The best way to summarize the main issues is fact-finding, and it should be inclusive of what people need to know about becoming professional in one of the more challenging environments. I took into consideration the paid and voluntary jobs I had in the United Kingdom, Israel, and Nepal before being invited to the Far East. Creating a career out of nearly nothing is nothing short of a miracle. The Chinese people have, in effect, allowed me to (1) create or establish a new home, (2) create a new career, (3) find a soul mate, and (4) finally publish what would be my sixth book. Almost no one helped me perform this duty because each foreign teacher has his or her strategies of teaching. I am, however, truly grateful for my loving wife, Yvonne Wu, for giving me all the assistance and guidance for making this happen. In view of the ever-challenging demands of Chinese students, parents, and bilingual schools, every effort is being made to modify methods to ensure that my classes are as interesting as possible. All my lessons include the use of the modernizing IT equipment, including electronic screens. Your enjoyment in reading is my most profound pleasure.

This book offers insight into the spread and impact of English language education in China within China’s broader educational, social, economic and political changes. The author's critical perspective informs readers on the connections between language education and political ideologies in the context of globalizing China. The discussion of the implications concerning language education is of interest for current and future language policy makers, language educators and learners. Including both diachronic and synchronic accounts or China’s language education policy, this volume highlights how China as a modern nation-state has been seeking a more central position globally, and the role that English education and the promotion of such education played in that effort in recent decades.

This volume is the first to offer a comprehensive and, at the same time, in-depth examination of the spread of English and English language education across Greater China. It consists of two parts. Part 1 presents rich sociolinguistic data for easy comparisons between mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao, while Part 2 explores in depth the phenomena inside mainland China to provide contrastive analysis of English language use and education in economically booming areas such as Shanghai and Guangdong and underdeveloped regions like Xinjiang and Yunnan. With the descriptive, comparative and analytical accounts of different territories ranging from nation-states to small villages in remote areas, theories on the spread of English, second/third language acquisition and identity are challenged with new concepts proposed and established.

The mission of the International Journal of Educational Reform (IJER) is to keep readers up-to-date with worldwide developments in education reform by providing scholarly information and practical analysis from recognized international authorities. As the only peer-reviewed scholarly publication that combines authors’ voices without regard for the political affiliations perspectives, or research methodologies, IJER provides readers with a balanced view of all sides of the political and educational mainstream. To this end, IJER includes, but is not limited to, inquiry based and opinion pieces on developments in such areas as policy, administration, curriculum, instruction, law, and research. IJER should thus be of interest to professional educators with decision-making roles and policymakers at all levels turn since it provides a broad-based conversation between and among policymakers, practitioners, and academicians about reform goals, objectives, and methods for success throughout the world. Readers can call on IJER to learn from an international group of reform implementers by discovering what they can do that has actually worked. IJER can also help readers to understand the pitfalls of current reforms in order to avoid making similar mistakes. Finally, it is the mission of IJER to help readers to learn about key issues in school reform from movers and shakers who help to study and shape the power base directing educational reform in the U.S. and the world.

The ICAEM2014 aims to bring together researchers, educators and students from around the world in both industry and academia for sharing the state-of-art research results and applications, for exploring new areas of research and development, and for discussing emerging issues on education and management fields. We received a total of 312 submissions from various parts of the world. The Technical Program Committee worked very hard to have all papers reviewed before the review deadline. The final technical program consists of 92 papers. There are one keynote speech and 2 invited sessions. The proceedings were published by DEStech Publications, Inc. and will submitted to Ei Compendex databases for indexing. We would like to mention that, due to the limitation of the conference venue capacity, we are not able to include many fine papers in the technical program. Our apology goes to those authors.