International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring: Theories, Practices, and Policies 3031268164, 9783031268168

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INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

xplores the emergence of disruptive digital technologies such as robotics, notechnology and 3D printing and their impact on human lives and jobs in century societies. Incorporating a cutting edge area studies perspective, it challenges and long term implications of the rise of ‘Tech Giants’ such as e and Baidu through the lens of past industrial revolutions, looking back at tive technologies and industrial developments - the steam engine, electriaph, mass production, and the rise of digital technology - upon which the was built. It investigates the mirror profiles of the world’s largest tech comUS and China (Baidu and Google, Alibaba and Amazon, Wechat and Faceides a unique comparison of Tech Giants with 19th century colonial empires tic trading companies in terms of political-economic dominance. A key tool and students focused on courses on Technological History, Digital Technoles, New Media, Digital Ethics and China Studies, this book provides practical ow readers can equip themselves to face key workplace and societal chalually interconnected world shaped by Tech Giant monopoly.

Senior Lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Research ational University of Singapore and Visiting Lecturer at Waseda University n. Dr Lim graduated from Cornell University and NUS in History and Japand has worked in various positions at NUS, the Chinese University of Hong ngapore Institute of Management. Lim is a historian by training and also an ecialist (on contemporary China and Japan), and he combines teaching istory, energy and environment histories, (North) East Asian history, East Japan and China), Japanese studies, contemporary China studies with a portfolio focused on contemporary developments in Japan, Hong Kong

International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring Theories, Practices, and Policies Edited by Kevin Wai Ho Yung Anas Hajar

International Perspectives on English Language Teaching

Series Editors Sue Garton School of Languages and Social Sciences Aston University Birmingham, UK Fiona Copland University of Stirling Stirling, UK

Global meets local in Palgrave’s exciting new series, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. This innovative series is truly international, with each volume providing the opportunity to compare and learn from experiences of researchers and teachers around the world; is based on cutting edge research linked to effective pedagogic practice; shows how developing local pedagogies can have global resonance. Each volume focuses on an area of current debate in ELT and is edited by key figures in the field, while contributors are drawn from across the globe and from a variety of backgrounds.

Kevin Wai Ho Yung  •  Anas Hajar Editors

International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring Theories, Practices, and Policies

Editors Kevin Wai Ho Yung Department of Curriculum and Instruction The Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China

Anas Hajar Graduate School of Education Nazarbayev University Astana, Kazakhstan

ISSN 2946-3238     ISSN 2946-3246 (electronic) International Perspectives on English Language Teaching ISBN 978-3-031-26816-8    ISBN 978-3-031-26817-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Klaus Vedfelt This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Series Editors’ Foreword

Some 15 years ago we were working on a distance learning Master’s programme for experienced teachers in which they had to carry out research into their own teaching contexts. Many of our students worked in Asia and we remember how frequently projects would focus on private tutoring. Some assignments were from those who worked in ‘cram schools’ and were trying to find effective ways of teaching their students; others worked in schools and colleges where they had to engage students who were either disinterested or tired (or both) because much of their energy was directed at the work they were doing in their out-of-school learning. At the time there appeared to be very little research into the phenomenon, and we felt this was an important but much neglected aspect of English language teaching (ELT). Our impression is confirmed by the editors of this volume who note in their final chapter that research into private tutoring remains scarce, in spite of the now global nature of the phenomenon. A volume on this topic is therefore long overdue and this collection is a very welcome and original contribution to the field of TESOL. The depth and breadth of the chapters show us how far research into private tutoring has come in a relatively short time. The geographical spread, with chapters from six continents, gives a truly global flavour of research into private tutoring today. The volume is also original because it includes an entire section on research into tutoring in English-speaking countries. Whilst research into such contexts is not at all unusual of course, it is perhaps less common to find such chapters sitting comfortably alongside chapters about contexts where English is an additional language. This breadth of contexts in a single volume highlights the diversity of private tutoring in English, but it also draws attention v

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Series Editors’ Foreword

to the commonalities and to the ways in what we learn from one context can be relevant to other, diverse contexts. However, the volume also underlines what we believe to be perhaps the biggest challenge TESOL faces today, that of equality of access. A number of the chapters explain how private tutoring exacerbates educational and social inequalities, what Lamb (2011) calls the Matthew effect.1 Volumes such as this one are unable, of course, to propose solutions to issues of equity and quality; however, they are able to provide evidence of unfairness and draw attention to the issue of inequality. For all these reasons, we are delighted to present this latest addition to the IPELT series. School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK University of Stirling, Stirling, UK

Sue Garton Fiona Copland

Reference Lamb, M. 2011. A Matthew Effect in English Language Education in a Developing Country Context. Accessed December 12, 2022. https:// eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/75259/17/Combine.pdf.

 For unto every one that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. (New Testament, Gospel According to Matthew, XXV, 29) 1

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the series editors Sue Garton and Fiona Copland for their guidance and support. We would also like to thank the chapter contributors for their patience and engagement throughout the writing and editing process. Our profound gratitude is extended to Mark Bray for sharing his expert knowledge with us. Last but not least, we thank our families, colleagues, and friends for their encouragement and support. The work described in this volume was partially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. EdUHK 28600919) and a grant from the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, Kazakhstan [080420FD1903 (Faculty Grant)].

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Contents

 Private Tutoring: A Global Phenomenon in ELT  1 Kevin Wai Ho Yung and Anas Hajar

Part I Researching English Private Tutoring in English as an Additional Language Countries: Theories and Issues  15  Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan 17 Anas Hajar  English Private Tutoring and Washback in Japan 37 David Allen  The Nature and Scope of English Private Tutoring: An Analysis of the Shadowing Process and Middle-Class Identity in Globalising India 55 Achala Gupta  Chinese Parents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning in Private Tutoring: An Ecological Perspective 73 Chun Zeng and Kevin Wai Ho Yung

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x Contents

Part II Practices and Policies of English Private Tutoring: Case Studies in English as an Additional Language Countries  93  The Dynamics of Private Tutoring and the English Language in Bangladesh 95 M. Obaidul Hamid and Rafsan Mahmud  Sociocultural Perspective on English Private Tutoring in South A Korea in the Last Two Decades: A Critical Review113 Byungmin Lee and In Chull Jang  English Private Tutoring: The Case of Brazil139 Alexandre Ventura and Candido Alberto Gomes  The Role of English Private Tutoring for English Grades and Study Abroad Intent: The Case of Germany159 Steve R. Entrich and Mona Nishizaki  Tutors’ Perspectives of English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications177 Noemi Rámila Díaz  English Private Tutoring at a Transition Point in Morocco’s Education System: Its Scale, Nature, and Effectiveness197 Ali Ait Si Mhamed, Anas Hajar, and Meriem Fadli

Part III English Private Tutoring for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in English-Speaking Countries 217  ESL Private Tuition in the UK: Social Mobility and Discourses of Integration219 Philip Kirby  Non-Formal Adult English Tutoring in the United States235 Tasha Bleistein

 Contents 

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 Shadow Education in Literacy for Migrant Students Learning in English as an Additional Language in Australian Primary Schools251 Karen Dooley, Elizabeth Briant, and Megan Kimber  Private Tutoring in English: Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward267 Anas Hajar and Kevin Wai Ho Yung I ndex281

Note on Contributors

Ali Ait Si Mhamed is an associate professor at Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education in Kazakhstan and an affiliated professor and researcher with the Institute of Education Sciences at the University Mohamed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Morocco. He received his PhD in Comparative and International Higher Education at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo, USA. His professional expertise includes programme director, research Chair, quality assurance Chair, and accreditation lead. He has a list of publications in high indexed journals. His research record includes studies of higher education in the USA, Morocco, Egypt, Baltic States, and Central Asia. David Allen  is an associate professor in the Department of Languages and Culture at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. His research focuses on issues related to language assessment, particularly the impact of tests on teaching and learning, and cross-linguistic influence, notably the role of loanwords and cognates in language learning, teaching, and assessment. Tasha Bleistein  is a professor and the Online M.A. TESOL Programme Director at Azusa Pacific University. She has co-authored two books, One-on-­ One Language Teaching and Learning: Theory and Practice (2015) and Teaching Speaking (2013, 2020). Her passion for language tutoring comes from her experience as a language learner, tutor, and teacher. She volunteers as a tutor trainer for Grassroots ESL, a local non-formal programme that offers adult English language tutoring in California. Elizabeth Briant  is a researcher, sessional academic, and PhD candidate at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Her doctoral research xiii

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Note on Contributors

explores contemporary social conditions that shape the growing use of private tutoring in Australia, and its implications for the lives of parents, young people, and educators. Elizabeth is a registered secondary school teacher, and now teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate education courses. Karen Dooley  is a professor in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education, and Social Justice at Queensland University of Technology. Her research focuses on language and literacy education in conditions of economic disparity and linguistic and cultural difference. She has conducted research on pedagogy for young people of refugee background and digital and print literacies in a high poverty high diversity school. She is currently undertaking studies of shadow education and of digitization of school-home involvement. Steve R. Entrich  is a postdoc researcher at the Centre for Education Generation - Life Course at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Following his studies in Education, History, and Japanese in Potsdam and Berlin, he conducted research on the association between shadow education and social inequality in Japan and obtained his PhD in educational sociology in 2016. Research interests include social inequality and gender disparities in formal and supplementary educational attainment, heterogeneity and inclusive education, transnational education, educational decision-making, education over the life course, and education policy analysis in Germany, Japan, the USA, and in cross-country comparison. Meriem Fadli  is a graduate of Iscae Business School and IQS School of Management with Master’s in Strategic and Digital Marketing, and a Bachelor's in Economics and Commerce. Her research interests concern economics of education and policy analysis with a special focus on private tutoring in Morocco and how that impacts students’ choice in their educational pathways. Candido Alberto Gomes  is Professor of Education and Director of the Research Centre of the Higher Education Institute, Fafe, Portugal. Author of over 300 academic publications, he was Legislative Adviser for Educational Affairs, Federal Senate, Brazil, and consultant to international organizations, such as UNESCO and OECD. Achala Gupta is a lecturer at Southampton Education School at the University of Southampton. Her research focuses on investigating educational issues sociologically. Achala’s current interests are education delivery systems (formal and ‘shadow’) and schooling practices in Asia, and students’ aspirations and transition within higher education in Europe. She has published

  Note on Contributors 

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research articles on topics such as the heterogeneity of middle-class advantage, teacher-entrepreneurialism, and the social legitimacy of private tutoring in India. Achala has also contributed to the higher education literature by exploring the various ways in which students are socially constructed in Denmark, England, Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Spain. Anas Hajar  is Associate Professor of Multilingual Education, and the PhD Programme Director, in the Faculty of Education at Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan. He is particularly interested in motivational issues in language learning and in intercultural engagement. He also works in the areas of shadow education, internationalization, education abroad, and language learning strategies. M. Obaidul Hamid is Senior Lecturer in TESOL Education at The University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on the policy and practice of TESOL education in developing societies. He is Co-editor of Language Planning for Medium of Instruction in Asia (2014). His research on private tutoring in English has been published in TESOL Quarterly and Discourse. He is on the editorial boards of Current Issues in Language Planning, Journal of Asia TEFL, English Teaching: Practice & Critique, and Discourse. In Chull Jang is an assistant professor in the Department of English Language Education, Seoul National University, South Korea. His research interests include critical sociolinguistic ethnography, student mobilities, and English divide. His major publications have appeared in Journal of Sociolinguistics, Canadian Modern Language Review, and International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Megan Kimber  is a researcher at the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University. She is interested in education policy, leadership, and management, including the relationship between political ideology, education policy, and education practices. Megan’s PhD is in politics and public management. She has worked in research and sessional academic positions at the Queensland University of Technology. Philip Kirby  is a lecturer at the School of Education, Communication and Society, King’s College London. His research considers the politics and history of education, including the effects of private tuition on social mobility, and social and historical understandings of specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyspraxia. Byungmin Lee  is a full professor in the Department of English Language Education, Seoul National University, South Korea. His research interests

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Note on Contributors

include L2 reading & literacy development, second language acquisition, language policy and English language curriculum, and technology-integrated language learning. His publications have appeared in Second Handbook of English Language Teaching, Flipped Classrooms with Diverse Learners: International Perspectives, Asia Pacific Education Review, English Teaching, and the Journal of Asia TEFL. Rafsan Mahmud  is an associate professor at Bangladesh Open University, Bangladesh. His research interests include social science education, comparative education, shadow education (private supplementary tutoring), distance education, and educational policy and administration. He has published with international peer-reviewed journals and books, including from Routledge, Springer, Emerald, and Sage publications. Noemi Rámila Díaz  holds a PhD from Paris Nanterre University in Spanish Linguistics and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Autonomous University of Madrid. She has been a lecturer at Paris Nanterre University and at Rennes 2 University in France. Her research considers group and individual identity, including teacher professional identity in formal education as well as in private tuition contexts, and Spanish and English as second language teaching and learning. Mona Nishizaki is a postdoc researcher at the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Genova, Italy. She graduated with a Master’s in Education, during which she developed a research interest in investigating the teaching of English an international language in German secondary schools. She obtained her PhD in Applied Linguistics investigating how the concept of English as an international language is reflected in internationally used English language proficiency tests and textbooks. Research interests are focused on English medium instruction, teacher education, and teaching English as an international language. Alexandre Ventura is currently a professor at the University of Aveiro, Department of Education and Psychology, Portugal, PhD in Education, Master’s in educational sciences, and Graduation in Portuguese and French teaching. He has been Visiting International Scholar at Educational Testing Service, Princeton, USA, Professor at the Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil, and Senior Inspector at the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau, KHDA, UAE. Furthermore, he has assumed several government positions in Portugal: Deputy Minister for Education, Deputy Chief Inspector, President of the Scientific Council for Teacher Evaluation. His focus of research is educational evaluation, school inspection, private supplementary tutoring, programme evaluation, bullying, and educational leadership.

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Kevin Wai Ho Yung is an associate professor at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong. He has published widely in international journals such as ELT Journal, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Language Teaching Research, System, and TESOL Quarterly. His research interests include shadow education, language learning motivation, curriculum and assessment, and English for academic purposes. Chun Zeng  is a PhD candidate at the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong. She is also a lecturer teaching English major students at Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University in Mainland China. Her research interests are in the areas of shadow education and early English education.

