LA CARLOTA CITY COLLEGE

City of La Carlota
-o0o-
Liberal Arts Department

ELS 213
Module 1
1st Semester, AY 2023-2024

I. COURSE TITLE: ELS 213 (Special Topics for English Language Studies)

II. NUMBER OF UNITS: 3 units

III. COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course explores special topics that address contemporary
and evolving issues in English Language Studies.

IV. COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 Identify and evaluate some core issues/trends and theories related to the special
topic in English Studies.
 Apply the issues/trends and theories to analyze authentic situations/data in
English Studies.
 Apply the analysis of situations/data to real-world problems and issues.
 Evaluate the effectiveness of the analysis.

V. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 Develop an attitude of discovery/innovation/creativity, as demonstrated by
students possessing a strong sense of curiosity, asking questions actively,
challenging assumptions or engaging in inquiry together with teachers.

 Develop the ability/skill needed to discover/innovate/create, as

demonstrated by students possessing critical thinking skills to assess ideas,
acquiring research skills, synthesizing knowledge across disciplines or
applying academic knowledge to self-life problems.

 Demonstrate accomplishment of discovery/innovation/creativity through

producing /constructing creative works/new artefacts, effective solutions to
real-life problems or new processes.

Module 1

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 INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL TOPICS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
In recent times, concern has been expressed as to whether English Language
Studies are in tune with the wider social, political, technological and economic trends, and
the latest developments in applied linguistics and English language education. In line with
these views, the aim of this subject is to explore the students’ expectations with respect to
the skills and competencies (to be) developed in their course of English studies, their
relevance to the job market, as well as the teaching approaches and methods used to reach
these learning outcomes by comparing and contrasting the emerging educational trends.

It focuses on the implications that there might have changes in terms of introducing
to traditional English Language Studies educational paradigms.

Today, no one would doubt the fact that English has become an international
language. According to Crystal (1997), English is the language that has spread throughout
the world most extensively and is dominating in a number of important fields including
international commerce, education, and communication. Asia is not an exception to such a
global trend. Many Asian countries have included English in the school curriculum in
recognition that “it can contribute to students’ personal, linguistic, social, and cultural
development” (Le, 2004, p. 167). For example, in many post-colonial countries such as
India and the Philippines, English was chosen as one of the official languages and is
still effectively functioning as a dominant language.

Moreover, the countries which had once opposed foreign influence such as
Korea, Japan, and China are now giving English language teaching and learning
much greater priority in their foreign language policy (Tsui, 2004).

These imply the significance of English language education in Asia. However, not
much comprehensive information is available on English language education across Asian
countries. Therefore, there is a need to investigate it in Asian countries from a synthetic
perspective.

English in the Philippines often contains an admixture of indigenous language

elements. A Filipino's first language or native dialect significantly influences his or her
accent, intonation, vocabulary, syntax, and idiomatic expressions when he or she speaks
English (Santos, 1983). The phonological systems of the various languages also are a factor.
For example, because Tagalog distinguishes more vowel sounds than do other dialects, a
from Manila finds it naturally easier to make the distinction in English between, say, bit
and bet than would someone from Cebu. As previously noted, the sound of “f” does not
occur in most of the indigenous languages of the islands; thus, Filipino commonly
substitutes the “p” sound for “f”. The native English speaker hearing the sentence, “I
prepared this report”, could easily be uncertain whether the speaker meant I preferred this
report or I prepared this report (Gochenour, 1990, p. 39).

