for English-language education reform, the government should consider the integration of local pedagogies, educational cultures and a bottom-up approach.

To sum up, this book highlights the challenges and complexity surrounding English teacher education for children in Asia and raises awareness for improvement in English-teaching practice. The authors encourage expanding and signposting future directions in regards of the challenges and educational obstacles associated with teacher education by examining the policies and practices of English teacher education in various educational contexts discussed in this book. It covers strategies and innovations that can help practice and policy on teacher education for children in countries within Asia and beyond. What the contributors convey in this book are findings, a robust reflection of their expertise in research and learning experiences, both as educators or teachers, researchers and curriculum makers, making it a comprehensive and insightful resource.