Abbreviations

AI BBS CBSE CEFR CICSE CSAT EAL EEE ELL ELT EMI EPT ESL EU FAS GCSE HIES IELTS ISM KOSIS LEP MENA NAPLAN NISs NEAT NES NNES NSSO

Artificial Intelligence Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Central Board of Secondary Education Common European Framework of Reference Council for The Indian School Certificate Examinations College Scholastic Ability Test English as an Additional Language Early English education English Language Learning English Language Teaching English as a Medium of Instruction English Private Tutoring English as a Second Language European Union Family Affluence Scale General Certificates of Secondary Education Household Expenditure Surveys International English Language Testing System International Student Mobility KOrean Statistical Information Service Limited English Proficient Middle East and North Africa National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy Nazarbayev Intellective Schools National English Ability Test Native English Speaker Non-native English Speaker National Sample Survey Organisation xix

xx Abbreviations

PT PT-E RISS SAE SAT SE SES TEE TESOL THC TIMSS TOEFL USSR WIOA

Private Tutoring Private Tutoring in English Research Information Sharing Service Standard Australian English Scholastic Aptitude Test Shadow education Socio-economic Status Teaching English through English Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Transnational Human Capital Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Test of English as a Foreign Language Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

List of Figures

Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Modes of EPT Delivery Student 5 in School D’s drawing Student 2 in School B’s drawing

25 27 29

The Nature and Scope of English Private Tutoring: An Analysis of the Shadowing Process and Middle-Class Identity in Globalising India Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

An advertisement for tutoring in English as a subject 61 An advertisement for a coaching centre for spoken English 63 An advertisement for a training centre for spoken American English 64

A Sociocultural Perspective on English Private Tutoring in South Korea in the Last Two Decades: A Critical Review Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Monthly expenditure per capita by school level 117 Participation rate by school level 117 Gross expenditure by school level 118 Participation rate by monthly household income 118 Participation rate by student school performance 119 The number of newspaper articles on EPT in the Korean Press (2000–2020)128

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List of Figures

English Private Tutoring at a Transition Point in Morocco’s Education System: Its Scale, Nature, and Effectiveness Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4

The final thematic map derived from students’ data Modes of EPT delivery Frequency of attending EPT Costs of EPT in Moroccan Dirham (MDH) ($1 = 9.75 MDH)

203 204 205 209

List of Tables

Private Tutoring: A Global Phenomenon in ELT Table 1 The scale of EPT in 13 countries

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Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan Table 1 Numerical data of reasons for having EPT

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Chinese Parents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning in Private Tutoring: An Ecological Perspective Table 1 A summary of Hong Kong parents’ enactment of agency Table 2 Nanchang parents’ additional practices to facilitate their children’s EPT Table 3 A summary of Nanchang parents’ enactment of agency

81 84 86

A Sociocultural Perspective on English Private Tutoring in South Korea in the Last Two Decades: A Critical Review Table 1 A summary of selected studies on EPT in Korea (2000–2020)

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English Private Tutoring: The Case of Brazil Table 1 Brazil: average private monetary and non-monetary yearly spending per household by category 2018 Table 2 Brazil: Largest franchising in modern international languages, by activity areas and number of companies 2018

148 150

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List of Tables

Table 3 Argentina, Chile and Mexico: some popular franchises in teaching English as an additional language

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Tutors’ Perspectives of English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications Table 1 Demographic data of the participants

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English Private Tutoring at a Transition Point in Morocco’s Education System: Its Scale, Nature, and Effectiveness Table 1 Indicators of private tutoring in North Africa Table 2 Numerical data of motives for having EPT Table 3 Advantages and disadvantages of EPT

199 206 208

Shadow Education in Literacy for Migrant Students Learning in English as an Additional Language in Australian Primary Schools Table 1 Demographic differences among participating families

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Private Tutoring in English: Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward Table 1 Regulations on teachers’ provision of PT in the 13 countries of this volume272

Private Tutoring: A Global Phenomenon in ELT Kevin Wai Ho Yung and Anas Hajar

Introduction Private tutoring has become a popular out-of-school language learning activity worldwide (Hajar & Karakus, 2022; Yung, 2022a). While its scope and definition are expanding, private tutoring commonly refers to the “paid service students used to supplement their learning of academic subjects at school outside school hours” (Yung, 2019, p.  120). It is widely known as shadow education particularly in the comparative education literature because it operates alongside regular schooling and to some extent mimics its curriculum and instructional practices (Bray, 2021a; Yung & Bray, 2021). Research in private tutoring sheds light on the world of shadow education that exists beyond the boundaries of mainstream classroom settings. Around the globe, English language is found to be one of the most popularly enrolled subjects in private tutoring, including both English as a first language and English as an additional language (EAL) contexts. Despite its popularity and implications for theories, practices and policies, research on English private tutoring (EPT) K. W. H. Yung (*) Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China e-mail: [email protected] A. Hajar Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_1

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“is still in its infancy” (Yung, 2020, p. 883). In this connection, with the focus on EPT, this volume aims to bridge the fields of applied linguistics and comparative education and open up an agenda for discussion in theories, practices and policies in ELT. EPT has far-reaching implications in various aspects of ELT, including learner motivation and agency, identities of native and non-native English-­ speaking tutors, washback on instructional and assessment practices in mainstream schooling, commercialisation and marketisation of ELT and the education inequalities created by the privatisation of ELT (Allen, 2016; Hamid et al., 2018; Yung, 2022a). Without considering learners’ experiences in EPT, ELT practitioners, researchers and policymakers “would only see a partial picture of [students’] real English-learning experiences and proficiency” (Lee, 2010, p. 70) and miss “alternative perspectives on the meaning of, and social and cognitive processes involved in, language learning and teaching” (Benson & Reinders, 2011, p. 1). Given its growing attention in applied linguistics and TESOL research, EPT is an emerging and promising field of study in ELT. This volume, therefore, has great potential to contribute to the ELT literature, and to offer insights to scholars worldwide in conducting research in the field. This introductory chapter commences with the discussion of the expanding definitions of private tutoring, including its metaphor of shadow education, and the variety of vocabularies of EPT across different contexts. It then reviews the current situation of EPT, such as its scale and nature in a wide range of English as a first language and English as an additional language (EAL) contexts. The chapter ends with the structure of the volume, and an overview of the collection from the 13 selected countries across six continents.

Definitions and Vocabularies of EPT In the field of comparative education, private tutoring has been commonly known by its metaphor of shadow education. The main reason for employing this metaphor is that the curriculum in much tutoring imitates that of regular schooling—as the content of the curriculum changes in the mainstream, so it changes in the shadow; as the regular school system expands or contracts, the shadow sector follows (Bray, 2009; Stevenson & Baker, 1992; Yung & Bray, 2021). In the dominant strand of the literature (see e.g., Bray et al., 2015; Yung & Bray, 2021), shadow education has three main dimensions:

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• Privateness: This dimension limits tutoring to that provided by individuals or organisations in exchange for a fee and excludes unpaid tutoring offered by families, friends or volunteers, or extra lessons provided by teachers free of charge. • Supplementation: Shadow education supplements the provision of mainstream schools and is provided outside school hours. • Academic subjects: The shadow education literature focuses on academic subjects, which in many education systems mean national languages, English, mathematics and other subjects that feature in public exams. Domains that are learnt mainly for leisure and/or personal development such as music, art and sports are excluded from the focus. As the shadow education sector continues to evolve, its definitional scope has been expanded by some researchers to fit different contexts (e.g., Kim & Jung, 2021; Liu & Bray, 2020). This has made the three dimensions less distinct, particularly when shadow education is contextualised in the field of ELT. For instance, for “privateness”, some tutoring services are offered free-of-­ charge by schools or non-governmental organisations as “after-school tutoring” or “supplemental educational services” (Tan, 2017; Zimmer et al., 2010). They help students from low-income families catch up with their studies, or offer free English language courses for ethnic minorities or migrants to integrate into the local community (Bleistein & Lewis, 2015). In addition, based on the conceptualisation of privateness as “outside the public space, whether or not in change for a fee” (Zhang & Bray, 2020, p. 324), EPT can be regarded as a kind of “out-of-school” language learning activity. This focus on location or setting in the aspect of privateness of tutoring is discussed by Benson (2011, pp. 9–10): Because ‘out-of-school’ learning only refers to location, the term might also reasonably be applied to attendance at private tutorial schools after the school day is finished. Although the teaching and learning takes place in classrooms, tutorial lessons can be considered as ‘out-of-school’ activities from the perspective of the main location of the students’ learning.

Based on this understanding, EPT can also be described as “out-of-class”, “after-school”, “extracurricular” or “extramural” English learning, implying “something that is supplementary to classroom learning and teaching” (Benson, 2011, p. 9). Regarding supplementation, it can be a relative concept from the perspective of the person receiving EPT. In other words, when the tutee considers

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EPT more important and values it more than mainstream schooling, the latter becomes supplementary. For example, in the Indian context, Bhorkar and Bray (2018) argued that for some students preparing for school-leaving exams, the role of tutoring has expanded from “supplementation” to “supplantation”. For private candidates of public exams not enrolled in regular schools or even adults, their participation in tutoring may be the main rather than a supplementary source of earning. For the third dimension, although English is typically treated as a major academic subject in the school curriculum in many education systems in both English as the first language or EAL contexts, some EPT may not solely focus on teaching English that shadows the mainstream curriculum. An example is tutorial courses for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Allen, 2016; Buchmann et  al., 2010; Jeon & Choe, 2018). Many tutorial companies offer courses for these international standardised tests in addition to those that prepare tutees for the national English exams in the school curriculum. These test-prep courses are usually popular among senior secondary students because the test scores may help them apply for a university place. On the other hand, some EPT courses do not feature the exam component but aim to raise learners’ English proficiency for authentic communication. An example is business English offered by private tutorial centres for adults. In this regard, English is not learnt as an academic subject but a language per se. These examples problematise the dimensions of academic subjects and supplementation, since these EPT courses may not run in parallel to the school curriculum. While shadow education has been used as a metaphor in the literature internationally, terminology may vary across contexts. This volume uses “private tutoring” in the title, but other researchers may use alternative vocabularies. For example, Stewart (2015) used “extra lessons” in some parts of Caribbean; Foondun (2002) used “private tuition” for the phenomenon in Mauritius and some South-east Asian countries; Smyth (2009) used “grinds” in Ireland; “coaching” or “after-school tutoring” are commonly used in the United States (Buchmann et al., 2010; Zimmer et al., 2010); and Bray (2009) has generally used “private supplementary tutoring” for various contexts. Some scholars use their own language for “cram schools” such as juku in Japan (Allen, 2016), hagwon in South Korea (Kim & Jung, 2021; Lee, 2010), buxiban in Taiwan (Chou & Yuan, 2011) and bou zaap in Hong Kong (Yung, 2021). This volume uses a variety of terms to allow flexibility for the contributors to fit the idea of EPT into their own contexts. For instance, Hamid and Mahmud use “private tutoring in English (PT-E)” in their chapter “The

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Dynamics of Private Tutoring and the English Language in Bangladesh” because they regard it as a “sub-type” of private tutoring. Others may use “English private tutoring (EPT)” to identify it as part of ELT and treat it as a distinct entity in the field. Apart from terminology, EPT is interpreted in a broad sense based on its distinctive features and nature in the diverse contexts in this volume.

Scale and Nature of EPT EPT has become a global phenomenon, as shown in its growing prevalence and increasing participation rate among learners of English worldwide. Table 1 shows data of the scale of EPT in the 13 countries featured in this volume. Although some are rough estimates rather than exact indicators, “they are part of the jigsaw puzzle which can be used to assemble the picture” (Bray, 2021b, p. 444). As shown in the table, EPT is particularly prevalent in EAL contexts, although it is also used by many, especially migrant children, in English-speaking countries. EPT can take various forms, including one-on-one, small-group and lecture-­style tutoring (Yung, 2022a). EPT in the one-on-one mode usually takes place in assorted settings such as home, libraries or cafes. While there is usually no structured curriculum, one-on-one tutoring allows the tutor to cater for the learner’s individual needs and specific language learning goals (Bleistein & Lewis, 2015). Tutor and tutee can also engage in one-on-one conversations in the target language, which can hardly be achieved in larger group or tutoring in the classroom setting. Small-group tutoring can also be conducted in various settings. The number of students in a group varies across different contexts. For instance, in Hong Kong, two to seven students are generally considered a small group because a larger group would require registration as a “school” (Yung, 2021); in South Korea, two to five students are considered a small group in tutoring (Kim & Jung, 2019). Small-group EPT offers an opportunity for the tutees to interact among one another and practise group discussion in English. They can also engage in communicative practices that resemble a more natural social setting. The tutor may also design class activities that encourage peer learning and peer feedback. Lecture-style tutoring typically takes place in classroom settings. This type of tutoring, usually called “cramming” or “cram schools”, is particularly evident in Asian contexts where mass schooling is prevalent. Cram schools usually operate in systems with highly organised curricula, which typically cater

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Table 1  The scale of EPT in 13 countries Country

Scale

Australia

From a Labour Force Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Tutoring Association (2018) reported that 35,000 tutors were employed in 2017, and predicted a rise to 39,400 in 2022. Mahmud and Bray (2017) surveyed 401 Grade 8 and Grade 10 students in metropolitan Dhaka and a rural setting in Southern Bangladesh. They reported that the EPT participation rate was 85% in Dhaka and 61% in the rural area. Ventura and Gomes indicated in their chapter in this volume that extensive tutoring exists in Brazil, making up of unregistered classes in teachers’ homes and elsewhere. However, there is no official statistics related to the scale of tutoring because the prevalence of tutoring is viewed by the Brazilian government as a criticism of the mainstream schooling for which it is responsible. Based on 6403 Grade 12 students’ performance on the national college entrance exam in Jinan, Zhang (2013) found that 18.2% had EPT. In Hong Kong, a survey of 1624 students showed that 65.2% secondary school students received EPT (Zhan et al., 2013). Despite the lack of official data about the recent scale of EPT, Rámila Díaz (2020, p. 218) observed that, based on prior literature and tutorial company reports, EPT enterprises “are among the most profitable franchise enterprises in France in 2012”. Ömeroğulları et al. (2020) analysed a survey of over 8000 secondary school students and reported that 20% received tutoring in English. Based on the India Human Development Survey II in 2011–2012, Chatterjee (2018, p. 142) reported that among the sample of 204,569 subjects aged 6–18, the average individual acquired 2.38 hours of EPT per week. A survey by the National Institute for Educational Policy Research in 2010 showed participation rates in juku of 47.7% for primary Year 6 pupils and 61.9% for secondary Year 3 students (Yamato & Zhang, 2017, p. 330). In 2019–2020, Hajar (2022) surveyed 637 Grade 6 (age 11–12) students at five mainstream schools in Nur-Sultan (the capital of Kazakhstan). Among the students, 52.75% (n. 336) indicated that they were receiving EPT. In 2022, Si Mhamed et al. in the chapter of this volume surveyed 200 Grade 12 students in the science stream at two secondary schools in Agadir, Morocco’s southernmost major city. They found that 81% (162 out of 200) took PT and 58% of participants received EPT. In South Korea, 53.8% of middle school students, 36.6% of high school students and 42.5% of general high school students received EPT in 2019 (KOSIS, 2020). A 2016 national survey, reported in Holloway and Kirby (2020), found that 26% of state-educated children in England and Wales had received PT at some point in their lives. Of these children, 51% had EPT. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, Buchmann et al. (2010) found that almost 20% of students in the United States received tutoring to pass the SAT test to attend selective colleges and universities.

Bangladesh

Brazil

China

France

Germany India

Japan

Kazakhstan

Morocco

South Korea United Kingdom United States

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for standardised exams. Studies (e.g., Allen, 2016; Yung, 2019) have shown that this kind of EPT is usually exam-oriented, and teaching primarily focuses on exam skills rather than on English for authentic communication. Furthermore, tutors offering lecture-style tutoring may promote themselves in advertisements and in some contexts, package themselves as “stars” or “celebrity tutors” (Šťastný, 2017; Yung & Yuan, 2020). When tutors become highly popular, they may video-record their lessons and sell their courses as video or online courses (see Eng, 2019; Yung, 2022b). In addition to the traditional face-to-face tutoring in different settings, increasingly popular in recent years is online tutoring. Technology has played an increasingly important role in ELT, including EPT.  Worldwide, online English tutoring companies have become accessible and offered services in language teaching, test-preparation and homework guidance (Kozar & Sweller, 2014; Ventura & Jang, 2010). Moreover, tutoring companies may develop their own online applications or platforms for English teaching, with the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through the ongoing development of technology, online tutoring has enhanced the quality of EPT and provided English learners with more personalised opportunities of language learning.