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 Indigenous Philippine languages are prepositional, verb initial (i.e., basic sentences
have their verbs in the sentence initial position), and regularly stress the next-to-last
syllable in most words (Li, 1983). Like many other Asian languages, they also have a single
word for the gender pronouns him and her. Apart from grammatical and phonological
characteristics, it is noteworthy that one particular dialect called Chabacano (a local
language spoken in the area around the city of Zamboanga in Mindanao) is heavily mixed
with Spanish. Other Filipinos know a fair number of Spanish words that have entered
their particular regional dialects, and many people and places have Spanish names.
However, as a functional language, Spanish is clearly peripheral, and a relatively small
number of Filipinos (primarily Spanish mestizos) speak it fluently (particularly because it
was used exclusively by the wealthy, land owning families during the period of Spanish
rule, and no more than 10% of the population ever spoke it). In fact, despite nearly 4
centuries of Spanish dominion, the Philippines is one of the few former colonies of Spain
where Spanish did not become the national language (Gochenour, 1990; Harper and
Fullerton, 1994; Winter, 1988).

The Philippines is regarded as the only nation in Asia that is predominantly English
speaking, and Filipinos often are assumed fully proficient in the English language. The
preceding discussion, however, serves to illustrate the reality of an extremely multilingual
country where English is a second language. It also offers cautions and considerations
regarding the dynamics of communication with English-speaking.

THE CONTEXT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES

The Status of English

Is English used as a second or foreign language in Asia? It is not always

easy or straightforward to answer this question, as Greenbaum (1996) states that the
neat division into first, second and foreign languages “masks the untidiness in the
real world” (p. 241). It may be a matter of the attitude of users towards English
(Rahman, 2007); thus, it is necessary to consider “political, social, cultural and
economic ideologies” (Rahman, 2007, p. 84) to explore the status of English in each Asian
region. The results of the survey on the status of English illustrate that English is used
as a second language (ESL) in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, as shown below,
while it is used as a foreign language (EFL) in nine countries (e.g., Korea, China,
Thailand, and Israel).

 1 The survey participants provided information on general trends in English language education
in their nation/region. Some information might not be applicable to all the areas within the
nation/region due to regional or school variations.
ESL context: Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka
ESL/EFL context: Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the UAE
EFL context: Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Iran, Israel

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 Interestingly, it is used both as a second and foreign language in Hong Kong,
Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the UAE. These countries/regions are known
as ESL context; however, English is not entirely used for intranational or intraregional
communication, as David C. S. Li points out in the survey “the majority of Hong Kong
people (i.e., over 95 per cent of ethnic Chinese) tend to be reluctant to use English entirely
for intraethnic communication (EFL feature).” All the Asian nations/regions where
English is used as a second language are post-colonial countries where English was a
colonial language (e.g., Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, India, and the UAE). Is
this due to the impact of the colonial period? The answer may be ‘yes’; however,
the influence of the pragmatic needs of those countries cannot be neglected, as noted
in Tsui (2004). In other words, it is the result of a tension between the ‘national-functional
paradigm’ (Fishman, Rubal-Lopez, & Conrad, 1996) and the ‘international-critical
paradigm’ (Pennycook, 1998;

Phillipson, 1992; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000) in order to “retain or erect neocolonial

superstructures internationally for their own benefits” (Tsui, 2004, p. 6). On the other
hand, all the Asian nations/regions where English is not used for everyday
communication outside class, just learned as a foreign language, are the countries/regions
which were not former British or American colonies. This does not mean that in these
countries English is not as important as in the British or American post-colonial
states/regions. In most countries, these days, top priority is given to English
proficiency and English language education for individual career or welfare as well
as national development and globalization (Choi, 2007; Tsui, 2004), as Koike (2007)
suggests the adoption of English as a second language in Japan. English continues to
spread extensively around the world. No one would doubt that it is a dominant
second or foreign language in Asian countries/regions. English language proficiency
functions as gatekeepers to individual career or welfare as well as national development.
This implies the essential role of English language education in Asia.

The Starting Grade of English Language Education

English language education starts at first grade in 11 nations/regions, as

shown below, which means that students study English for about 10-13 years in these
regions, excluding tertiary English education.

