Preschool English language planning in China: Tensions between policy and practice

Abstract

The earlier starting age for learning English is apparent in the non‐Anglophone world. However, in China, kindergartens are banned from delivering subjects that are designated for primary school level, including English language lessons, as part of reforms to eliminate “schoolification” of preschool education. This qualitative study takes a multi‐level approach to language‐in‐education planning to explore how local education authorities and different types of kindergartens in the city of Hefei, China, interpret and respond to this macro‐level policy. The findings reveal a disparity between officials and school participants in their attitudes toward preschool English language education, as well as divergence between public and private kindergartens in their current English provision. The study probes these disparities and their links to the interplay between the meso‐level local education authority and the different types of kindergartens, as well as the relationship between the government and the market.