Structure of the Volume This volume is international in its coverage. It consists of a collection of chapters from a variety of countries where EPT is prominent across six continents, namely Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. The 13 contributions illustrate the local features of EPT in a wide range of contexts, covering various issues in theories, practices and policies in ELT. They are organised in three sections: (1) Researching English Private Tutoring in English as an Additional Language Countries: Theories and Issues, (2) Practices and Policies of English Private Tutoring: Case Studies in English as an Additional Language Countries and (3) English Private Tutoring for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in English-Speaking Countries. The first section includes contributions that focus on specific aspects of theories and issues arising from empirical research in EAL countries. With the focus on English teaching and learning in private tutoring, the four chapters advance knowledge in the field of ELT with theories including language learning motivation, assessment washback, social class dynamics and parent agency applied in the shadow education context. From the learners’ perspectives, EPT offers alternative learning resources that may motivate EAL learners in

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certain ways different from what regular schools do, such as visualising ideal and ought-to language selves to reach their performance goals (e.g., getting good grades in exams). Moreover, because of the fee-paying nature of many EPT types, financial burdens may be added on families. The chapters in this section have highlighted how EPT is used among different classes of families and parents exercise their agency to support their children’s learning in EPT. In chapter “Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan”, Hajar reports on a mixed-methods study that explored Grade 6 students’ EPT experiences in Kazakhstan. He highlights the EPT participation rate, students’ purposes for seeking EPT and the background of the parents of EPT recipients. Theorising the findings from the multilingual self-perspective, the chapter discusses how the participants acted as proactive agents in EPT for their English learning through the visualisation of their ideal end state in relation to professional, cultural and academic achievement. Allen discusses the functions of EPT in the Japanese society from the perspective of washback in his chapter “English Private Tutoring and Washback in Japan”. He highlights that one of the key roles of EPT is to help high-­ school students prepare for high-stakes university entrance exams. The chapter provides an overview of the entrance exam system to higher education institutions in Japan and a historical introduction to juku and yobikō for English exam preparation. It also illustrates how EPT amplifies teaching and learning of specific aspects of English assessed in university entrance exams, and how this narrowing of the curriculum impacts mainstream education. In chapter “The Nature and Scope of English Private Tutoring: An Analysis of the Shadowing Process and Middle-class Identity in Globalizing India”, Gupta draws on an ethnographic project on schooling practices in Dehradun. From the perspective of social class dynamics, she discusses the nature and scope of EPT in India in relation to the “shadowing process” underlying the private tuition industry. The chapter reveals the scope of the tutoring provision for spoken English, showcasing the spoken EPT services available for various social groups. The findings illustrate how private tutoring relates to, influences, shapes and is shaped by India’s social class dynamics. Zeng and Yung’s chapter “Chinese Parents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning in Private Tutoring: An Ecological Perspective” focuses on the parents’ voices. It illustrates the complex nature of parents’ agency in children’s English learning through the cases of EPT in Hong Kong and Nanchang. From an ecological perspective, the chapter reveals the various ways of enactment of agency by the parents with different perceived affordances and constraints in the situated contexts.

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The second section consists of case studies illustrating EPT practices and policies in various EAL countries. Based on data from empirical research or review of the literature in the respective context, these case studies uncover the changing nature of EPT as well as the determinants and effects of EPT. In all cases, EPT has been shown to be growing in scale and popularity among EAL learners. At the same time, it may distort the way English is supposed to be taught and learnt, such as focusing on exam techniques rather than language proficiency. Moreover, many cases also unveil the exacerbation of educational inequalities because of the fee-paying nature of EPT. Nevertheless, from the policy perspective, these chapters have raised a question of whether EPT should be regulated and if so, how. In chapter “The Dynamics of Private Tutoring and the English Language in Bangladesh”, Hamid and Mahmud take a historical perspective to provide an overview of private tutoring in the past, present and future in Bangladesh. They offer an assessment of where tutoring currently stands and how it may evolve in their context. The chapter also considers government policies and interventions that have sought to regulate the growth and operation of tutoring. In chapter “A Sociocultural Perspective on English Private Tutoring in South Korea in the Last Two Decades: A Critical Review”, Lee and Jang draw on a variety of data sources to examine the trends and causes of EPT and the issues arising from its prevalence in South Korea from 2000 to 2020, when English language education was boosted in the public and private sectors to enhance the national competitiveness. The analysis highlights major characteristics of EPT, including its use for prior learning, parents’ “the earlier, the better” belief and the government’s dilemma in regulating EPT. Lee and Jang argue that EPT is not simply a pedagogical practice for academic achievement, but a complicated sociocultural issue involving multiple social actors pursuing their own distinct goals and beliefs. In chapter “English Private Tutoring: The Case of Brazil”, Ventura and Gomes describe the nature, intensity and effectiveness of English private tutoring in Brazil. Based on a review of the literature with the conceptual framework of Bourdieu and Passeron’s cultural capital and theory of reproduction, they highlight the role of EPT situated in the context of ELT in Brazil. The chapter also discusses the similarities and differences of the EPT in Brazil with that in other parts of Latin America and offers implications for potential changes in educational policies in their own context. In chapter “The Role of English Private Tutoring for English Grades and Study Abroad Intent: Findings from the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS)”, Entrich and Nishizaki analysed the data for upper secondary

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students from a national survey in Germany. They investigated the determinants and effects of EPT on academic achievement and study abroad intent through regressions and structural equation models. Their findings suggest a growing relevance of EPT in Germany because of students’ increasing pressure to learn English at school to prepare for their individual and professional life in a globalised world. However, in terms of achieving higher proficiency of English as a lingua franca through study abroad, EPT seems less effective than expected. Rámila Díaz explores the spread of tutoring in France from the perspective of English private tutors in her chapter “Tutors’ Perspective on English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications”. Based on the data collected from various rounds of semi-structured individual interviews with six English language tutors, she reveals the tutors’ qualifications, experience and the professional lives of these tutors. The chapter also sheds light on the challenges tutors face, including their dual identity as tutors and teachers. It draws implications on tutors’ career prospects, and offers insights for managers of tutorial companies regarding their tutors’ needs and career expectations. The contribution “English Private Tutoring at a Transition Point in Morocco’s Education System: Its Scale, Nature and Effectiveness” by Ait Si Mhamed et  al. reports on a mixed-methods study exploring the nature of EPT and its effectiveness as perceived by a sample of Grade 12 science-stream students in Morocco during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their findings reveal students’ motives for seeking EPT, which are largely for tangible benefits related to obtaining high scores in high-stakes examinations and entering prestigious institutions in Morocco or abroad. They also uncover the limitations of schoolteachers, who may not cover the whole curriculum during regular school hours. The chapter also reports on the students’ perceived disadvantages of EPT, including the financial burden created on their parents and the deprivation of their time for leisure and rest. The last section features chapters from English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. These contributions address issues regarding immigrants and ethnic minorities learning EAL through EPT not only for academic studies but also social integration and mobility. These latter aspects have been neglected in the literature because most studies in EPT are conducted in non-English speaking countries focusing on how the teaching and learning of English take place mainly for academic purposes such as exams. The chapters in this section showcase a different discourse. Although immigrants and ethnic minorities learn EAL somewhat like learners from non-English-speaking countries do, they are situated in an English-as-the-first-language environment both inside and outside the

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classroom and presumably need the language for everyday communication and to study in the English medium at school. These chapters, therefore, approach ELT in private tutoring from a different perspective than the dominant EPT literature that focuses on learning English in non-English-speaking countries by highlighting immigrants and ethnic minorities’ language needs for social integration in addition to academic studies in the English-speaking environment. In chapter “ESL Private Tuition in the UK: Social Mobility and Discourses of Integration”, Kirby discusses ESL tuition as part of the broader landscape of private tutoring in the United Kingdom, showing how access to private tutoring and its usage vary by wealth and ethnicity. Based on a discourse analysis of the websites of tuition providers, he analyses how ESL tuition is advertised and sold to students and parents. His analysis shows how ESL private tutoring is frequently situated by providers within a narrative of integration that highlights the importance of English language skills for educational, professional and personal success. In chapter “Non-Formal Adult English Tutoring in the United States”, Bleistein focuses on small group and individual fee-free English tutoring carried out by volunteers for adults who are considered with limited English proficiency. The contribution showcases how a local tutoring programme in Southern California addressed the English language needs of the EAL community, highlighting the challenges and lessons learnt from the operation of the programme. In chapter “Shadow Education in Literacy for Migrant Students Learning in English as an Additional Language in Australian Primary Schools”, Dooley et al. address issues about the use of shadow education by families of high-­ achieving migrant students who are learning in the EAL-medium schools of anglophone Australia. They tease out the purposes for which parents from Chinese or Sinhala-speaking homes purchase shadow education for their Grade 5 children. They argue that through educationally valued resources or capitals, highly educated professional parents were seeking to secure a place like their own for their children in the social strata of Australian society. The chapter highlights the findings regarding the racialised and neo-liberalised logics of education and immigration policy in Australia and argues that privatisation of schooling for EAL students in public schools is increasingly a concern. Each of these contributions ends with a list of recommended texts and “engagement priorities” which include questions readers may wish to ask, topics they would wish to debate, statements to stimulate responses or suggestions for further research. The volume ends with its concluding chapter,

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comparing and contrasting the features of EPT in these countries from an international perspective, and highlighting the lessons learnt and ways forward in theories, practices and policies for ELT.

References Allen, D. (2016). Japanese cram schools and entrance exam washback. The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 54–67. http://www3.caes.hku.hk/ajal/index. php/ajal/article/view/338 Benson, P. (2011). Language learning and teaching beyond the classroom: An introduction to the field. In P. Benson & H. Reinders (Eds.), Beyond the language classroom (pp. 7–16). Palgrave Macmillan. Benson, P., & Reinders, H. (2011). Introduction. In P. Benson & H. Reinders (Eds.), Beyond the language classroom (pp. 1–6). Palgrave Macmillan. Bhorkar, S., & Bray, M. (2018). The expansion and roles of private tutoring in India: From supplementation to supplantation. International Journal of Educational Development, 62, 148–156. Bleistein, T., & Lewis, M. (2015). One-on-one language teaching and learning: Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Bray, M. (2009). Confronting the shadow education system: What government policies for what private tutoring? UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. Bray, M. (2021a). Geographies of shadow education: Patterns and forces in the spatial distributions of private supplementary tutoring. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 92, 1–18. Bray, M. (2021b). Shadow education in Europe: Growing prevalence, underlying forces, and policy implications. ECNU Review of Education, 4(3), 442–475. Bray, M., Kwo, O., & Jokić, B. (Eds.). (2015). Researching private supplementary tutoring: Methodological lessons from diverse cultures. Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Springer. Buchmann, C., Condron, D.  J., & Roscigno, V.  J. (2010). Shadow education, American style: Test preparation, the SAT and college enrollment. Social Forces, 89(2), 435–461. Chatterjee, S. (2018). Do private tutors enhance English language ability? Regression discontinuity evidence from a policy experiment in India. Bulletin of Economic Research, 70(2), 139–149. Chou, C. P., & Yuan, J. K. S. (2011). Buxiban in Taiwan. International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) The Newsletter, 56(Spring), 15. Eng, R. (2019). The tutoring industry in Hong Kong: From the past four decades to the future. ECNU Review of Education, 2(1), 77–86. Foondun, A. R. (2002). The issue of private tuition: An analysis or the practice in Mauritius and selected South-East Asian countries. International Review of Education, 48(6), 485–515.

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Hajar, A., & Karakus, M. (2022). A bibliometric mapping of shadow education research: Achievements, limitations, and the future. Asia Pacific Education Review, 23(2), 341–359. Hamid, M. O., Khan, A., & Islam, M. M. (2018). The spread of private tutoring in English in developing societies: Exploring students’ perceptions. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 39(6), 868–886. Holloway, S. L., & Kirby, P. (2020). Neoliberalising education: New geographies of private tuition, class privilege, and minority ethnic advancement. Antipode, 52(1), 164–184. Jeon, J., & Choe, Y. (2018). Cram schools and English language education in East Asian contexts. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–14). Wiley. Kim, Y. C., & Jung, J. H. (2019). Shadow education as worldwide curriculum studies. Palgrave Macmillan. Kim, Y. C., & Jung, J. H. (Eds.). (2021). Theorizing shadow education and academic success in East Asia: Understanding the meaning, value, and use of shadow education by East Asian students. Routledge. KOSIS. (2020). Private education participation rate by school level. Kozar, O., & Sweller, N. (2014). An exploratory study of demographics, goals and expectations of private online language learners in Russia. System, 45, 39–51. Lee, B. (2010). The pre-university English-educational background of college freshmen in a foreign language program: A tale of diverse private education and English proficiency. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(1), 69–82. Liu, J., & Bray, M. (2020). Evolving micro-level processes of demand for private supplementary tutoring: Patterns and implications at primary and lower secondary levels in China. Educational Studies, 46(2), 170–187. Mahmud, R., & Bray, M. (2017). School factors underlying demand for private supplementary tutoring in English: Urban and rural variations in Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(3), 299–309. Ömeroğulları, M., Guill, K., & Köller, O. (2020). Effectiveness of private tutoring during secondary schooling in Germany: Do the duration of private tutoring and tutor qualification affect school achievement? Learning and Instruction, 66, 101306. Rámila Díaz, N. (2020). European and national trends impacting on EFL development in public education and private tuition sectors in France. Estudios interlingüísticos, 8, 209–224. Smyth, E. (2009). Buying your way into college? Private tuition and the transition to higher education in Ireland. Oxford Review of Education, 35(1), 1–22. Šťastný, V. (2017). Private tutoring lessons supply: Insights from online advertising in the Czech Republic. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 47(4), 561–579. Stevenson, D. L., & Baker, D. P. (1992). Shadow education and allocation in formal schooling: Transition to university in Japan. American Journal of Sociology, 97(6), 1639–1657.

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Stewart, S. (2015). A mixed-methods study of extra lessons in Jamaica: Methodological experiences and reflections. In M. Bray, O. Kwo, & B. Jokić (Eds.), Researching private supplementary tutoring: Methodological lessons from diverse cultures (pp. 201–217). Springer. Tan, C. (2017). Private supplementary tutoring and parentocracy in Singapore [journal article]. Interchange, 48(4), 315–329. Ventura, A., & Jang, S. (2010). Private tutoring through the internet: Globalization and offshoring. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(1), 59–68. Yamato, Y., & Zhang, W. (2017). Changing schooling, changing shadow: Shapes and functions of juku in Japan. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(3), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2017.1345719 Yung, K.  W. H. (2019). Exploring the L2 selves of senior secondary students in English private tutoring in Hong Kong. System, 80, 120–133. Yung, K. W. H. (2020). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: A narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. Yung, K.  W. H. (2021). Hong Kong: Students’ learning in shadow education. In Y. C. Kim & J. H. Jung (Eds.), Theorizing shadow education and academic success in East Asia: Understanding the meaning, value, and use of shadow education by East Asian students (pp. 158–174). Routledge. Yung, K.  W. H. (2022a). Enhancing language learning in private tutoring. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language learning and teaching beyond the classroom (pp. 214–228). Routledge. Yung, K.  W. H. (2022b). Problematising students’ preference for video-recorded classes in shadow education. Educational Studies, 48(5), 719–726. Yung, K.  W. H., & Bray, M. (2021). Globalisation and the expansion of shadow education: Changing shapes and forces of private supplementary tutoring. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Third international handbook of globalisation, education and policy research (pp. 679–697). Springer. Yung, K.  W. H., & Yuan, R. (2020). ‘The most popular star-tutor of English’: Discursive construction of tutor identities in shadow education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 153–168. Zhan, S., Bray, M., Wang, D., Lykins, C., & Kwo, O. (2013). The effectiveness of private tutoring: Students’ perceptions in comparison with mainstream schooling in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Education Review, 14(4), 495–509. Zhang, W., & Bray, M. (2020). Comparative research on shadow education: Achievements, challenges, and the agenda ahead. European Journal of Education, 55(3), 322–341. Zhang, Y. (2013). Does private tutoring improve students’ National College Entrance Exam performance?—A case study from Jinan, China. Economics of Education Review, 32, 1–28. Zimmer, R., Hamilton, L., & Christina, R. (2010). After-school tutoring in the context of no Child Left Behind: Effectiveness of two programs in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Economics of Education Review, 29(1), 18–28.