1st grade: Hong Kong (including kindergarten, nursery school), Taipei in

Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UAE
3rd grade: Korea, China, 9 cities in Taiwan

4th grade: Israel

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 6th grade: Iran, Vietnam

7th grade: Japan, Indonesia

It starts at third grade in Korea, China, and nine cities in Taiwan; at fourth
grade in Israel; and at sixth grade in Iran and Vietnam; and at seventh grade in Japan and
Indonesia (no official primary English education). The nations/regions where English is
taught from first grade are all of the ESL countries except for Taipei. Although the results
of the survey illustrate that in Japan and Indonesia English is officially educated at the
seventh grade, it is taught at private primary schools (Kim, 2005; Suwarsih Madya,
2008). In Korea, primary English language education will start two grades earlier
from 2009, which illustrates the government’s effort made for strengthening English
language education for national competitiveness in the age of globalization (MOE&HRD
of Korea, 2006). The results of the survey reveal that most of the Asian
countries/regions start English language education from first grade, which is earlier than
most of the European countries (e.g., from third grade in Germany) (Yun, 2005).

This can be accounted for by the fact that they are formal British or American
colonies, except for Thailand and Taipei.

English Class Hours

More English class hours per week (from 4 to 10 hours) are noted in the
primary English education of the Asian countries in ESL context (e.g., HongKong, the
Philippines, Bangladesh, and Pakistan). In Thailand, which is an EFL context, English is
taught from first grade, as seen in the previous section, and primary English class
hours per week (about 3 or 4 hours) are larger than the other Asian countries in
EFL context (e.g., 1 to 4 hours). The discrepancy of English class hours per week
between the nations/ regions in ESL and EFL context is reduced in secondary
schools, though hours of English instruction are still larger in ESL context.

What is further noticeable is secondary English class hours in Vietnam and Iran.
Compared to the other Asian nations/regions, their hours of English language
education are relatively small (2-3 hours). This might result from their political
environment. For example, Vietnam was a French colony till 1954, when French
was used as the medium of instruction in schools (Le, 2007), and then it had a strong
alliance with the Soviet Union until the mid-1980s, which implies the need for learning
Russian in the country. Since then, a need of learning English has emerged, especially for
individual job security as well as national development, as part of the impact of the
implementation free-market reforms known as ‘Doi Moi’ (Renovation Policy) in 1986 (Le,
2007). Compared to the other Asian nations in EFL context (e.g., maximum 912 hours
from grade 7 to 12 in Indonesia, Suwarsih Madya, 2007), however, English class hours are
still small in Vietnam: a total 700 hours from grade 6 to 12 (Le, 2007). Contrary to primary
or secondary English class hours, the number of required credits of tertiary English

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for non-English majors varies with universities in all the Asian nations/regions shown
below, while India
requires 4 credits and Hong Kong, 6 credits.

4 credits: India
6 credits: Hong Kong
varies with universities: Korea (3-6), China (12-16), Taiwan (4-8), Japan,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines (9), Singapore, Thailand (6-18), Vietnam,
Bangladesh (0-9), India, Sri Lanka, the UAE no required credits: Israel

Interestingly, Israeli universities do not require any fixed number of credits.

Though undergraduate students must complete a course that is at the level of reading
comprehension of advanced university texts in English, they may also be exempted
from taking any courses if they reach a certain level on the English part of their university
entrance examination.

What is also noticeable is the large number of required credits in China,

where non-English majors have four English class hours per week for the first two
years (300 hours in total) (Wen & Hu, 2007) due to the college English teaching
reforms in China to strengthen the nation’s power at the age of globalization. This clearly
illustrates the undeniably crucial function of English in Asian countries.

National English Curriculum

The national curriculum functions as the basic guideline and principle on

what and how to teach or learn, and what and how to test, for example, by
specifying learning contents, achievement standards, and teaching methods and
testing. It is commonly regarded as an effective and efficient means for achieving
national educational goals (Kang, Lee, Ryu, Lee, & Kim, 2006).

The results of the survey reveal that all the 18 Asian countries/regions have a
national curriculum for primary or secondary English, as shown below.

