From APEC HRDWG Wiki

Overview

The APEC Strategic Plan for English and Other Languages is the action-oriented component of the APEC theme “Learning Each Other’s Languages.” It focuses on each of the major dimensions of language learning: Content Standards, Assessment (including Performance Standards), Curriculum and Instruction, and Policy, as well as Exchange Programs.

The following table summarizes the key activities of the Strategic Plan related to learning English and Mandarin among APEC members.

The Strategic Plan for English and Other Languages describes research and information-sharing activities to help students and teachers build the 21st- century skills of learning more than one language. The plan's activities provide access to standards, policies, instructional practices, curriculum professional development programs, and assessments being used in the APEC economies. Cooperative efforts to share information across the APEC region for policy and practice purposes are the heart of the plan. The plan provides information in three educational realms: K-12 education, postsecondary education, and specialized language instruction for the commercial and knowledge economy. A research-based context for key elements of the strategic action plan can be found in Patricia Duff's, Foreign Language Policies, Research, and Educational Possibilities. 

Background and Purpose

APEC ministers at the 16th Annual APEC Ministerial Meeting in Santiago, Chile in 2004, called for an APEC-wide Strategic Plan for English and Other Languages.  It was followed on by the Economic and Technical Steering Committee (ESC, subsequently changed to SCE) in an annex to its June 2005 document entitled "ESC's Input for the Strategic Plan for English and Other Languages in the APEC Region."  The ESC charged the Human Resource Development Working Group (HRDWG) and its subsidiary Education Network (EDNET) with developing a strategic plan for the instruction of English and Mandarin. This mandate responded to the increasing importance of learning English and other languages for purposes of expanding trade, knowledge development and dissemination, and telecommunications/travel, as well as increasing global interdependence, The strategic plan was to focus on strengthening language preparation in K-12 education, postsecondary education, and specialized language instruction for the commercial and knowledge economy, all of which assist developing economies in their education efforts and expansion of opportunities for women and girls.

Framework

The plan is intended to help developing economies enabling more of their citizens to (1) learn English, the lingua franca of business, and (2) communicate more fluently in other languages, which can help develop both business language proficiency and cultural compentency.  Each of the action steps for the plan, corresponds to at least one of our APEC'S 5 priority areas: standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, teacher and student exchange programs, and policy. These action steps not only highlight a regional strategy among APEC economies by building a body of regional knowledge,but, also strengthen human resource development by recognizing that the APEC workforce must be equipped with 21.st century skills, so it can adapt more quickly to an increasingly open and competitive marketplace.

Project Objectives

The Strategic Plan for English and Other Languages is designed to:

• Deepen APEC's work on human resources development, recognizing that the APEC workforce must be equipped with 21st century skills so it can adapt quickly to a more open and competitive marketplace.

• Serve as a resource for all 21 member economies by utilizing the APEC EDNET Portal and Knowledge Bank.

• Emphasize a regional strategy and the building of a body of regional knowledge.

• Strengthen the instruction of English and other languages, specifically Mandarin, in the Asia-Pacific region at the primary, secondary, postsecondary, and technical levels.

• Assist developing economies and disadvantaged women and girls.

The intended beneficiaries of this project are all students and workers in the APEC region, including ministers, policymakers, educators, members of the private sector, and researchers. Ministers, policymakers, and researchers of the 21 economies will benefit through the comparisons made available by policy and resource dissemination. Businesses will benefit from the business English standards rubric that will help foster business language proficiency. Students, workers, and teachers will benefit from the online instructional tools and other information technology to be developed as well as from information on how to facilitate sutdent and teacher exchange programs.  The project will be particularly beneficial to developing economies, since it will enable their citizens to participate more readily in the global economy.  It will especially benefit women and girls who seek economic self-sufficiency by addressing the obstacles that prevent women and girls from learning English and other languages needed for business and  identifying successful efforts. In observance of International Education Week 2010 (IEW), a series of wiki pages have been developed to prepare youth for occupations in the global economy. Business English, a key component of the cross-cultural competencies highlighted in these materials is a featured topic. Resources addressing 21st century skills include  CEO interviews and research-based materials, teaching tips from across the APEC region, role-playing scenarios, video links, and more.

Contacts