Part I Researching English Private Tutoring in English as an Additional Language Countries: Theories and Issues

Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan Anas Hajar

Introduction Kazakhstan is the largest Central Asian country, a former Soviet republic that geographically extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. There are over 100 ethnic groups within a population of about 18 million and two official languages: Kazakh and Russian. The emphasis on English as L3 (along with Kazakh and Russian) in Kazakhstan is driven by two assumptions: that English serves as a universal lingua franca and that English language competency is essential for individual economic returns and national economic development (Hajar & Ait Si Mhamed, 2021). In Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan—reliance on private tutoring (PT) is regarded as an effective way for children ‘to adapt to the new socio-political realities and cope with post-socialist system changes’ (Silova, 2010, p. 328). In Kazakhstan, there is still a dearth of research into students’ experiences and perceptions of PT (e.g. Hajar & Abenova, 2021; Hajar & Karakus, 2023; Hajar et al., 2022), especially into English private tutoring (EPT). This chapter reports on a mixed-methods study to explore Grade 6 students’ experiences and reflections on the EPT they had received in Astana—the capital of

A. Hajar (*) Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_2

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Kazakhstan. The data were collected from two qualitative participatory methods—young people’s drawings, and group interviews—along with an openended questionnaire. The use of qualitative participatory methods allows children and young people to be more meaningfully involved in research, and the inherent power dynamics between adults and children can be diffused. In what follows, EPT and sociolinguistic changes in Central Asia, together with the need to consider children’s voices in research are outlined. The objectives of the study are presented, and the data analysed in detail. This study was guided by Norton’s (2013) conceptualisation of motivation as investment in learning a new language, and Dörnyei’s (2009) ideal language self/ought-to language self binary within the Language Motivational Self System. The chapter concludes with suggested pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research into EPT.

 nglish Private Tutoring (EPT) and Sociolinguistic E Changes in Central Asia PT in core school subjects financed by parents and conducted outside formal school hours has become a widespread phenomenon since the turn of the twenty-first century (Zhang & Bray, 2020). The few empirical studies reported in Silova’s (2009) edited book about PT in Central Asia showed that more than 50% of the first-year undergraduate students had participated in some type of PT during their final year of secondary school. A very small percentage of the population in Central Asian countries knows English. To illustrate, the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) analysed the results of a standardised English test of listening and reading skills completed by 2.2 million non-native adult speakers of English from 112 countries (EF English Proficiency Index, 2021). The study found learners in four out of five Central Asian countries (Turkmenistan was not represented) had ‘very low’ levels of English proficiency. Uzbekistan was ranked 88, Kazakhstan 96, Kyrgyzstan 101 and Tajikistan 103. This finding might be attributed to the influence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic’s (USSR) rule, that placed emphasis on Russian, while ‘English was by and large absent from domestic public life’ and its use was largely limited to ‘some state-organized, narrow professional circles’, such as diplomacy and foreign affairs, foreign trade and international tourism (Yilamu, 2018, p. 134). Even though the level of English is generally low in Central Asia, English has recently gained considerable importance in this region, especially in

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Kazakhstan, due to ‘the neoliberal agenda of the government as it seeks to become a player in the global economic community’ (Reagan, 2019, p. 448). Kazakhstan, the context of this study, is the first country in Central Asia actively to develop a trilingual education policy of teaching different subjects in Kazakh, Russian, and English in secondary schools and higher education institutions (Ahn & Smagulova, 2021). School education in Kazakhstan is divided into primary (grades 1–4), lower secondary (grades 5–9) and upper secondary education (grades 10, 11 and 12). These levels of education are compulsory and provided free of charge in public institutions. Kazakhstan’s former president, Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev, in 2015 offered the following rationale for introducing English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in science subjects in secondary schools and some universities: The transition to EMI in upper-secondary schools and universities has … been indicated as Step 79 in “The Plan of the Nation: The Path to the Kazakhstan Dream”. The President emphasized that the main goal was to enhance the competitiveness of graduates and the growth export potential of the education sector. (Cited in Karabassova, 2020, p. 44)

Related to this, the Ministry of Education and Science set up 20 Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NISs) for gifted children around the country in 2008. NISs are the main site for testing Kazakhstan’s trilingual educational model of Kazakh, Russian and English to ensure ‘the transformation of Kazakhstan into a country with competitive human capital’ (Shamshidinova et al., 2014, p. 72). NISs use EMI in most science subjects and cooperate with international institutions, like Cambridge University (UK) and University of Pennsylvania (USA). NISs enrol less than 1% of the age cohort and receive much more funding than mainstream schools (Mehisto, 2015). The entrance selection process includes tests in mathematics, languages (Kazakh, Russian and English) and the skills required to study mathematics and science (quantitative reasoning and spatial thinking) (OECD, 2015). Whether able students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Kazakhstan have any chance of gaining a place at one of the NISs is questionable because they are likely to have ‘limited access to extracurricular classes to prepare for admission’ (OECD, 2015, p. 17). Grade 6 is a critical stage in the Kazakhstan education system because at the end, some students take a special academic entrance exam to attend one of the highly selective schools. Thus parents who wish their children to pass the NIS entrance test may coach their children themselves, and/or hire private tutors. Related to this, Carlsen (2020, p. 19) suggests that the expansion of PT in

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Central Asia is mainly due to central testing system, low salaries in the formal system and increasing demand for access to gifted schools and prestigious higher education institutions. Carlsen (2020, p. 20) argues that PT in Central Asia can also contribute to ‘increasing social inequities, distorting curricula, inviting corruption, and depriving the state of tax revenues’. As passing a test in English is one of the requirements to gain access to NISs, the aim of the empirical study in this chapter was to uncover Grade 6 (age 11–12) students’ experiences of and motivation for having EPT over the previous 12 months in the multilingual context of Kazakhstan.

 aising Children and Young People’s Voices R Through Participation Exploring children and young people’s perceptions of their language learning experiences across different settings rather than how adults infer or interpret them, can help researchers better understand their realities and so respond better to their language learning needs and future vision. As Kuchah and Pinter (2021, p. 4) suggest, when children and young people realise that their voices are valued and listened to by adults, this can ensure ‘their right to participation and promote social justice and help researchers gain insights that can inform or even challenge policy and practice’. Kuchah and Pinter’s (2012) empirical study with ten-year-old children in Cameroon illustrates how the authors listened to the children and took their views of the features of good English language teachers seriously. Kuchah and Pinter (2012) indicated that they abandoned their initial agenda of observing only the classes of established teachers after many children identified other teachers as their ideal English teachers. The authors observed the teachers recommended by the children, and this experience, the authors claimed, helped them gain a better understanding of the phenomenon under investigation. Recognition of children and young people’s capacity and right to be active contributors to research has encouraged researchers to use a variety of participatory research methods, including drawing, focus groups and children-led photography (see Fernández et al., 2021). Ibrahim (2021, p. 126) suggests that the use of different participatory methods can offer significant opportunities for understanding the cultural and linguistic world of children as well as positioning them as ‘knowledgeable and active agents in the research process, thus respecting their insights into their experience of multilingual living’. Conducting participatory research with children about their English language

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experiences in a school context has been increasingly implemented in various studies (e.g. Ibrahim, 2021; Zandian, 2021). Nevertheless, very limited evidence exists regarding children and young people’s involvement in the decision-­making processes relating to their out-of-school language learning experiences like EPT, and the impact, if any, on their overall achievement, using participatory research methods (see Hajar, 2020; Hajar et al., 2022). The study addressed this lacuna by exploring the nature and effectiveness of EPT experienced by Grade 6 (age 11–12) students from five state-maintained lower secondary schools in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, using an open-­ ended questionnaire and two qualitative participatory methods—young people’s drawings of their EPT experience and group interviews.

Theoretical Framework The mixed-method study described in this chapter aimed to understand the nature of the EPT that Grade 6 students had received over the previous 12 months, and how effective they thought it was. It drew on Norton’s (2013) sociological construct of investment in language learning research to understand the connection between an individual’s desire and commitment to learn a language, and the complexity of their developing and changing identity. She defines identity as ‘how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how the relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future’ (Norton, 2013, p. 4). Norton (2013) observes that individuals who invest in target-language learning understand that they can augment their cultural capital and social power by obtaining diverse symbolic resources (e.g. education, prestige, social networks) and material resources (e.g. money, real estate). That is, an individual’s identity is a site of struggle negotiated through language and social interaction. Norton (2013, p. 50) also points out that individuals ‘expect or hope to have a good return on that investment—a return that will give them access to hitherto unattainable resources’. Therefore, when individuals appreciate the importance of a certain activity such as passing a high-stakes examination or integrating into the host community, they often exercise their agentive power and embrace a particular set of language learning strategies which can include hiring a private English tutor to support their attempts to accomplish their desired future selves. Yung (2020, p. 847) points out that although an increasing number of empirical studies have used the concept of investment in language learning across different contexts in the past two decades, ‘limited

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studies have focused on L2 learners’ experiences in EPT based on the notion of investment’. In relation to future possible selves, Dörnyei (2009) distinguishes two kinds of possible self: the ‘ideal’ self and the ‘ought-to’ self. The ought-to language self represents the external pressures the individual attempts to respond to, and so avoid any possible negative consequences of learning failure, or pressures which encourage her/him to meet the goals foisted on them by authority figures, such as parents and teachers (Dörnyei, 2009). The ought-to self often bears little resemblance to the person’s own desires and wishes (Dörnyei, 2009). The goals or visions channelled by the ought-to self are short-term because they are less internalised within the self, and largely directed by external factors in the socio-cultural environment (Hajar, 2021). By contrast, the ideal language self, according to Dörnyei (2009), refers to the future self-image that a person internally wishes to achieve (i.e. it represents the individual’s personal hopes, aspirations and wishes for their vocational or social purposes). For example, attending EPT to master English and facilitate professional advancement is largely associated with a long-term, dominant goal which regulates the aspirations towards the ideal self-image. The goals or visions directed by the ideal self-image are in essence long-term because they are more internalised within the self, and less imposed by others or external factors (Hajar, 2021).

The Study Details Five mainstream schools in Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan) were identified using stratified random sampling. The data were collected between October 2019 and March 2020 before the total closure of schools in Kazakhstan due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research covered two classes of Grade 6 students in each school, with an average class size of 35 students. The questionnaire sought to elicit certain dimensions of EPT, including its scale, modes of delivery and the reasons for seeking it; 637 students completed the questionnaire; 336 out of 637 students (52.75%) indicated that they had received EPT in the preceding 12 months. The sample for qualitative data consisted of 24 girls and 16 boys, all Kazakh born. Eight students with experience of being tutored were selected at random from two classes in each school. The researcher decided to interview the students in groups because they were ‘used to being together in groups and together they are more powerful’ (Einarsdottir, 2011, p. 398). At the same time, group work gave them the opportunity to share meanings in the way

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they naturally co-construct meaning within their peer relationships. The interviews were conducted in empty classrooms on school premises. They were interviewed twice to check their responses from the first interview and to give them enough time to describe their drawings. The children’s drawings gave them another means to illustrate their experiences and express their perceptions and feelings about EPT, rather than the spoken word alone. As Webber (2020, p. 340) suggests, children’s drawings are ‘full of richness, complexity and hidden meanings positioning children as capable, showing what they can do, rather than a deficit perspective of passivity or helplessness’. Each student was given ten minutes in the second meeting to draw a picture of their EPT. They were told their drawing should include themselves with their English private tutor and possibly peers, and everyone in the picture should be doing something. The participants welcomed the drawing activity, apart from one student (Student 5  in School A), but the researcher did not push her to participate in this activity. As the drawings aimed to act as ‘a springboard for further discussions’ (Webber, 2020, p. 341), each participant was given an opportunity to describe his/her drawing to fully empower them to express their views. The questionnaire data were analysed using SPSS software, and the qualitative data used Clarke and Braun’s (2013) guidelines for conducting thematic analysis. Codes that shared features in general were collated to generate themes. The tentative themes derived from the coded data and the entire data set were tested.

Findings and Discussion The Effect of EPT on Social Equality An analysis of the quantitative data showed that most parents (74% of fathers and 83% of mothers) who organised EPT for their children were holders of university degrees and their economic situation was—most likely—better than that of the other parents. They probably had the economic means to invest in more and better EPT, and so their children had a greater chance of gaining a place at one of the highly selective schools or/and expand their knowledge of the English language. Hence, PT can be ‘a force for reducing rather than increasing inclusion and equity’, especially when some students are unable to invest in PT (Yung & Bray, 2021, p. 691). As a result, students from disadvantaged households often find themselves in a less favourable position because they can hardly afford few PT sessions or less qualified tutors,

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and this fosters social inequalities. This is illustrated in both developed and developing countries. In England, for instance, Morris and Perry (2017, pp. 13–14) have ascribed the substantial under-representation of poorer children in selective grammar schools to the fact that parents from higher socio-economic status backgrounds are more likely to value academic performance than those from poorer backgrounds, together with the former’s financial capability to afford PT for their children to gain an advantage for passing the high-stakes examination. This concern that grammar school entrance is not solely based on a pupil’s aptitude, and that poor pupils are markedly under-represented in grammar schools, was echoed in Hajar’s (2020) study. Hajar (2020) suggests that the high-stakes examination for admission to selective grammar schools could be developed to be less susceptible to preparatory PT, and provide Year 6 students with adequate test familiarisation and practice from their school teachers. In China, one popular tutoring company in Shanghai has charged US$1200 a month for Grade 9 students, effectively excluding most families (Zhang & Bray, 2018, p. 230). Bray and Hajar (2023) point out that other forms of inequality related to PT are geographic, because tutorial centres are largely available in urban than rural areas. Although technology can reduce this geographic imbalance, high-income families have better access to broadband and updated computer equipment (Bray & Hajar, 2023). Policymakers in Kazakhstan and elsewhere need to adopt effective procedures to ensure fair access to highly selective schools. In this regard, Zhang and Bray (2020, p. 331), highlight the importance of strengthening the partnership between the authorities and ‘schools, teachers’ unions, other government branches, community bodies, and the media’ to develop a regulatory policy. Zhang and Bray (2020) point out how an online tutoring company in the United States, emphasising grades and admission to higher education, provides free tutoring to military families funded by the US Department of Defense and the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. Feldhoff (2017) also described how the Japanese government decided to make use of PT to ensure more equal out-of-school learning opportunities for all students through funding the Community Tutoring School for the Future project (Chiiki Mirai Juku) in 2015. It is a community-based learning project for lower and upper secondary education students who need learning support. Community collaboration brings together families, schools, and qualified tutors, such as university students and retired teachers.

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Modes of EPT Regarding the modes of EPT delivery, the data showed that 176 students (52%) took EPT lessons in groups (see Fig.  1); 74 of the 336 participants (22%) reported that they received both individual and group tutoring, and 56 participants (17%) had one-to-one tutoring. Only 30 participants (9%) had received online EPT; however, more students are likely to have online tutoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Zhang and Bray (2020, p.  327) point out, with the global outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020 ‘many face-to-face tutoring enterprises closed alongside schools but ones employing technology for distance learning experiencing a sudden boom’. Similarly, Rowe (2021) indicates that with the global outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020, online tutoring has expanded, leading to the rise of ‘Zutors—Zoom tutors’. More innovative modes of PT have been recently witnessed. Zhang (2021, p.  10), for example, described a hybrid tutoring mode where the lead tutor is usually a popular ‘star tutor’ delivering the sessions online in conjunction with a novice tutor or a schoolteacher helping students do the homework and classroom management in face-to-face settings.

