Currently, in many developing countries, there have been intensified efforts by policymakers to push for decentralisation of education as part of a neo-liberal reform agenda to improve school management efficiency and cater to localised needs. In the Malaysian context, the government has attempted further decentralisation of autonomy in selected public schools, marking a shift from the post-independence centralised education structure. This has led to the development of Cluster Schools of Excellence, practising some form of school-based management and accorded autonomy in the selection of niche areas, programme planning and programme implementation. Drawing primarily on the interview narratives from school administrators as key policy actors, this study examines how autonomy is manifested at the micro-level and how the school administrators exercise their agency when they are accorded autonomy. Using a decentralised centralism framework, the tensions and complexities in education policy implementation are highlighted in this study. Findings reveal that agency and autonomy are held by both macro and micro-level policy actors in varying degrees, and that school administrators have fundamental agency in school-level policy implementation. The study also explores the dynamics of the decentralisation process and raises the issue of re-centralisation of authority through decentralisation of education.

The present study focused on teachers’ perceptions of how teacher talk works in the classroom and some challenges they might encounter during initiating interaction to encourage students.  A classroom observation was done to portray the data of the learning process and teachers’ interview was also conducted to discover insights about teacher talk and the challenges encountered in the classroom interaction. Findings demonstrated that the teachers enacted dominant English communication as the input rather than using students’ first language. They felt increasing the use of the target language would be more challenging as it is influenced by some aspects from both teachers and students’ motivation, attitude, and proficiency. In addition, teacher talk is varied in some extents based on the teacher and student factors. The findings also showed that teacher talk mostly occurred in the form of asking questions, giving directions, explaining the lesson, and praising the students. In addition, as the students were considered young learners, it was found that classroom interaction and language choice must be adjustable in order to make communication become more effective.   Keywords: teacher talk, perception, challenge, language choice, primary level

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Research into willingness to communicate in English has gained momentum in second/foreign language learning recently. Applied linguists have argued for the factors that may hinder learners to communicate in English. However, although extensive studies on willingness to communicate in English have been carried out, the studies have much focused on university and high school students. As a result, very little is known about the hindrances of students' willingness to communicate in English in the context of vocational high schools. To fill such a lacuna, this study was designed to explore hindrances of willingness to communicate in English among Indonesian vocational high school students. In-depth interviews were conducted with 6 participants from three Indonesian vocational high schools with regard to the hindrances they encountered when communicating in English. To analyze the data, we employed Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis. Findings from the study suggest four emerging themes: 1) lack of self-confidence, 2) presence of fear, 3) teacher's teaching style, 4) and vocabulary provision. Our study reveals that, even though the participants are aware of the problems, situated supports in the forms of out-of-class English communications are needed to help solve their hindrances in English communications. Pedagogical implications of this study are offered at the end of this article.

In a world where linguistic and cultural diversity is increasingly celebrated, opting for English as the sole working language, as stipulated in the ASEAN Charter, on pragmatic grounds, has made ASEAN an interesting case study from the language policy and planning (LPP) perspective. ASEAN’s LPP can be understood as the manifestation of the principles of the ‘ASEAN Way’, i.e., quiet diplomacy, non-interference, and flexible consensus. Drawing on an analysis of the three overarching principles of the ASEAN Way and with reference to the ASEAN Charter, this paper problematises the ASEAN Way of LPP, arguing that a monolingual and essentialist approach to LPP might be both insufficient and inappropriate, and calls for an ecology-of-languages paradigm for ASEAN LPP. It invites readers to reimagine language policy that is more inclusive, democratic and socially equitable – one that reflects the sociolinguistic diversity of Southeast Asia and the Association.