1st to 10th grade: the Philippines

1st to 12th grade: Taiwan (Taipei and 9 other cities), Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the UAE
1st to 13th grade: Hong Kong

1st to graduate level: Pakistan

3rd to 12th grade: Korea
3rd to college: China
4th to 12th grade: Israel
6th to 12th grade: Vietnam and Iran

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 7th to 12th grade: Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan (in other areas)

The national curriculum covers first-grade English to the highest high school grade
English (10, 12, or 13th grade English) in the countries/regions where English is
introduced from first grade (e.g., Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan).
In Pakistan, interestingly, the national curriculum covers up to the graduate level.
In Korea, China, Israel, Vietnam, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan (in other
areas than Taipei and 9 cities), the national curriculum covers from the grade where
English is introduced to the end of secondary education, except for China. Chinese
national curriculum covers up to college English (CE).
This demonstrates the central control of the Chinese government on higher
education, which is illustrated by the fact that China has a professional committee
responsible for CE (a government organization) (Wen & Hu, 2007). Primary or secondary
English classes are fundamentally based on the national English curriculum in all the
Asian nations/regions except for India, where the curriculum can be revised
depending on locally available cultural and natural resources. The curriculum can
also be revised in Taiwan (in Taipei and 9 other cities), and Indonesian teachers
can develop their own syllabus. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, the national
curriculum is fundamentally for state-run schools.

School Textbooks

The textbook is a fundamental means of achieving educational goals, as its

significance has been noted in education or language learning (Lamie, 1999). It provides
the basic learning contents and classroom activities. The results of the survey on English
textbooks reveal that primary and secondary English textbooks are national or
government-authorized commercial, especially for state-run or public schools, in 12
Asian nations: Korea, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh,
India, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Israel. This implies the government’s central
control on primary and secondary English language education, as Choi (2006) stated
about the
Korean context. In the other six nations/regions (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia,
Singapore, Thailand, and the UAE), however, primary and secondary English textbooks
seem open to free competition of commercial books. They are also constructed by
teachers in Singapore. Compared to primary and secondary English textbooks, none of
the Asian nations/regions uses national textbooks at universities, except for Sri Lanka.
Each university selects a commercial textbook or develops its own textbook
(e.g., Korea, India, and the UAE); teachers or English-related departments develop
their own teaching materials (e.g., Korea, China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand,
Bangladesh, and Israel). These findings suggest the lack of the government’s strict control
on tertiary English language education, as it is illustrated in the quality control of tertiary
English teachers in Asia (Choi & Lee, 2007).

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 Primary and secondary English textbooks are selected by national or regional
governments or governmental agencies (e.g., the National Institute of Education in Sri
Lanka) in the seven countries which use national textbooks: China, Vietnam, Bangladesh,
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iran. In the other Asian nations/regions where the
textbooks are commercial (including government-authorized commercial books),
primary or secondary English teachers have the right of textbook selection (e.g.,
Korea, Taiwan, and Japan); school boards with or without teachers (e.g., Indonesia),
school principals (e.g., the Philippines), heads of the department (e.g., Singapore), or
appointed book selection committees (e.g., Thailand) are also main textbook selectors. At
universities, English textbooks are mostly selected by universities, academics of
universities (including department) or school boards (e.g., Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka); by department heads with or without
faculty members (e.g., China, the Philippines, Singapore, and Israel); by supervisors of
the English language program (e.g., Korea and the UAE); by an appointed textbook
selection committee (e.g., Thailand); or by faculty members or teachers (e.g., Korea,
Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Iran).

National publishers, governments, or governmental agencies are the main

authors of primary or secondary English textbooks in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India,
Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, while publishers are also one of the main authors
in Pakistan; English professors and teachers, in Bangladesh; and English teachers, in India.
On the other hand, primary or secondary English textbooks are written by English
language professors (including English language education, literature or linguistics)
and teachers in six Asian nations/regions: Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia,
and Singapore. In Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia (only for secondary textbooks), and
Singapore, native speakers also participate in the construction of the textbook.

