78 BOOK REVIEWS

Schooling in the ASEAN Region: T. Neville Postlethwaite and R. Murray Thomas (eds). Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980,f18,$30 (hardcover)

Schooling in East Asia: T. Neville Postlethwaite and R. Murray Thomas (eds). Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1983, ff7.90, $32 (hardcover), f12.20, $22 (flexicover)

Margaret Thatcher’s recent whirlwind tour of several countries in South East Asia and her comments that this region of the world is politically and economically impor- tant to Britain, and the growing European and American concern about unfair trading competition from Japan and other Asian nations both highlight the growing importance of Asia on the world scene. The fact that China contains almost one quarter of the world’s population, that the newly indust~aIising countries of the world like South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia have begun to challenge the traditiona! industrial nations of Europe and North America, and that in spite of the American defeat in Vietnam ten years ago, the countries of South East Asia have not only not succumbed to communist rule but have actually continued to grow in economic and political strength, should draw our attention to the growing importance of both South East Asia and Asia. Any books that shed light on these important regions, therefore, are to be welcomed, and although the two books under review are specifically concerned with education and schooling, inevitably other issues are also considered.

Schooiing in the ASEAN Region is the first of three comoanion volumes on Asia and the Pacific Basin. The othe; two are Schooling in East Asia and Schooling in the Pacific Islands. The latter has already been reviewed in this Journal. Although they are still entitled ‘Schooling in . . ‘, they are as much concerned with the politics of education and non-formal provision as they are with school systems. This review is concerned with the first two books.

Taking George Bereday’s approach to comparative education based on Area Studies, South East Asia and East Asia fit neatly into the category of Area Studies and these two volumes- lend themselves ideally to comparative analvsis. The format for both is identical: a sandwich . approach consisting of an introductory chapter, case studies on individual countries, written in the main by nationals of the countries concerned, followed by a concluding chapter which seeks to bring together and analyse some of the data and trends of the preceding pages on a comparative basis. This is a fairly traditional approach to comparative studies and given the complexity of these two regions, socialiy, culturally and economically, it is an eminently sensible way of handling the mass of information available.

Schooling in the ASEAN Region is now slightly dated since Brunei has now joined Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as a member nation of the Association of South East Asian Nations, but this is a small point. The introductory chapter, ‘Ways to View Schooling in ASEAN Countries’, selects three aspects: the aim of schooling; the structure and process of schooling; and cooperative educational ventures, as a starting point. Other aspects could have been used. Indeed, while social demand and manpower planning have a very real role to

play in the aims of education so also have the traditional aims, especially those of Buddhism in the context of Thailand and Islam in the context of Indonesia. The colonial influence and legacy in a!! the countries of the region, including non-colonised Thailand, could also have been considered in greater depth. As it is, these are largely glossed over. The impact of population growth, ethnic and religious diversity, social class and the changing workforce and political framework are, however, very skitfully handled. Mention is made of ASEAN cooperation, but since this is in many ways a model for other regions of the Third World it is a pity that the theme was not further developed.

The complexities and diversities which go to make up Indonesia are well analysed, though the reader is left with a feeling of impotence when considering the hoped for improvement in efficiency in the context of rapid popula- tion growth. The chapter on Malaysia concentrates on the changes in curriculum and examinations and the formal schoot structure of recent years, but largely glosses over the underlying racial tensions brought about by the government’s language policies. Likewise some of the more interesting and important facets of education in the Philippines, such as the community school movement, the literacy programme Project IMPACT and the political stresses and strains are largely ignored. The emphasis in Singapore is very much on cultural integration and vocational training while in Thailand it is on progress and change and improved social equity without revolution.

The final chapter makes interesting reading for any observer of South East Asia since it is concerned with improvements and difficulties as perceived for the next two decades. Expansion in the face of population growth, improvements in the quality of education in terms of curricula and educational structure, improving administra- tive efficiency, cutting down on wastage and improving teacher supply are all seen as the major issues facing the region, as they are for many developing countries. Underlying all progress, however, must remain the ethnic, religious and political strains which no government can ignore. The theme of the book’s authors, however, is one of optimism.

Schooling in East Asia is a more sophisticated and more thoughtful analysis in so far as the authors have been concerned about developing a mode! for analysing the forces of change in society and its education system. While recognising that these vary from society to society they nevertheless identify seven forces which are applied to the seven countries studied in this volume - Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea, Hong Kong and Macau. These are (1) The magnitude of intended change. Are the planners hoping to change the whole system, as in China and North Korea, or only parts of it, as in Hong Kong or Japan? (2) Alternative approaches towards moderniration and traditions. Has Western penetration been welcomed, opposed or modified? (3) motivation and philosoRhica1 commitment. Does the &sire for change &me as i result of dis~tisfaction with present conditions (China, North Korea), fear of what might happen if nothing is done (South Korea) or because of a belief in a better future (all the societies)?