Online 9% one-to-one 17%

Ind+ Gro 22%

Fig. 1  Modes of EPT Delivery

Small group 32%

Large group 20%

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Motives for Having EPT and Its Effectiveness The findings show that 52.7% of participants had invested in English learning through EPT over the previous 12 months, hoping to achieve one of Dörnyei’s (2009) core types of possible future language selves: the ought-to language self and the ideal language self. The ought-to language self largely signifies other influential agents’ visions for the individual. As shown in Table 1, the most common reason the respondents gave was that they took EPT to understand their subjects better (59%). Also, 31% of the respondents received EPT aiming to improve school examination marks, and 28% of the students wanted to be trained in the high-stakes NIS test. The qualitative data revealed that most interviewees reported that meeting the wishes and expectations of English teachers and parents constituted the dominant motive for having EPT for many participants; EPT helped them improve their examination scores in English and/or be coached for the NIS test, by receiving practice using similar test items and learning specific strategies to answer questions. This is also illustrated in some of the students’ drawings (see Fig. 2). The following conversation between Student 5 in School D and myself about her drawing illustrates this point: Extract 1 Student 5: I was sitting and solving the NIS tasks provided by the tutor. If something was unclear, she explained it to me immediately…the tutor was using the computer to print out the NIS materials and distributed them to us. Interviewer: How did you feel here? Student 5: I was happy because I was doing the tasks correctly and the tutor praised me…I wanted to pass the NIS test like my sister to make my mother proud of me. (School D)

Table 1  Numerical data of reasons for having EPT Reasons

Frequency (n = 336)

Percent

I want to understand the English subject better I want to improve my test results I have been preparing for the NIS test My parents chose it for me Other reasons My teachers recommended it Many of my classmates were doing it

199

59%

105 95 33 24 18 6

31% 28% 10% 7% 5% 2%

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Fig. 2  Student 5 in School D’s drawing

Extracts 2 and 3 also exemplify how the motives for receiving EPT were dominated by external sources (ought-to language selves). Extract 2 I don’t know if I will apply for the NIS test…After I had English private tutoring, I started to answer teachers’ questions inside the classroom and my examination grades improved. This is important to me because my mother will be sad if I get low scores. (Student 8, School A) Extract 3 I don’t want to change my school. Tutoring helped me get better examination grades and complete homework because my parents do not know English. Grades are an indicator of diligence. My schoolteacher praised me when I got a high score in the last exam. I told my parents about this. (Student 1, School E) Apart from the tangible impact of EPT in terms of measurable educational outcomes for students, some participants articulated long-term overarching goals for investing in English learning through EPT. More specifically, they believed that EPT could help them expand their knowledge in English, boost their self-confidence and strengthen their international posture, illustrated through their interest in building positive, friendly relationships with people from different countries, their desire to travel abroad to study or work and their openness to other cultures. According to Yashima (2002, p.  57),

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‘international posture’ represents an ‘interest in foreign or international affairs, a willingness to go overseas to stay or work, readiness to interact with intercultural partners, and, one hopes, openness or a non-ethnocentric attitude toward different cultures’. Extracts 4 and 5 describe this point. Extract 4 Tutoring is useful because it helps me improve my English skills faster than in school. I need to use English when I study at an international university abroad to become a diplomat or a neurosurgeon. Grades aren’t so important to me because one’s knowledge cannot be measured by numbers. (Student 4, School E) Extract 5 I hope to become a dentist and have clinics in other countries. The tutor encouraged us to use English, a language spoken by more than half the world. I would like to visit different places and meet people of different nationalities. This is essential because I will need to negotiate the rent and treat patients from different countries without an interpreter. (Student 1, School B) The qualitative data also showed that almost all the participants perceived the tutorial sessions as a better environment for language learning and development. They ascribed this partly to the individual attention they received from their private English tutors and receiving sufficient opportunities to practise English meaningfully by using board and computer games, and songs, which created a ‘fun factor’ during the tutorial sessions and encouraged them to become enthusiastically involved, as elucidated in Extract 6. Extract 6 The English tutor talks to us as if we are her own children. She explained everything clearly. We are not afraid of making mistakes…We play English games at the end of most tutorial sessions. For example, one student says a word. The second must repeat that word and say a new word. The third utters the previous words and his own and so on…The tutor sometimes asked us to make up some funny stories in English or solve a riddle. (Student 4, School E) Student 2 in School B described his drawing (Fig. 3) also replicated this point as follows:

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Fig. 3  Student 2 in School B’s drawing

Extract 7 Student 2: In my drawing, I took the phone out of my pocket to answer the tutor’s questions on Kahoot, an interactive game. The tutor told us the game pin. Interviewer: How did you feel here? Student 2: I was cheerful and full of energy. Interviewer: why? Student 2: We were learning and playing simultaneously. It’s different from school because the tutor used interesting activities. (Student 2, School B) Therefore, young people need enough space and opportunity to enact their own agency and ‘speak as themselves’ (Ushioda, 2011) in order to be capable of visualising long-term goals. This may be achieved by building bridges between students’ lives inside and outside the classroom, by organising out-­ of-­class projects and/or introducing digital and mobile technologies, entertainment and social media into the educational setting. Therefore, Ljung-Djarf et al. (2005, p. 29) assert that technology resources in the classroom should be ‘an essential activity’ rather than as merely ‘an available option’.

Implications and Conclusion The current study provides some evidence for the importance of understanding the nature of EPT in Kazakhstan and its role in access to highly selective schools from the perspectives of young people. The pupils’ powers of critical reflection and thinking by evaluating their PT experiences are indicative of

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agency. As Gao (2013, p. 228) asserts, human agency can be demonstrated by ‘reflexive/reflective thinking or thinking during action and post event in the learning process’. In this regard, Jadue-Roa and Whitebread (2012, p.  31) underline that including young children’s perspectives of their own experiences is essential to help them develop their sense of agency. By demonstrating their agentive power, children exhibited the salience of being portrayed as ‘strong, knowledgeable, and contributing members of society with their own rights and responsibilities’ (Einarsdottir, 2010, p. 166). This view aligns with the paradigm of the new sociology of childhood, which regards children’s and adults’ perspectives about a given phenomenon as equally important. As evident in this study, some participants believe that investment in EPT could also help them master English and visualise their ideal end state and desired identity in relation to professional, cultural and academic achievement, like visualising themselves going overseas to stay or work after completing their school education, and having meaningful interaction with people from different cultures. That is, many participants exhibited a higher level of ‘international posture’, which constituted a central part of individuals’ future visions of their ideal language self since they ‘expand their self by creating new images of themselves linked to global concerns’ in today’s world (Yashima, 2009, p. 159). This finding seems to be inconsistent with the claim of some language researchers (e.g. Block, 2007; Lamb & Budiyanto., 2013) that children and young people are likely to be unable to recognise the primacy of learning the target language in their lives, or even to identify realistic language learning goals, given that ‘early adolescence is typically considered a period of flux and uncertainty’ (Lamb & Budiyanto., 2013, p.  20). Reinforcing this argument, Block (2007, p. 144) adds that ‘there is usually far too much first language-mediated baggage and interference for profound changes to occur in the individual’s conceptual system and his/her sense of self ’. The young people in this study, however, did engage with the process of English learning across different settings and were capable of articulating realistic language learning goals and constructing their desired identity as language users when their awareness of English was properly nurtured by significant others, including well-educated family members and qualified English private tutors. This point was aptly put by Gao (2012, p. 592), arguing that significant others ‘can be regarded as highly proactive shadow teachers for children, whose support was essential to their success in learning English’ and in conceptualising future visions that hold the flavour of actuality. It should be noted that the references made by participants to the direct

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effects of English in envisioning their ideal future selves point to the new generation in Central Asia’s increasing awareness of the significance of English in their lives. As Zhunussova et al. (2021, p. 4) suggest, the increasing interest in learning English in Kazakhstan is ‘due to its potential for better employment prospects as well as within the government program of entering most developed fifty countries of the world in which English proficiency plays a key role for Kazakhstani citizens’. This study demonstrates how the use of drawing and group interviews as participatory research methods helped children realise their agency and express their varied perceptions of EPT. However, researchers need to evaluate the appropriateness and ethical concerns when using child participatory research methods (e.g. focus groups, drawings, children-led photography and puppetry) in their empirical studies. To clarify, some children, especially older ones, may regard the drawing activity as ‘babyish’ or judgemental of their drawing skills (Hajar et al., 2022). The present study has limitations. It was a small-scale study and relied on questionnaire data collected from 637 Grade 6 students, followed by interviews with 40 students from five mainstream schools in Astana, Kazakhstan. Hence, future large-scale studies to include the perceptions of students with and without tutoring, together with the viewpoints of parents and practitioners, would enrich the database. An area of EPT worthy of additional research relates to the effectiveness and intensity of online EPT, especially since this type of tutoring has expanded during the transition to emergency online learning. Recommended Texts Ahn, E. S., & Smagulova, J. (Eds.). (2016). Language change in Central Asia. Mouton de Gruyter. This book examines various language issues in relation to current discussions about national identity, education, and changing notions of socio-cultural capital in Central Asia. Eckhoff, A. (Ed.). (2019). Participatory research with young children (Vol. 17). Springer. This edited volume examines the conceptual understandings and methodological approaches that can be used to support participatory research investigations where the young child is viewed as knowledgeable and capable of sharing unique opinions, interpretations, and experiences embedded within social, cultural and political worlds.

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Silova, I. (Ed.). (2009). Private supplementary tutoring in Central Asia: New opportunities and burdens. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. This edited volume investigates the scope, nature and implications of PT in Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Engagement Priorities • Has the Ministry of Education in your country issued any regulations on the PT provided by serving teachers and tutorial centres? If yes, to what extent are these regulations effective? • What was the impact of Covid-19 on EPT? Did it make EPT expand, decline or stay the same? Why? • How could you build upon the study shared here to better involve children and young people in your country in understanding and interpreting the data gathered during the research on EPT? Acknowledgements  This chapter is based on a project funded by the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education [20122022FD4117 (Faculty Grant)].

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Yashima, T. (2009). International posture and the ideal L2 self in the Japanese EFL context. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 120–143). Multilingual Matters. Yilamu, W. (2018). Neoliberalism and post-soviet transition. Palgrave Macmillan. Yung, K. W. H. (2020). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: A narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. Yung, K.  W. H., & Bray, M. (2021). Globalisation and the expansion of shadow education: Changing shapes and forces of private supplementary tutoring. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Third international handbook of globalisation, education and policy research (pp. 679–698). Springer. Zandian, S. (2021). Constructing joint understandings of research with children. In K. Kuchah & A. Pinter (Eds.), Ethical and methodological issues in researching young language learners in school contexts (pp. 48–67). Multilingual Matters. Zhang, W. (2021). Non-state actors in education: The nature, dynamics and regulatory implications of private supplementary tutoring. Background Paper for the Global Education Monitoring Report. UNESCO. Zhang, W., & Bray, M. (2018). Equalising schooling, unequalising private supplementary tutoring: Access and tracking through shadow education in China. Oxford Review of Education, 44(2), 221–238. Zhang, W., & Bray, M. (2020). Comparative research on shadow education: Achievements, challenges, and the agenda ahead. European Journal of Education, 55(3), 3. Zhunussova, G., Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (2021). Roles and models of English teachers in Kazakhstan. World Englishes, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12558

English Private Tutoring and Washback in Japan David Allen

Introduction Private tutoring in Japan occurs within the shadow education system (Bray, 1999; Stevenson & Baker, 1992). The term ‘shadow education’ is used not because it is a sinister, dark force within education (though see the parasitic view e.g., Dawson, 2010), but because it shadows mainstream education. In other words, it mimics and changes in accordance with the mainstream. However, it also fills educational gaps in mainstream education. This symbiotic relationship has been evident ever since the birth of Japan’s modern education. Private supplementary tutoring focuses on academic subjects, is fee-based, and is conducted at different times from mainstream education (Yung & Bray, 2017). Following this definition, this chapter will discuss one primary function of private tutoring in Japan, that is, to prepare students for entrance exams of higher education institutions. Specifically, I will focus on English Private Tutoring (EPT) that helps learners prepare for English language exams. In doing so, I will show how these exams influence the nature of EPT and describe its relationship with mainstream English education in Japan. The conceptual framework for this chapter will be that of washback, which is the effect that tests have on teaching and learning (Hughes, 2003). D. Allen (*) Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_3

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University entrance exams and washback In 2019, approximately 58 per cent of Japan’s high school graduates (i.e., 658,000 young adults) continued to higher education (MEXT, 2020). While entrance to the top universities is fiercely competitive, the large number of institutions and the wide range of admissions routes provide opportunities to a diverse range of students. In 2019, there were 786 universities and 331 junior colleges (i.e., two-year universities). Of the entrants that year, the majority entered private universities (78.7 per cent) and the minority entered public and national universities (5.4 per cent and 15.9 per cent, respectively; MEXT, 2020). That year, 53.0 per cent entered via the general admissions route examination, which involves passing a written examination created and administered in-house by each university and which typically includes an English component. Considering the different university types, however, this proportion was 83.2 per cent for national universities, 71.7 per cent for public universities and 45.6 per cent for private universities. Consequently, these general-route national/public exams, like those of top-tier private universities, are most readily associated with the often-used term ‘examination hell’. While just over half of university entrants take the general route examinations, the remainder take one of a wide range of alternative routes into higher education, such as a recommendation-based exam, which involves submitting high-school grades and other documentation and passing an oral interview. In addition, a vast majority of university applicants also sit a nationwide achievement test called the kyōtsū tesuto (Common Test) that is created and administered by the National Center for University Entrance Exams (NCUEE) and which includes an English component. Applicants to the fiercely competitive national and public universities are typically required to sit the Common Test before taking the university’s own in-house general route exam, which is thus known as the niji shiken or (second-stage exam). Applicants to private universities may also submit scores for the Common Test as part of their application, so entrance to many top-tier institutions often depends on the outcome of both the Common Test and the in-house university exam. These university entrance exams serve a gate-keeping function for institutions, allowing them to select students of appropriate academic ability for their programs. They are high-stakes in that entrance to a reputable university increases one’s potential for gaining and/or maintaining higher socioeconomic status (Rohlen, 1983). Consequently, these exams will, in some ways, impact English language education in Japan. However, the ways in which these exams impact teaching and learning specifically, that is, the washback effect they may have, are concerningly under-researched.

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International research over recent decades has shed much light on the washback phenomenon, most prominently regarding the impact of high-­ stakes exams on teaching and learning of English (see Cheng et al., 2015, for a review). It has been shown that tests can influence what and how teachers teach, and what and how learners learn; moreover, tests can influence learners’ and teachers’ perceptions, motivations, and attitudes towards studying and teaching. Yet these effects are not straightforward: Various mediating factors determine to what extent a test generates washback and what kind of washback is generated (e.g., Green, 2007), including the perceived importance and difficulty of the test; the resources that are available to the learners and teachers (e.g., time, materials, technology, and knowledge of methodology); the willingness of participants to adapt their behaviour; and the participants’ understanding of the test demands. Thus, while it is clear that tests impact various aspects of teaching and learning, many context-dependent factors are involved, which make demonstrating and predicting washback an arduous task. Although washback research in Japan has tended to focus on university entrance exams, including both the nationwide achievement test and the individual in-house university exams, little is known about the role EPT plays in mediating washback from these exams (Allen & Tahara, 2021). The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to synthesise the findings of relevant empirical studies to shed light on the relationship between washback and EPT. To this end, I will draw upon primary data from two of my own research projects, one which investigated washback from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in a Japanese university context (Allen, 2016, 2017) and another which investigated washback from the Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP) in a high school context (Allen & Nagatomo, 2019; Nagatomo & Allen, 2019). Both IELTS and TEAP are four-skills English language proficiency exams, though the latter was designed specifically for use in the Japanese context as an alternative to traditional university English entrance exams. Currently, both IELTS and TEAP, along with other externally administered English proficiency exams, are used for admissions to some universities in Japan, though use of in-house English exams (i.e., the second-­ stage exams described previously) is more common. Although these research projects were focused on external English proficiency exams, the participants were surveyed and interviewed about their experiences of preparing for university entrance exams, often with the support of EPT, which allowed for comparison of the washback from the different types of tests. In addition, I will supplement my findings with those from two other washback investigations, one that investigated high school teachers’ and

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former high school students’ views on washback from university entrance exams (Takagi, 2010) and another which is in fact the first major washback study conducted in Japan and which investigated the impact of university entrance exams in both high school and EPT contexts (Watanabe, 1996, 1997). An important caveat is that all of these studies refer to contexts in which students were preparing, or had prepared, for the English exams of top-­ ranking universities. The findings therefore are most relevant to such contexts and are not to be taken as representative of the experience of every high-­ school student or teacher in Japan. EPT for exams can be obtained in various forms, depending on the specific needs and means of the student. The two most established institutions for exam preparation are juku (‘cram schools’) and yobikō (‘prep schools’), which I will focus on here, though other forms of EPT may be relevant to certain types of exam preparation (e.g., the katei kyoshi ‘home-tutor’, eikaiwa gakkō ‘English conversation school’, and services, such as online eikaiwa ‘online English conversation’). Although most of today’s EPT arguably goes into preparing students for competitive junior and senior high school examinations (see Roesgaard, 2006), here I will concentrate on research concerning university exam preparation.

