The Language Teacher
November 2001

A History of the Native Speaking English Teacher

Scott Sommers

Claire English Institute


The history and sociolinguistics of English in the nations where it is spoken as a first language is well understood -- or at least researched. Likewise, these aspects of the language in the former colonies of Britain and in the USA are increasingly coming under scrutiny. In the nations where English is spoken as a foreign language, however, very little is known about the place of English. Drawing from previously published sources, this paper attempts to synthesize an historical and sociolinguistic description of the place of English as it has been developing in North-East Asia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. The historical description of this situation, combined with a discussion of the contemporary case, points to an amazing change in the world. A migration of English-speaking people is occurring in Asia to answer an historically continuous call for English teachers. These migrants are developing their own culture and constructing their own world to express this culture.

One look at the Internet and you can tell something's going on in East Asia. It seems that nowhere else in the world is English taught so extensively by foreign teachers than in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. And while it is arguable that nowhere else is English education so universally regarded as a failure, this has not always been the case. Asia's initial contact with the West brought a great demand for English language skills that could not be met by local teachers. Beginning in Japan during the 1870s, and in China at the turn of the century, schools utilizing foreign, native-speaking instructors teaching in English were established by government and missionary organizations. The rise of nationalism in Japan and China destroyed all of this, and the school systems that emerged from the devastation of this period were more concerned with training workers and soldiers than with educating citizens to understand the world. English emerged as an arcane code of grammatical rules to be mastered merely for the sake of passing tests. The study of English as communication was to wait half a century before individuals could once again pursue the kind of education that served their interests. As martial law came to an end and with the development of affluent economies, Asians became free to pursue their own educational goals. The huge shortage of teachers with communicative English skills once again led to a widespread use of foreign, native speaking instructors.

In Japan, beginning in the 1870s, and later in China, starting at the turn of the century, dozens of schools were established that used English as their medium of communication. The goal of these schools was to teach the technological and cultural skills necessary to become part of the modern world. In Japan, these schools were established by the national government, and their descendents went on to become the leading national universities of Japan. In China, schools established by Christian missions led the development of post-secondary education by building high schools, colleges, and later universities staffed by foreign teachers instructing in English. By the 1930s, these schools had educated a generation of business and political elite who were remarkably fluent in English.

The turmoil that ended in the 1940s saw an end to all of this. Newly established governments created schools whose goal was the socialization of national identity and workplace discipline. Standardized national curriculums were developed in Japan, China, and Taiwan that had no place in them for anything but the national language. English instruction withered into the uneven form of instruction with which we are all familiar. Military regimes and post-war poverty assured that all but a select few would have access to the special educations and overseas travel necessary for effective language learning.

By the 1980s and 90s, however, this had changed. The martial control of society was disappearing, and increased economic development assured that citizens would have the power to educate themselves and their children any way they choose. The demand for English that emerged from this situation was amazing, as was the solution. While a huge army had been educated and trained to teach the grammatically oriented form of English that flourishes in the public schools, decades of isolation and poverty had resulted in a vast shortage of teachers who could effectively teach communicative English. As in the past, large numbers of foreign, native speaking instructors would be 'imported' to staff schools and teach communicative English skills.

The foreign-staffed schools of Japan and their Christian counterpart in China are quite well understood. Some of their instructors left autobiographies and large collections of personal writings in newspapers and private collections. Many biographies have been written that draw from this material and describe in great detail the lives and experiences of teachers overseas. In addition, governments along with university and church scholars have researched the contributions of this period to their own histories. In part, this is because many of the educators involved came from established organizations. A large number were well-respected educators, scientists, and administrators prior to their arrival in Asia.

While many facts are known about the pioneers of English teaching in Asia, very little is known about the more contemporary scene. Research on native-speaking teachers in this contemporary situation almost always focuses on the technical value of speaking skill, rather than on the more personal aspects of life. For example, while the number must be known accurately in such places as Japan, I have yet to see an estimate of the number of foreign teachers who are working in Asia. While my estimate of between 250,000 and a million people over the last ten years may be wrong, the true number is certainly vast. In fact, considering the short time period, it compares well with the 100 million or so migrants who crossed the Atlantic during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In addition, many other aspects of the culture and society of contemporary English teaching in Asia resemble the migrations of Europeans to the Americas over the last two centuries, for example:

Motivations: As with the current situation, most early migrants were searching for better economic conditions. Also, most early migrants did not come from the poorest regions of their nations, but rather from regions that were suffering from economic slowdowns. Those who migrated were better off than those who stayed at home.

Return migration: Most English teachers at some time resettle in their nation of origin. While this pattern changed over time, many, even most, who migrate to America, up until the 1920s, returned to their home nation, sometimes even returning to America one or two more times.

Work: The domination of certain industries by particular ethnic groups is well known. For example, Chinese dominate the restaurant industry and in the past laundries and corner stores (a market now dominated by Koreans). The ethnic domination of the English industry is not substantially different.

Despite the lack of attention to cultural and social aspects of English teacher's lives, there are vast resources available to study this phenomenon. For example, the Internet appears to be one of the main forms of communication and cultural exchange for Asian-based English teachers. The Net is widely used for finding jobs, but it is also a medium of cultural expression. Analysis of the Web-based culture of English teachers in Asia points to a group that shares many common themes, regardless of country of origin or place of settlement.

This is not surprising given the many similarities in working and living situations shared by English teachers in different Asian countries. For example, citizenship, never an issue for early migrants, is extremely difficult to obtain in East Asia. Labour laws are weak or poorly enforced. Fortunately, English teachers, unlike citizens of the many Asian nations, are much more free to travel and work wherever they want. All these factors contribute to the kind of fluid, expressive culture we find among English teachers in Asia.

The historical movement that contemporary English teaching is part of has been long and dramatic. While early foreign English teachers established highly effective schools, these were destroyed in the disruptions brought by the emergence of nationalism in Asia. History has been able to repeat itself however, and once again foreign English teachers have been able to involve themselves in the huge movement of peoples that is now changing the world in which we live. Surrounded by similar demands and living similar lifestyles, these teachers have created their own style of life and culture, much of which is contained on the Internet. The potential to study this culture abounds and is a promising focus of future research.


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