BOOK REVIEWS 79

(4) Social and organisational stability. These can either encourage or inhibit change. Where revolution persists change can be hampered. (5) Resource accessibility. Is is easy to obtain equipment and resources? (6) The organ~atio~l and technical efficiency of the nation. Some countries are far better organised in these areas than others. (7) The adequacy of funding and the financial capability for educational expansion. While not everyone would necessarily agree with the terminology it is hard to quibble with the broad areas covered by these forces for change.

For any reader who wants a good overall introduction to the region and who wishes to see the countries set into a regional context in a historical and future perspective Schooling in East Asia is to be warmly commended. The chapters contrasting the two Chinas and the two Koreas are particularly illuminating. That in the space of fifty pages or so the vagaries and complexities of Chinese educational developments are so well analysed is, in itself, a remarkable achievement. The final overview drawing together different aspects for comparative analysis, such as GNP, population growth, enrolment rates, dropout, class size, public vs private schooling, is particularly helpful.

While it is true to say that these two volumes refer to specific regional contexts, there is much in them both, and in their methods of analysis, which could be transferred to other regions of the world. Although basic information and data may constantly be changing, the underlying trends and analysis transcend these weaknesses and anyone with an interest in the education, history or economic develop- ments of both South East Asia and East Asia should be aware of these two volumes.

KEITH WATSON University of Reading

Language for Learning: A ~e~~~ Book for Engiish Language Learning in Secondary Schools: I-i. 0. Ayot fed.). Macmillan, Kenya, 1984

Language and Literature Teaching: from Practice to Principle: Christopher J. Brumfit. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1985, 161 pp.

Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials: Alan Cunningsworth. Heinemann Educational Books, 1984,106 PP- Ayot’s is a curate’s egg of a book: good in parts. It is also only half the story. The result of a seminar organized jointly by the Kenyan Ministry of Higher Education and Kenyatta University College, Nairobi in August, 1981, it attempts to offer the teacher of English a methodological framework in line with the 1981 national language teaching syllabus launched the same year.

The authors, under the editorship of Professor Ayot, are to be congratulated for attempting to do so much in just over one hundred and sixty pages. It is never easy to bring coherence and focus to collections of conference papers. A keynote paper addressing itself to the fundamental ques- tion of a languages policy for Kenyan schools (in particu-

lar, the relationship and function of English, Swahili, and the various mother tongues) might have given this book more direction and bite. However, there are some excellent papers, notably those dealing with reading, writing and the importance of pupil-talk in language acquisition.

The two papers on reading concentrate on practical ways of making the reading process central to the secondary- level language curriculum as well as being a vehicle for the inculcation and development of academic study skills, so essential in an education system where English is the medium of instruction. A third contribution in the area of extensive reading and the production of a reading scheme might well have replaced the weaker papers on the role of school libraries and course books in use.

The two chapters on writing - for creative use and in everyday life - are well written. It is good to see the use of a checklist to summarize the main points and to offer the teacher-reader a handy guide. Grouping writing exercises into those dealing with exposition, description and narra- tion and at the same time indicating which are suitable for which level is the sort of practical help the hard-pressed teacher needs. Such checklists might have been included in the other skills areas; and where was the discussion of integration of skills?

The paper titled ‘Talking to Learn’ (and we could have done with one focusing upon that ‘forgotten’ skill, listen- ing) did, however, highlight three fundamental issues that might be the themes of a future seminar and book: the importance of giving pupils time (and permission) to talk to each other in class; the need to develop competence in functional English; and the problem of too much teacher- dominated ‘chalk and talk’ methodology.

We might add that any future book should also include chapters on language across the curriculum (in spite of the blurb on the jacket this book neglects this issue) and the adaptation of textbooks like Pmctical EngZish which do little justice to their title and yet continue to be widely used.

Lastly, two papers on language testing cover familiar ground. Maybe the controversial place of non-standard Kenyan English could have been discussed here (see Jane E. Zuengler’s excellent ‘Kenyan English’ in B. Kachru’s The Other Tongue: Englirh across the cultures, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1983).

So what do we have? A useful collection of papers, some excellent, some weak, which will be of interest to all those teaching English as a second language, particularly in African schools. What is needed now is a second volume dealing with such keynote concerns as Kenya’s language policy and the methodological areas missing from this book.

It is hoped that Macmillan Kenya will make this collection available in other countries where English is the second language and medium of instruction at secondary and tertiary level.

Chris Brumtit in his introduction to this second collection of his articles (the first, Problems and Principles in English Teaching was published by Pergamon Press in 1980) su&gests that ‘we approach language teaching in a spirit of optimistic caution’. I approached this volume in such a way, optimistic that I would find some Brumfit I might