EPT at juku and yobikō Although juku is typically translated as ‘cram school’, it has been pointed out that this is a misnomer (Dawson, 2010) because juku takes on a wide range of forms and functions (e.g., Rohlen, 1983; Rosegaard, 2006; Yamato & Zhang, 2017). Gakushū juku (‘supplementary tutorial schools’) teach academic subjects, and while there is overlap among the juku types (Rosegaard, 2006; Yamato & Zhang, 2017), specialist exam preparation tends to be provided by shingaku juku (‘academic progression schools’). Modern-day yobikō also have a wide range of forms and functions, providing instruction for academic exams and various qualifications (e.g., driving licenses and civil servant qualifications). The yobikō that provide instruction for entrance exams have two main courses: one is for current senior high school students who hope to enhance their chance of success on university entrance exams and the other is for students who have already finished high school and are preparing for high-level university exams. The latter are often referred to as rōnin (or ‘master-less samurai’). Today, yobikō and shingaku juku share many similarities, and the terms are often used indiscriminately. Because interviewees in my studies often used them in this way, I will also occasionally

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refer to them as juku/yobikō. However, they do have different and fascinating historical origins that are worth noting. The roots of modern day juku can be traced back to be the shijuku (‘private academies’) (Shintani, 2013), which were common in Japan during the 250-­ year period prior to the Meiji Restoration in 1862 (Rubinger, 1982). These institutions ranged in size, from private tutorials to large centres, though they were typically found in the home of the teacher, who taught according to his specialist academic interests (Rubinger, 1982). The shijuku were where aspiring samurai and ambitious merchants went to learn Dutch and then later English. Early shijuku specialised in conversation in foreign languages and they were initially ‘opened by Nagasaki interpreters, followed by those who had returned from missions abroad, and finally by foreign native speakers’ (Rubinger, 1982, p. 147). The origins of the yobikō, however, were established in the late 1800s, along with the modern national school and higher education systems. According to Amano (1990, pp. 79-80), the private preparatory schools, such as the Kyōritsu Gakkō, originally founded in 1871, and the Tokyo English School, originally founded in 1880, can be considered the forerunners of today’s yobikō. At that time, the emerging national system of education consisted of elementary school and ‘middle school’, which included both what now would be called junior and senior high school. Crucially, whereas most middle schools taught subjects in Japanese, the earliest higher education institutions mainly taught subjects in English. Therefore, students wanting a higher education had to learn ‘practical English’ to pass the university entrance exams. Although some of the middle schools had set up preparatory courses, many could not raise the students to the level required in the exams; consequently, [t]he ambitious young people who sought a higher education usually dropped out of the prefectural middle schools after a few years to take up study in one of the private schools in Tokyo where English was emphasised, for it was only in those schools that they could obtain knowledge required for passing the entrance examinations to the institutions of higher education. (Amano, 1990, p. 78)

In this way, the early yobikō ‘filled the wide gap between the education provided at local public middle schools and the academic ability required of university students’ (Amano, 1990, p.  79). However, contrary to being a ‘transitory provision’ as planned (Amano, 1990, p. 89), yobikō have continued to provide academic instruction for higher education examinations. While both juku and yobikō have a long history of English instruction, it was not until the post-war years when access to higher education increased

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that they started catering to more than a select elite. Notably, the industry expanded considerably between the 1960s and 1990s (Yamato & Zhang, 2017), which is when many of the major shingaku juku and yobikō rose to prominence. The essential reasons for their continued existence are credentialism in Japanese society (i.e., gakureki shakai) and the hierarchical structure of higher education institutions (Roesgaard, 2006; Rohlen, 1983), both of which fuel the spiralling competition in education. However, juku and yobikō dominate EPT for entrance exams for other reasons. One reason is their ability to provide advice and information pertinent to English exams. Due to the increased number of universities and the increasing variety of admission routes, juku/yobikō provide students with advice on the content of specific exams. Moreover, because little information is made public about the exams, the juku/yobikō have established reputations as exam experts by annually conducting and publishing analyses of newly administered exams. In other words, the complexity of the exam system (i.e., the thousands of different English exams produced each year) and the mystery surrounding them (i.e., the lack of information about exams) have allowed the juku/yobikō to consolidate their status as Japan’s exam gurus. Another crucial factor, and one that contributes to the impression of the juku/yobikō as experts, is that they provide information about students’ academic performance relative to their peers. This information is generated by designing mock exams that mimic the content of current entrance exams and administering them on a large-scale either within the juku/yobikō as part of admissions/placement testing for their own courses or within mainstream schools. Importantly, since the early 1990s, these norm-referenced test scores (hensachi) have only been available from the juku/yobikō (Roesgaard, 2006, p. 62; Sasaki, 2008), thus cementing their function as integral to the exam preparation system. A related point is that the mock exams also serve as the content for juku/yobikō classes and these materials, which are only available at those institutions, are perceived to be essential for exam preparation. Additionally, the juku/yobikō continue the tradition of filling the gap between the level of English required for top universities’ English exams and that typically taught within mainstream schools. While the content taught in mainstream schools may certainly be useful for the exams, it may in many cases be insufficient. Moreover, there are differences in content between the exams and the school curriculum: While the national course of study prescribes the development of communicative competence in English across the four skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, speaking) (MEXT, 2018), entrance exams are famous for having their own character, or genre, referred to as ‘entrance exam English’ or juken eigo. This term has been used since at least

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the 1880s and tends to refer to English as it is assessed in translation (Sasaki, 2008), which entails a focus on reading and writing, and on grammatical and lexical accuracy at the sentence level. The mismatch between the aims of the national curriculum and ‘entrance exam English’ has a long history and is due to many factors, such as conflicting views on the purpose of English education in Japan, as well as more practical constraints pertaining to teaching (e.g., teachers’ language proficiency and training) and assessment (e.g., a limited capacity of institutions to implement speaking and listening assessments). For more on this topic, Sasaki (2008) provides a historical overview of English exams in Japan and Allen (2020) describes the most recent attempt by the government to improve the alignment between curriculum and assessments. In sum, while the precise meaning of juken eigo today is unclear and will depend on the exams and individuals involved, the disparity in level and content between university exams and school curriculum continues to lead students to juku/yobikō for ‘expert’ tuition. From these facts it is clear that juku/yobikō play an important—some may say indispensable—function within the English education system of Japan. However, it is unclear, at least from an empirical perspective, how they function in terms of generating or mediating the washback from the exams on English learning and teaching, within both shadow and mainstream education systems. In the following section, I will present findings from my own washback research and those from other studies that shed some light on this issue.

 ashback on Teaching and Learning W Content in EPT The impact of exams on what teachers teach and what learners learn is apparent in previous studies. One clear example of this is observed in my first washback study (Allen, 2016, 2017), in which 190 first-year undergraduates at the University of Tokyo were surveyed and 19 were interviewed about their learning at juku/yobikō. Of the interviewees, nine took preparation courses specifically for the University of Tokyo entrance exam at the large, famous yobikō in Tokyo. Here, the specific university exam is the goal, the syllabus, and the course material. The exam in 2012 assessed reading (roughly 70 per cent of the items/weighting), listening (20 per cent), and writing (10 per cent) abilities. Student survey data and interview comments confirmed that the content of their juku/yobikō classes clearly reflected these weightings. That is,

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students practiced reading the most with minimal focus on other skills and no practice at all in speaking English. Furthermore, all materials are derived directly from past exams or created by juku/yobikō materials writers to mimic items on those exams, thereby demonstrating washback from the test content on teaching and learning materials. Although most juku/yobikō courses use mock/past exam items, there is occasional variation in teaching/learning content according to how the course is marketed. For example, one student attended a juku specialising in English (eigo senmon juku) once a week for six hours during her third year of high school. In addition to extensive exam practice, she listened to and sang songs, and did speaking activities with a native-speaker teacher. Her description, however, reveals the speaking activities to be rather dull, pattern-practice exercises based around a grammar point. Another student, who had lived abroad and returned when he was in the fourth grade, attended a course for ‘returnees’ (kikoku shijo). Notably, in this class the students did not study grammar or use vocabulary lists/books like in typical juku/yobikō classes. In sum, while there is some variation in the content offered in the EPT exam-related courses, the majority of participants suggested that reliance on exam questions and content was the norm.

 ashback on Teaching and Learning W Methods in EPT The impact of exams is also observed, though less clearly, on how teachers teach, and how learners study in exam-focused EPT. The method of teaching in the exam-specific course taken by most interviewees in Allen (2016, 2017) involves students taking a timed test followed by an analysis of the answers. This analysis is carried out by the teacher in a large classroom, almost exclusively in Japanese, while students take notes. The lesson is teacher-centred and there is typically no pair- or group-work. This generic format is ubiquitous in juku/yobikō classes not only for English but also for other academic subjects. Translation is used not only because many exams include translation questions, but because the art of rendering English into Japanese has been a cornerstone of teaching methodology at juku/yobikō for over a century (Erikawa, 2011, p. 38). Contrary to the typical format of instruction noted above, it has been observed that juku/yobikō teachers’ choice of methodology is not necessarily determined by the exams. Adopting an ethnographic approach, Watanabe

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(1996) observed and interviewed two English teachers at a large yobikō in Tokyo, finding that the teachers’ backgrounds and experiences were crucial in forming their beliefs about teaching, which influenced their methods of instruction. Yet, both teachers taught using translation when the exam involved translation tasks, suggesting at least some impact of exam content on methodology. Consequently, washback from the test was partially mediated by teacher-related factors, indicating that teaching methods will to some extent vary across teachers. These findings are supported in other contexts, notably with senior high school teachers in Watanabe (1997). Moreover, they support the general finding that tests tend to affect what teachers teach more than how they teach.

Washback on Motivation and Proficiency in EPT The impact of exams in EPT can also be assessed by examining student motivation and the resultant knowledge and skills acquired through study. The students in Allen (2016, 2017) reported being motivated to study the knowledge and skills required in the test. One such student reported being satisfied with learning how to tackle the exam by using test-taking techniques, and he noted that his time at the yobikō was his most important experience for improving his English. Yet, he also felt that except for reading, he did not know how to improve other areas of English because of the limited focus of his learning experience. This case is noteworthy because, like the average scores identified across the group of 190 test-takers in the study, he excelled in reading (IELTS Band 7) and did well on listening (Band 6). However, he did less well on speaking and writing (both Band 5). These scores illustrate the general pattern for the students in that study: Not only their own self-rated perceived proficiency development but also their actual proficiency mirrored the focus of their learning and motivation, which mirrored the content of the test. In other words, the system of EPT succeeded in preparing these ultrahigh-­achieving students for the exam by narrowing their learning focus, motivation, and outcomes towards the knowledge and skill areas that are assessed in the exam. However, the resulting knowledge and skills acquired may not necessarily match their long-term goals, particularly if they include speaking and writing well in English. This narrowing of teaching and learning focus is indicative of the negative washback tests can generate within language education. Findings from my second washback study (Allen & Nagatomo, 2019; Nagatomo & Allen, 2019) also illustrate how this mismatch can negatively

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impact motivation. In the research, 50 high school students were surveyed about their English learning situations. Five were also interviewed, three times each, in their second year, third year, and following the entrance exams taken before graduation. The interviewees reflected on their experiences at juku/ yobikō and sometimes doubted the value of studying for these exams. One student reported, ‘I don’t think we can use entrance exam English (juken eigo) for communication and I sometimes feel it is not very meaningful, translating the sentences into Japanese’ (Nagatomo & Allen, 2019, p.  4). Another explained, ‘For me, English for the entrance exam and English for actual use are completely different’ (Nagatomo & Allen, 2019, p. 6). However, like the students in Allen (2016, 2017), these students were goal-oriented and highly motivated to enter a prestigious university. Consequently, studying for the exams through EPT was considered a ‘necessary evil’.

 ashback on Teaching in High School W and the Role of EPT The impact of exams is not only present in shadow education but also in mainstream classes. Moreover, the existence of EPT and its role in exam preparation directly impacts high school teaching in a number of ways. One of the few empirical studies that sheds light on this issue is Takagi (2010), who investigated washback from university entrance exams in the Japanese high school context. She adopted a critical approach to language testing and utilised survey and interview data from 31 senior high school teachers and 36 first-year undergraduates at four top-tier universities. Many of her interviewees reported that the school curricula and regular exams were geared towards preparation for entrance exams, indicating a case of systemic and extensive washback on teaching and learning in schools. This observation is supported by other studies (e.g., Allen, 2017; Green, 2014), which suggest that high school teachers often teach according to their beliefs about what will be useful for students when they take entrance exams. Another indication of exam washback is through the organisation of EPT events in schools. One teacher in Takagi (2010, p. 100) described how his school offers satellite classes for one of the major yobikō before the entrance exams; this was arranged particularly for students unable to attend the prep school due to inconvenient transport. Likewise, mock tests are provided to schools by yobikō to assess pupils during school hours; the tests are marked by the yobikō, and the scores are made available to teachers and students. These

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scores provide feedback not only to students about their academic performance, but also to teachers and school administrators in terms of the apparent effectiveness of their teaching. This inclusion of EPT services within regular schooling is indicative that EPT plays a role as mediator between entrance exams and high school English education: The entrance exams are used as models for EPT mock exams, which are used to provide feedback to teachers about their students’ progress, and this feedback may then influence the teachers’ choice of teaching content. The position of EPT as mediator between entrance exams and high school English education can create conflict in schools. One key issue, which has been noted in other contexts (e.g., Dawson, 2010), is that students receiving private tutoring are often studying more advanced material than that provided in the mainstream curriculum. Consequently, these students may lose interest in class. To mitigate this impact on high school classes, English teachers need to compensate in some way. For instance, Takagi (2010, p.  102) reports: Ryota, who teaches high-level students, uses previous exam questions to save time in making good questions suitable to the level of his students. At home or in cram school, his students already study English beyond the level of the authorised textbook he uses in his class. As a result, he has to give challenging questions to satisfy his students.

In another example, a different high school teacher reported focusing explicitly on exam content in class to justify high school English education: I want my students to realise that learning in high school is also useful for an entrance exam. Many parents and students are fixed on the idea that they should rely on a cram school or a preparatory school for preparation for an exam, and do not regard learning in high school as important. (p. 91)

In these ways, high school teachers come into conflict with EPT for exams, which affects their teaching in schools. The situation also causes conflict for students. Many students in my study (Allen, 2017) described how high school classes were simply too easy, leading them to do juku/yobikō homework in class. Other students had to make sacrifices due to the heavy workload. For instance, because one attended a specialist English juku, she decided to only do EPT homework at the expense of high school preparation and homework. She notes:

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I’d heard that halfway is not good, so I knew that if I tried to do well in both regular school and cram school, I’d fail miserably, so if I was going to do it right, it would need to be completely one or the other […] But I couldn’t tell my teacher that.

There is also the crucial issue that the content of the exams and EPT instruction differs from that of the mainstream English curriculum. This creates an often-observed conflict for school teachers who must navigate the demands of both the curriculum and the exams. For instance, Ryota from Takagi’s (2010, p. 100) study described how he tried to develop students’ oral abilities, use pair/group activities, and not have students think about exams at an early stage. Yet as exams drew near, he helped prepare his students for them. Students also become apathetic towards aspects of English they believe are not assessed on the exams. For instance, one teacher (Takagi, 2010, p. 96) observed that some students are uninterested in oral activities in class because they know that their oral ability will not be assessed. This example echoes the general sentiment of the goal-oriented students in Allen (2017), who rarely practised English speaking and focused exclusively on what would be assessed in the test. The difference in content between exams and school curricula creates conflict for students, leading them to EPT. In Allen and Nagatomo’s (2019) study, high school classes typically involved many oral activities, an outcome of which was that students’ proficiency was on average higher in productive skills than receptive skills. While this could be considered a great achievement, students whose proximal goal is passing a fiercely competitive entrance exam need to develop their knowledge of entrance exam English (juken eigo). As one student described (Nagatomo & Allen, 2019, p. 4), her high school teacher did not use translation much in class, which is why she felt she needed to practise it at juku so that she could cope with the entrance exams. Another decided to attend a yobikō as a rōnin, to study for a private university’s medical department English exam: Although her English proficiency was very high (Nagatomo & Allen, 2019, p. 5), she discovered that she still needed EPT to understand the exam and fill gaps in her knowledge, such as specific medical terminology. These examples again illustrate how EPT compensates for the disparity between school education and university entrance exams.

