Historical Background

Over the past 400 years the Japanese archipelago has varied between extremes of utter
isolation to openness. In order to understand present day foreign language policy it is useful to
first understand past foreign language policies and set them within greater historical events. The
first contact between Japan and the English language was when Englishman William Adams.
Reesor asserts that the life of Adams, his interaction with Japanese rulers, and correspondence
from the British King are evidence of early positive Anglo-Japanese relations (Reesor, 2002).
However, soon after that Japan became wary of foreigners and the spread of European
imperialism. From 1638 Japan adopted an isolationist policy to keep out dangerous influences
and isolated itself from the rest of the world. Foreigners were expelled and foreign language
study and books were both banned. All contact with foreigners was limited to Dejima Island off
Nagasaki. The literature ban was lifted in the following century, in order to gain knowledge from
the West. However, it was not until Commodore Perry entered Tokyo harbor in 1853 and
proclaimed that Japan be opened for trade or trampled that the isolationist policy ended.
Inoguchi (1999) claims that Japan still pursues an implicit Dejima island foreign language
policy in trying to keep foreign influence both at a distance and close at hand. Both in subsequent
history and in modern times the policy and practice regarding foreign language has been filled
with contradictions.

Conclusion
It is widely believed that Japanese are poor at learning English. There has been much
hand-wringing over the fact that Japan is outperformed by most other nations on English tests,
despite the fact that polices have been formed and reformed and great effort has been put into
English education and promotion. By examining past and present policy regarding English it
becomes clear that there are great contradictions between stated objectives and actual practice.
Moreover it is obvious that English education has been consistently used as an instrument to
further economic development while being held back by a fear of outside influence.
The current official agenda reveals the underlying political, social and economic concerns
of the country. Japan continues to be concerned about its economic future and has enacted a
policy that is open to foreign language to address this. However, the continued practices of
English education suggest that Japan is also still wary of foreignness and is still protecting its
culture by not carrying out practices that would make foreign language policies effective.

Korea

History
English language education was first introduced to Korea in 1883, when the Joseon
government opened an English language school in order to train interpreters. Since then, English
has enjoyed the status as the most popular foreign language during the greater part of its
existence in what is today South Korea. The following passage from an article of the Korea
Times (dated February 5, 2008) offers an excellent illustration of the current extraordinary status
of English in Korea society.

The functions of English in Korea

English is used in various domains of the society such as education, business, media, and
government. In secondary schools, English has been taught as a compulsory subject according to
the national curriculum over the last 60 years.
English is also used in the business domain in Korea.

The status of English

As we have already seen, English has been considered as a major foreign language in
Korea since the 19th century. As the world is getting globalized, there has also been a sense of
English as a global language, not just a language of the USA or the UK.
There has been more possibility that Koreans use English with foreigners whose mother
tongues are not English. Change in status of English is also reflected in education. There has
been a revision in the national curriculum of English. Among rationales for the revision in the
curriculum are change in society, economic benefits, and better competitiveness. Amendments in
the English curriculum are expected to bring about changes in English language education in
schools. Changes in other domains of the Korean society also support that the status of English
has been shifting from a foreign language to a global/international/intercultural language in the
changing world.

Conclusion
As the Korean society has been changing and globalized, more attention has been drawn
to English in different areas of society including education, economy and media. The gathered
data from different sources reveals that the range and depth of English in Korea. It also shows
the characteristics of English in Korea and its future direction. Although English was considered
as a major foreign language in Korea, Koreans in different contexts are more likely to have
witnessed, or experienced benefits of having English competence than before. These changes in
the functions and benefits have brought about change in the status of English from as a foreign
language to a global language. Language has been changed and will be changed. English is not
an exception. Old English was changed into Shakespeares Middle English and then changed into
Modern English. It is still changing. One of the noticeable and fascinating aspects of English in
the 20th and 21st century is that it represents different cultural contexts. Terms like English as an
international language, English as a global language, English as a lingua franca and World
Englishes all represent these aspects of English.