Amy Tsui Faculty of Education The University of Hong Kong email: bmtsui@hkucc.hku.hk Globalization and Language Policy Responses in Asian Contexts

Since the 1990s, it has become clear that globalization has made a profound impact on every aspect of our lives. One important consequence brought about by globalization is the unprecedented rapid spread of English. This paper examines the lived experiences of a number of Asian countries in responding to globalization in relation to language policy. Specifically, it addresses the questions of how Asian countries have reformulated their language policies and why, whether these policies lead to the democratization of English or the exacerbation of the inequality between the haves and the have-nots, whether they foster multilingualism and multiculturalism or they legitimate the hegemony of English over other languages, and how governments in Asian countries resolve the paradox of preserving or building national cultural identities and promoting a foreign language which embodies different values, cultures and traditions.

Amy Tsui is Chair Professor in the Faculty of Education of The University of Hong Kong. She has published widely in the areas of discourse analysis, language policy, and teacher education. Her new edited volume with Jim Tollefson, Language Policy, Culture and Identity, will appear in October 2006.