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Four-Skills Reform and the Future Role of EPT In 2016, in an attempt to align the national English curriculum and assessment, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) unveiled a plan to utilise external four-skills English tests, such as IELTS and TEAP, as part of the Common Test. Although the primary aim of the reform was to stimulate positive washback on English education in schools, the proposal had numerous critical problems and has since been postponed (see Allen, 2020). Nevertheless, the proposal had an immediate impact on EPT for exams, most notably in a shift towards developing new courses for four-skills learning. Takeo (2021) describes how one small yobikō reacted to the reform proposal. The school had two courses, one long-standing general English entrance exam course and one new four-skills course. The four-skills course was novel in that it utilised small-group classes in addition to an individual learning component using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Moreover, while the textbook of the general exam course was written mainly in Japanese and focused on grammar and reading, the four-skills textbook was written mainly in English and covered all four skills. The yobikō teacher, in his regular exam class, taught reading skills, grammar and word usage, which he believed were necessary for entrance exams, while in the four-skills class he focused on speaking, listening and writing, all of which he believed were seldom taught in schools. However, these different teaching approaches reflect not only the different content but also wider societal issues, most important of which was the declining birthrate, which had led the school to focus on small-group instruction and individual learning using AI.  These changes in yobikō policy and practice thus reflect their dynamic reactivity not only to the perceived needs of students (i.e., four-skills learning for exams) but also to changes in the education market. The role of EPT in the proposed reform was officially acknowledged through the inclusion of a ‘star teacher’ at a major yobikō, Tetsuya Yasukochi, as a representative of the industry in official meetings. His position is unambiguously pro-reform: ‘Having worked in yobikō for over 22 years, [I] want to liberate today’s Japanese high school students from the current English entrance exam system as soon as possible’ (Yasukochi, 2018, p. 100). He posits that juku/yobikō need to revolutionise their methods to help students acquire English across the four skills. However, a major reworking of the business model would require tutors to coach students across the different skills, which many are currently unable to do. He thus predicts that eikaiwa gakkō (conversation schools) will be essential in the future because they specialise in teaching speaking, which is exactly what juku/yobikō lack.

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Conclusions and Recommendations In this chapter it was shown that EPT for exams at shingaku juku and yobikō typically has a narrow focus on the content assessed in entrance exams (i.e., juken eigo) and relies on exam-like questions. This results in learners who are motivated to study and excel in the necessary knowledge and skills assessed in the exams, but who may not develop well-rounded language abilities. These observations illustrate the washback of entrance exams within EPT. However, it was also shown that the juku/yobikō play a direct role in mediating the impact from exams on mainstream English education. That is, EPT appears to amplify the content of the exams so that learners and teachers are drawn towards it and away from the government-stated aims of mainstream education. In this way, by providing education that deviates from or extends beyond mainstream education, EPT creates conflict for teachers and students, and simultaneously threatens the authority of the mainstream education. Ultimately, however, it is the exams that create washback in mainstream schools: When teaching and learning is narrowed to focus on the test material at the expense of a curriculum that emphasises the teaching of four skills, it is a clear-cut case of ‘narrowing of the curriculum’ and thus negative washback (e.g., Allen, 2017; Green, 2014; Takagi, 2010). Many teachers navigate the conflict between the demands of the curriculum and the exams, often by focusing on curriculum demands primarily and by delaying attention towards exams until the last year of high school. Yet, ultimately, the high-stakes exams will affect teaching and learning in one way or another. And as a result, EPT will be there for support. This illustrates the ‘shadow’ nature of private tutoring. To address the question of what kind of EPT is best, we need to first decide what kind of exams learners should be preparing for. Undoubtedly, EPT will teach to the tests and amplify washback effects in mainstream education. Therefore, those who have the power to change the exams—test developers, administrators, ministry officials—must understand what kind of exams have the greatest potential for generating positive washback on English education in Japan. I would suggest that such exams should firstly align as far as possible with the content and goals of mainstream education, especially regarding the balance across the different skills, though exams for the highest-level universities may need to surpass that level. Also, transparency as to the reliability and validity of the exams, particularly the English language constructs being targeted, the methods of scoring constructed responses (see Kowata, 2015), and the expected methods of preparation, should be documented and made

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publicly available to promote positive washback. In this way, mainstream teachers will have clear guidelines, thus reducing the reliance on the ‘expert’ analyses of the juku/yobikō. Moreover, EPT providers will be better equipped to promote language learning beyond the exams, which will be more aligned with the goals of mainstream education. This chapter presents the first attempt to analyse EPT through the theoretical lens of washback theory, illustrating how exams can affect education within the EPT industry and how EPT mediates this effect within mainstream education. The impact of exams is currently at the forefront of discussions within the field of language assessment concerning the consequences of test use. It is hoped that researchers, test developers, and policy makers will build upon this initial attempt to further elucidate the role played by EPT in mediating the impact of high-stakes exams in contexts where EPT plays a major role in education. Such research may also support policy initiatives to improve mainstream systems so that they are better able to deliver high-quality education to every member of society. Although this chapter has focused specifically on EPT for exams of top-tier higher education institutions in Japan, many of the findings reported will resonate with EPT in other contexts, especially those across East Asia. While washback is inherently context dependent, high-stakes exams will always impact education. Where EPT exists, it will function as a mediator of this impact. Future studies into EPT for exams in other local contexts would contribute greatly to the understanding of how washback in mainstream education is mediated by the shadow education industry. Recommended Texts Roesgaard, M.  H. (2006). Japanese education and the cram school business: Functions, challenges and perspectives of the juku. NIAS Press. This book includes a detailed study on juku and their functions for elementary and junior high school students. Allen, D. (2016). Japanese cram schools and entrance exam washback. Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 54–67. This paper is the first study of washback on learning in cram schools in Japan. Nagatomo, D.  H., & Allen, D. (2019). Investing in their futures: Highly-­ motivated students’ perceptions of TEAP and university entrance exams. The Language Teacher, 45(5), 3–7. This is an accessible article on high school students’ views on English exams in Japan.

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Engagement Priorities • If you are a teacher, how can you convince your students that what they learn in mainstream English education is as/more useful than that learned in EPT? • What perceived gaps in mainstream education does EPT attempt to fill in your context? • In what ways does washback occur from English exams on teaching and learning in your context, and how does EPT mediate this washback? • Is it possible for EPT to change even when the exams do not change? How?

References Allen, D. (2016). Japanese cram schools and entrance exam washback. Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 54–67. Allen, D. (2017). Investigating Japanese university students’ English language proficiency: Predicting factors and pre-tertiary washback. IELTS Partnership Research Papers, 2. IELTS Partners. https://www.ielts.org/teaching-­and-­research/research-­reports Allen, D. (2020). Proposing change in university entrance examinations: A tale of two metaphors. Shiken, 24(2), 23–38. Allen, D. & Nagatomo, D.  H. (2019). Investigating the consequential validity of TEAP: Washback to high school learners of English. Eiken Research Report. Eiken Foundation of Japan. https://www.eiken.or.jp/center_for_research/pdf/bulletin/ vol99/vol_99_21.pdf Allen, D., & Tahara, T. (2021). A review of washback research in Japan. JLTA Journal, 24, 3–22. Amano, I. (1990). Education and Examination in Modern Japan (W. K. Cummings, & F.  Cummings, Trans.). University of Tokyo Press. (Original work published 1983). Bray, M. (1999). The shadow education system: Private tutoring and its implications for planners. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000118486 Cheng, L., Sun, Y., & Ma, J. (2015). Review of washback research literature within Kane’s argument-based validation framework. Language Teaching, 48(4), 436–470. Dawson, W. (2010). Private tutoring and mass schooling in East Asia: Reflections of inequality in Japan, South Korea, and Cambodia. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11, 14–24. Erikawa, H. (2011). Juken eigo to nihonjin: Nyūshi mondai to sankōsho karamiru eigo gakushūshi [A historical study of English learning and reference books for entrance examinations in Japan].

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Green, A. (2007). IELTS washback in context: Preparation for academic writing in higher education (studies in language testing 25). Cambridge University Press. Green, A. (2014). The test of English for academic purposes (TEAP) impact study: Report 1—Preliminary questionnaires to Japanese high school students and teachers. Eiken Foundation of Japan. https://www.eiken.or.jp/teap/group/pdf/teap_washback_study.pdf Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers. Cambridge University Press. Kowata, T. (2015). Daigaku nyūshi ni okeru jiyū sakubun mondai no gakushū to shidō e no hakyū kōka [Washback effects of university entrance examination writing tasks on learning and teaching]. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. MEXT. (2018). Gaikoku-go-hen eigo-hen: Kōtōgakkō gakushū shidō yōryō (Heisei 30-nen kokuji) kaisetsu [Foreign languages (English): Explanation of high school curriculum guidelines (2018 Notification)]. https://www.mext.go.jp/content/1407073_09_1_2.pdf MEXT. (2020). Daigaku nyūshi no arikata ni kansuru kentō kaigi (dai 19-kai) haifu shiryō, sankō shiryō, daigaku nyūgaku-sha senbatsu kanren kiso shiryōshū (sono 3) [Review meeting on the ideal way of university entrance examinations (19th) Handouts, reference materials. Basic materials related to university entrance examinations (Part 3)]. https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20201210-­mxt_daigakuc02­000011390_7.pdf Nagatomo, D. H., & Allen, D. (2019). Investing in their futures: Highly-motivated students’ perceptions of TEAP and university entrance exams. The Language Teacher, 45(5), 3–7. https://jalt-publications.org/sites/default/files/pdf-article/ 43.5-tlt-art1.pdf Roesgaard, M. H. (2006). Japanese education and the cram school business: Functions, challenges and perspectives of the juku. NIAS Press. Rohlen, T. P. (1983). Japan’s high schools. University of California Press. Rubinger, R. (1982). Private academies of the Tokugawa period. Princeton University Press. Sasaki, M. (2008). The 150-year history of English language assessment in Japanese education. Language Testing, 25(1), 63–83. Shintani, R. (2013). Juku as supplementary language education in Japan. Waseda Global Forum, 10, 347–374. Stevenson, D. L., & Baker, D. P. (1992). Shadow education and allocation in formal schooling: Transition to university in Japan. American Journal of Sociology, 97(6), 1639–1657. Takagi, A. (2010). A Critical Analysis of English Language Entrance Examinations at Japanese Universities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Exeter. Takeo, A. (2021). How a Japanese cram school adapts to the introduction of new university entrance examinations. Unpublished undergraduate thesis. Ochanomizu University.

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Watanabe, Y. (1996). Does grammar translation come from the entrance examination? Preliminary findings from classroom-based research. Language Testing, 13(3), 318–333. Watanabe, Y. (1997). The washback effects of the Japanese university entrance examinations of English-classroom-based research. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Lancaster University. Yamato, Y., & Zhang, W. (2017). Changing schooling, changing shadow: Shapes and functions of juku in Japan. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(3), 329–343. Yasukochi, T. (2018). Zenkaisetsu: Eigo kakumei 2020 [English revolution 2020: A complete commentary]. Bungei shunjū. Yung, K.  W. H., & Bray, M. (2017). Shadow education: Features, expansion and implications. In T. K. C. Tse & M. Lee (Eds.), Making sense of education in post-­ handover Hong Kong: Achievements and challenges (pp. 95–111). Routledge.

The Nature and Scope of English Private Tutoring: An Analysis of the Shadowing Process and Middle-Class Identity in Globalising India Achala Gupta

Introduction English is typically mentioned as a medium of instruction in most literature on the Indian schooling and shadow education system. Many of these studies investigate increasing enrolment in ‘English-medium’ schools (a term used to describe schools that teach and assess student performance in the English language) and how students’ enrolment in ‘English-medium schools’ affects their subscription to tutoring services. For example, drawing on three rounds of surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), two in the mid and late 1990s and one in the mid-2000s, Azam (2016) argues that children enrolled in ‘English-medium’ schools are more likely than their counterparts in ‘vernacular schools’ (that use vernacular languages, such as Hindi, for instructional and assessment purposes) to seek tutoring support. This difference is usually explained by the prevalent social class dynamic in the Indian education system. Indeed, scholars have suggested that parents who can afford ‘English-medium’ schools are likely to be able to afford private tuition fees. Other reasons, such as learning difficulties and parents’ desire for their children to excel academically, are also discussed as key contributors to

A. Gupta (*) University of Southampton, Southampton, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_4

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the rising demand for private tutoring in India (Gupta, 2020; Bhorkar & Bray, 2018). While studies about private tutoring in India have discussed English Private Tutoring (henceforth, EPT) as part of the broader subject range for which tutoring services are available, none have explicitly investigated the specificities of EPT within the wider landscape of the tuition industry. Furthermore, if and how EPT interacts with social class dynamics in the broader educational landscape is still unknown. To redress these gaps, this chapter: (1) maps the nature and scope of EPT in India and draws on my conceptualisation of the ‘shadowing process’ (Gupta, 2021a) to do so, and (2) shows the relationship between EPT and social class dynamics in globalising India. The chapter offers conceptual insights into the ways in which private tutoring relates to, influences, shapes and is shaped by the broader educational and societal landscapes in India. Although this discussion will be empirically grounded in India, the conceptual insights it offers will help understand the implications of EPT across societies, especially those that are post-colonial, which are also impacted by the forces of meritocracy, knowledge economy and globalisation.

 esearch on English Private Tutoring— R An Overview Although many studies have focused on private tutoring, very few have examined the nature and scope of tutoring provision for English alone (see Hamid et al., 2018; Yung, 2019). This section outlines the key findings of some of these studies whilst also highlighting their relevance, where applicable, to the empirical context of India and the significance of this chapter in filling some of the crucial knowledge gaps in the field of EPT at large. Scholars have found various reasons to explain the demand for EPT support among students and their families. For example, in their investigation into private tutoring in English for secondary school students in Bangladesh, Hamid et al. (2009) found that students subscribed to these services not just for securing high grades in school tests for English language but also because they valued proficiency in English for meeting their aspirations for future educational and career trajectories. In their study, the effectiveness of these services was a curious case. While respondents considered the support they received in tutorial centres more effective than what they thought they had access to in schools, this did not necessarily mean that these private services were indeed impactful. Yet, the authors found that the perceived importance

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of English drives many—across socio-economic backgrounds—to take up English coaching services. Indeed, in a more recent account of EPT in Bangladesh, Hamid et  al. (2018, p.  868) noted that students are likely to join a tutoring centre ‘not because of its proven effectiveness but because of their declining faith in school English teaching’. This argument is consistent with their findings from their earlier work, based on a household survey in Bangladesh, where Hamid et al. (2009) argue that children attend EPT classes for many reasons, such as to compensate for the perceived poor quality of education in school, teacher absenteeism and the ‘incompetence’ of English teachers. This narrative of distrust in formal educational institutions as a driving force for tutoring support is prevalent in other developing countries, such as India. As in Bangladesh, many parents in India also want their children to be proficient English speakers, regardless of the support provided by the state for achieving this aspiration. For example, when English was removed from the elementary curriculum of one Indian state, to make education more accessible to the marginalised population, parents in this group resorted to private English lessons to compensate for this perceived gap in their children’s formal education (Roy, 2010, cited in Bhorkar & Bray, 2018). Furthermore, studies have suggested that assessing the effectiveness of private tutoring is both complex and challenging. For example, Yung (2015, p.  707), reporting the experience of 14 Chinese learners who had received EPT in their secondary education, suggests that learners tend to have an ambivalent attitude towards learning English: Although they [the learners] considered EPT indispensable for secondary education, they did not regard it as an effective way to increase their English proficiency because of its excessive focus on examination skills instead of the use of English as a language of global communication.

