History of English Learning and Its Motivation in Other East Asian Countries

초록

This chapter compares L2 learning motivation among three East Asian countries (i.e., China, Japan, and North Korea). Beginning with China’s Imperial Examination System originating in the Sui Dynasty, China’s English education will be explained in the first section. Following significant sociopolitical events in China, the vicissitude of English education and Chinese people’s perception of it are the primary foci in the first section of this chapter. In the second section, the case of English education in Japan will be explicated. U.S. influence during the nineteenth century and Meiji restoration revolutionized Japan’s modernization, and the role of the English language has often been perceived as the symbol of industrialization and advanced technology. In the case of Japan, the changing role of English as Japan transformed from pre-modern feudal nation to advanced, world leader after World War II will be investigated. In the third section, the case of North Korea will be explained. Recently, Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, tried to improve its diplomatic relation with the USA and South Korea. This section will focus on recent changes of English education in North Korea and investigate the motivation of learning English there. © 2021, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.