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. This study has conducted a survey to gather information on English
language education in Asia, that is, in 16 Asian countries (18 regions in total)
including Korea, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Indonesia, Singapore,
Thailand, India, Pakistan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on the
results of the survey, current issues and challenges in English language education
in Asia are discussed