In Thailand, the main authors are professors or publishers. In Hong Kong

(especially experienced teachers), the Philippines, and Israel, English teachers are the
main authors of the textbook.

University English textbooks are mainly written by professors in 12 Asian

nations/regions: Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Israel. However, textbooks
produced by international publishers are also used in Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Professors collaborate with national publishers in China. Publishers are also the main
producers in Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the UAE, while the
main authors are professors and native speakers in Taiwan and native speakers in Iran.
The finding that primary or secondary English textbooks are national or
government-authorized in many Asian countries/regions illustrates the direct control of
the government on primary or secondary English language education and the lack of
teacher autonomy in the construction of their own materials. On the contrary, a more

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bottom-up approach is used in the construction and selection of university English
textbooks.

The Use of Computer for English Language Education

Advances in information communication technology (ICT) have promoted
computer-assisted language learning (CALL) (Jones & Fortescue, 1987), multimedia-
assisted language learning (MALL) (Warschauer & Kern, 2000), and e-learning (Khan,
2003). Along the lines of this, the computer is used for English language education in
most of the Asian nations/regions surveyed, except for Japan, Bangladesh, India,
Iran, and Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, This trend may be closely related to ICT development
in each Asian country. The school year or level where computer is used for English
language education varies with Asian nations/region. For example, it is used from
1st grade in Taiwan, Malaysia, and the UAE; from 3rd grade in Korea; from 6th grade in
Vietnam; and from 8th grade in Indonesia. This is related to the starting grade of
English language education in these countries. However, the facility and resources
available in the nation and costs also seem to affect computer use; for example, the
computer is not used at all in any schools in Bangladesh, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka; it is used only from high schools in the Philippines and from colleges in China
to compensate the lack of college English teachers (Wen & Hu, 2007).

Most of the Asian countries utilize CDs or CD-ROMs (often developed for the
textbooks) (e.g., Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Israel)
and power point (PPT) (e.g., Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and
Israel). The Internet is also commonly used in six nations/regions: Korea, China, Hong
Kong, the Philippines, and the UAE (for the tertiary level). Word processors are not
marked as a frequently used tool in the survey, except for three countries (the
Philippines, Bangladesh (only for individual work), and Israel), though students often do
their assignments using them. It might be due to the fact that word processors
themselves are not used as a learning or teaching tool. Taiwan is the only country
which uses e-books, though Korea and Singapore also have e-books, which are not
actually used in the classrooms (Kim, 2004; MOE & HRD of Korea, 2008).

ICT facilities are usually utilized for whole-class or individual work in most of
the Asian nations/regions surveyed: Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Israel, the UAE, Vietnam (only for whole-class work), and
Bangladesh (only for individual work). Only in Israel and the UAE is it used for group
or pair work. This might be accounted for by technological limitations.

Moreover, ICT is used mainly in class or at home in most of the Asian

Nations/regions: Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Israel, the UAE, Vietnam (in class only), and Bangladesh (at home only). In Thailand ICT
facilities are used in self-access learning centers as well as in class.

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 ICT is used mainly for listening, reading, writing, pronunciation or grammar in
most of the Asian nations/regions surveyed: Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel, and the UAE. Not many
countries use computer to learn or teach speaking or vocabulary.

CALL, MALL, or e-learning is a common trend in Asian countries/regions. The

computer is often used for whole-class work in English classrooms. However, it
should not be ignored that the use of computer itself cannot enhance the quality of
English language education or replace human teachers (Kawabata, 2006; Warschauer,
1996). Training of the teachers and the students must precede computer use for its
effectiveness and efficiency, as noted in Choi and Kang (2002) and Wen and Hu (2007).

The Philippines is regarded as the only nation in Asia that is predominantly English
speaking, and Filipinos often are assumed fully proficient in the English language. The
preceding modules, however, serves to illustrate the reality of an extremely multilingual
country where English is a second language. It also offers cautions and considerations
regarding the dynamics of communication with English-speaking.

10