In Yung’s study, students did not consider EPT sessions valuable for actual learning and understanding the English language deeply. Instead, they thought of these as being useful for examination preparation only. This observation poses helpful questions: what counts as effective learning?—deep understanding of a subject or success in assessment—and what implications does this have for EPT practices more broadly? While these two questions are intertwined, they are still viewed, as the quote above suggests, as distinct by learners themselves. Furthermore, in another study conducted with secondary-level students in Hong Kong, Yung and Chiu (2020) investigated the factors that affect

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students’ experience of joy in EPT lessons. They found that although catchy advertisements or peer pressure did not matter much in attracting students to EPT, other aspects—such as family income, focused tutoring support from one tutor, and students’ own interest in English—had a more significant influence on student’s motivation to attend and appreciate tutoring sessions. Notably, though, subscription to private tuition does not necessarily improve educational outcomes. Chih-Hao (2019) examined the effects of private tutoring on the English performance of senior high school students in Taiwan and noted that rather than attending private tuition, the overall time students spent studying by themselves tended to have a more significant positive impact on their overall performance. This provides further insights into the complexity of assessing private tutoring services and shows that these services may not be as effective as one may imagine without students’ effort alongside positive input from tutors. Studies have also provided valuable insights into the relationship between EPT and social mobility. For example, Yung (2020) conducted a longitudinal narrative inquiry exploring how a student from a lower socio-economic group in Hong Kong with unsatisfactory support from the school decided to invest in exam-oriented tuition for a perceived better future. Yung suggests that this student used tuition classes to expand their social network and interact with privileged students to move up the social ladder. Similarly, in France, Díaz (2015) pointed out that EPT companies advertise their services as useful in the ‘race for a better job’. Their promotional material describes the English language not just as a language, with value as such, but as an ‘asset’, ‘a weapon’ to secure better employment opportunities and to earn more money. Hence, EPT is a complex phenomenon that operates in parallel with the systems of formal education delivery, contributing to the broader social class mobility and class reproduction processes. These observations also show how EPT might shape and is shaped by the norms of a meritocratic and increasingly globalising society, operating within the larger context of the knowledge economy. The findings presented in this section draw primarily on research in Hong Kong and Bangladesh; the Indian EPT situation remains relatively unexplored. Furthermore, there is a clear knowledge gap regarding how participation in EPT interacts with social class dynamics in a post-colonial society that is also heavily influenced by the forces of globalisation—such discussions and deliberations are crucial yet notably lacking in the Indian context. This chapter begins to fill some of these gaps as it unravels the nature and scope of EPT within post-colonial globalising India, functioning in the larger context of the knowledge economy. Importantly, since these realities are not

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unique to India, much of the following discussion will likely resonate with other post-colonial societies similarly impacted by the forces of meritocracy, knowledge economy and globalisation. The next section provides a brief outline of the research project of which the findings discussed in this chapter are a part.

The Study This chapter draws on an educational ethnography conducted in Dehradun, India, during 2014–2015 that aimed to examine the private tutoring market in relation to formal schooling and the changing social class relations in contemporary India. Exploring these relationships—how we understand them and their implications—is relevant to making sense of the past, the present and the future impact of the EPT, specifically, and the private tutoring industry more broadly, on society. To understand the EPT market, I analysed the advertisements for English tutoring support, which were visible in the cityscape in the form of billboards and banners painted on walls, pamphlets and so on. I have used some of these in this chapter to demonstrate the variety of private tutoring support in Dehradun city and the differences in the tutoring services for spoken English. This dataset is supported by interviews with five tutors offering services for spoken English. The interviews were carried out in two tutoring centres. I asked primarily open-ended questions to understand the tutors’ perceptions, experiences and practices regarding the services they offered. Each interview lasted for at least an hour and often longer. These interviews were audio-­ recorded. I spoke with some tutors more than once, more informally, during my occasional visits to their centres. These visits allowed me to supplement the data from the initial interviews with tutors. I analysed my interactions with parents in 53 middle-class families to examine the relationship between EPT and social class dynamics. The annual household income of these families was between INR 300,000 and 500,000 (USD 4490 and 7484). Interviews with parents were conducted in their homes when most convenient for family members. Each interview lasted about 1–1.5 hours. The qualitative data were digitalised and analysed in two stages (Boeije, 2010). The first, coding, involved assigning codes to various parts of the transcripts and images of advertisements. Then I assigned the coded data to multiple categories. The second stage of the analysis involved making sense of

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these categories or segments and noting the themes that emerged from the data. The themes relevant to the focus of this chapter are presented below.

The Nature and Scope of English Private Tutoring The nature and scope of the available EPT services in Dehradun varied. Two primary categories of tutoring support emerged that considered: English as a subject taught in the formal education system and English as a language, a way of articulating ideas and thoughts clearly and efficiently in everyday communication. These categories are analysed here with the help of a conceptual framework—the ‘shadowing process’, which helps to understand how tutoring practices imitate the structure of the formal education system in India (as discussed in Gupta, 2021a). Drawing on this framework, this section: (1) shows how EPT ranges from providing curricular support to services for spoken English, and (2) illustrates its implications for middle-class identity in the empirical context.

 utoring for English as a Subject: A Part of the ‘Shadow T Education’ System A crucial part of the EPT industry in Dehradun was centred on offering curricular support for English as a subject. This form of tutoring support has been observed in other—and varied—contexts, for example, Bangladesh (Mahmud & Kenayathulla, 2018), Hong Kong (Yung & Chiu, 2020), Taiwan (Chih-Hao, 2019), South Korea (Park et  al., 2011) and Germany (Ömeroğulları et al., 2020). Figure 1 shows an advertisement for ‘The Perfect English Tutorials’, specifying the contact details and address of the tutorial centre. It announces that this tutorial centre offers academic support for English subject to students enrolled in ‘Senior Classes’, presumably referring to higher secondary (Grade 9 and 10) and senior secondary educational levels (Grade 11 and 12). Next to this information, we see the specifics of the particular education boards of which this centre supports the English curriculum; these are ‘I.C.S.E./ I.S.C. (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education/ Indian School Certificate) & CBSE board (Central Board of Secondary Education)’. Notably, these features, the academic subject, educational level and board that the tutoring centre offers services for (as shown in Fig. 1), illustrate the specific ways in which this centre, and others like it, ‘shadow’ the formal

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Fig. 1  An advertisement for tutoring in English as a subject

education system (Gupta, 2021a) and offer appropriate academic support for succeeding in the school assessment system (Gupta, 2022a). This ‘shadowing process’ or the process of imitating the classification (including the structure and practices) of the formal education system gives these English tutoring centres social legitimacy as part of the ‘extended educational support’ alongside formal schooling in the empirical context (see Gupta, 2021b). To implement this ‘shadowing process’, many tutorial centres supported CBSE and CICSE (Council for The Indian School Certificate Examinations) affiliated schools only. These education boards offer curriculum guidelines to mostly privileged schools compared to the relatively underprivileged state schools, which are typically affiliated to the Uttarakhand state board in Dehradun city. This disparity may have been due to the cost of formal education, also being ‘shadowed’ in the private tuition industry (Gupta, 2021b). As I discussed elsewhere (see Gupta, 2021a), the private tuition industry primarily serves the economically privileged groups, who tutors know can afford the ‘extra education costs’ in addition to private schooling  (also see Gupta, 2022b). Alongside social class dynamics, regional disparities are also

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crucial to understanding the impact of the tuition industry on society—for example, while most urban families can access tuition for English and other subjects, the majority of households in rural areas lack similar educational facilities in their neighbourhoods (see Azam, 2016). These observations in India align with research findings in other countries, such as Bangladesh (see Mahmud & Bray, 2017). Thus, private tutoring centres appear to worsen educational inequalities across families and regions that are produced by the formal education system in the first place. Alongside the expertise of the tutoring centre, the advertisement, as appears in Fig. 1, also claims that the tutor is ‘an experienced senior English Teacher’, which signals their ability to offer ‘… high-quality English education’. This suggests the tutor’s credentials come from their experience as a schoolteacher. Indeed, I learned from the local residents that the tutor was a former schoolteacher who lived in the nearby residential area. Moreover, parents in this study usually believed that, as insiders, schoolteachers often have a more nuanced understanding of the formal assessment processes, including how question papers are set and how students’ progress is measured and evaluated in these. They assumed that a schoolteacher would be acutely aware of the changes made by the education boards in both syllabus and assessment patterns. Thus, being a teacher (former or current) is seen as a marked credential or evidence for teachers as effective tutors in the ‘shadow education’ market (see Gupta, 2021c). Notably, instances of ‘teacher-corruption’ (where schoolteachers offer paid tutoring support to the students they teach at school) (Biswal, 1999) have been reported widely in the literature on the tuition industry in South Asia (see Mahmud & Kenayathulla, 2018 for similar instances in Bangladesh). Indeed, tutors who are also full-time schoolteachers usually have the potential to create a market of their own by forcing (directly or indirectly) their own students to join after-school tutorial lessons with them. However, according to the 2009 Right to Education Act, such practice is illegal in India and is also frowned upon by society. This may have been why many English teacher-­ tutors I spoke to specified that they do not tutor children they teach at school and instead offer tuition to students enrolled in other schools. Hence, private tutoring for English as a subject is an integral part of the ‘shadow education’ provision in India. As such, these tutoring centres ‘strategically conform to and purposely deviate from the prevalent formal schooling practices’ to gain social legitimacy as relevant, helpful and desirable spaces for seeking educational support (Gupta, 2021b, p. 12). They adeptly respond to market demands for securing academic success, thus staying individually competitive within the broader education market.

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 oaching for Spoken English Language Support: Tutoring C Beyond ‘Shadow Education’ Alongside observing many tutors offering support for English as a curricular subject, I also came across various coaching centres that provided training for spoken English in Dehradun (see Figs. 2 and 3). These centres’ services were not typical of a ‘shadow education’ market. Figure 2 shows a series of advertisements for the ‘Cambridge Institute’ that offers a ‘Spoken English Course’ as the biggest banner indicates. The same banner also states, ‘Angrazi bolna Seekhiye’ in Hindi, which translates as ‘learn to speak English’, ending with contact information. This institute featured various education and training centres. The billboards next to the main banner refer to: ‘Cambridge Coaching Academy’ and ‘Cambridge Modern Academy’, each aiming to target a specific social group. For example, one education centre offers spoken English support for high school (Grade 10) and intermediate (Grade 12) students. It is directed at students perceiving the course as a leisure pursuit during their summer and winter vacation. Another course offered coaching support for spoken English tests such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Two groups of people subscribe to these courses: students preparing to study overseas, especially in an English-speaking country, and those hoping to join the transnationally mobile workforce. The third type of spoken English

Fig. 2  An advertisement for a coaching centre for spoken English

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Fig. 3  An advertisement for a training centre for spoken American English

course in the ‘Cambridge Institute’ was for ‘personal development’, teaching learners how to communicate in English confidently and persuasively during job interviews (such as for the Merchant Navy). This service was also available to students pursuing higher education to help them prepare for future jobs within India but those requiring them to be fluent in English. Thus, participants considered fluency in spoken English as a way to secure desired jobs in an increasingly globalising labour market. This has also been observed in other similar empirical contexts, such as Bangladesh. Exploring the dynamics of ‘English-medium’ schools in Bangladesh, Jahan and Hamid (2019) argue that proficiency in English offers the local population an edge—a privileged status—within the broader context of neoliberal globalisation. Notably, other tutoring services in Dehradun city adopted a similar approach to widening enrolment—or responding to market demands for spoken English from diverse social groups (see Gupta, 2022c, for a case of mothers’ participation in English coaching for improving their involvement in their children’s schooling). To appeal to many social groups, the majority of the training centres for spoken English were located within or near popular middle-class residential areas—a similar strategy to that adopted by most tutoring centres for academic subjects in the city (see Gupta, 2021b). Another example of a centre for spoken English appears in Fig. 3.

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This advertisement, painted on an abandoned building at the side of one of the main roads in Dehradun city, is for the ‘American Institute of English Language Private Limited’. This tutorial centre was formally registered as a private company. Notably, many tutoring centres for the English subject were not legally registered as enterprises and, therefore, were part of the informal economy. This means they did not pay tax on their income and functioned outside the state guidance for running an edu-business. However, most coaching or training centres for spoken English were registered as private companies, meaning that these training enterprises operated under state regulations and were subjected to their norms in their everyday operations. The advertisement in Fig. 3 offers critical information about the centre— its full address and contact details and the services provided in this centre by ‘Team Neo Sir’. In addition, on the left, on top of the yellow paint, is written ‘Angrazy nahi English Bolna Seekheye’, which translates to ‘learn to speak English not Angrazy’. Angrazy is a Hindi word for English. By referring to these two words simultaneously, the advert sharply contrasts the linguistic and socio-material differences in how these two words are understood within the empirical context, which I discussed in detail with ‘Neo Sir’ himself. I spoke with ‘Neo Sir’—the main tutor in this EPT centre—on various occasions, formally during the interview and informally during my visits to his centre. Each time he stressed his job was ‘not to teach Angrazy to his students, but to teach them English’, echoing the key selling point of his centre, featured in all the advertisements of his centre across Dehradun city on billboards, painted walls (as shown in Fig. 3) and in banners right outside his centre. ‘Neo Sir’ further explained his stance as follows: Everyone can speak English if you give them a script and a mic, but it is not about what you say; it is about how you say things. In our society, we judge people by their accent—is it a Hindi or a Garwali accent or an American or British accent in the way they speak English?... We used to have British English as part of our curriculum in high-fi (elite) schools, but more recently, the English that we observe around us is American, and this is the future.

During the interview, ‘Neo Sir’ claimed that one of the key messages he wanted to speak to through his adverts was the perceived hierarchy of English in India and how he would support his trainees by teaching them how to speak English in ways that usually command respect. This case illustrates the heterogeneity of spoken English in post-colonial and globalising India:

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The first distinction made here is between (localised) Angrazi and (urbanised) English. Angrazi denotes a local rendition of spoken English heavily influenced by the diction of a speaker’s first language (which in this case was Garhwali or Hindi). In comparison, English signifies, as ‘Neo Sir’ and other tutors I spoke with suggested, ‘losing that local accent’, thus presenting oneself as more ‘urban’ and ‘educated’. The second level of distinction established by coaching centres for spoken English is (post-colonial) British English and (modern and globalised) American English. By identifying that many coaching centres privilege ‘American English’ when teaching their students, tutors allude to the implications of globalisation—above and beyond processes of post-colonisation—for Indian citizens. This is not to say that the status of spoken English is wholly divorced from its post-colonial production. Indeed, scholars of South Asian studies have established this connection in contemporary India (see LaDousa, 2014). Instead, this observation signifies an alternative understanding of spoken English through the lens of globalisation and American soft power, especially among the contemporary middle-classes (also see Sonntag, 2009).

When sharing these views, the tutors I spoke to confirmed a unique set of complexities underlying the processes involving training or coaching for spoken English, which are significantly different to the nature of tutoring for English as a subject. These complexities allude to the role the tutors for spoken English assumed in their trainees’ personal and socio-political lives, thus in the discursive construction of an elite identity produced through speaking English with the ‘right accent’ in contemporary India. These findings reflect the social anxieties regarding spoken English in India and an elaborate role of EPT in nurturing these concerns.

 nglish Private Tutoring for the Contemporary E Indian Middle-Classes Tutorial centres as private educational setups cater primarily for children, young people and adults from middle-class families. In Dehradun, this was evident from the proximity of these centres to middle-class residential areas and the heavy middle-class subscription to the services offered, according to all the tutors who participated in this study. Seeking tuition support for English—for academic excellence or communication purposes—is not what the Indian middle-class population have always done. Indeed, the traditional middle-class in post-colonial India represented a group of families that was not just intergenerationally wealthy but

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also typically ‘English-educated’. They studied in schools that had been, for example, established for educating the next generation of British officers and elite Indian families—many of these children later studied in elite universities in India or England. The traditional middle-class, a more homogeneous group than the more diverse contemporary middle-classes, were part of the privileged English-speaking public in post-colonial India and probably did not need tutoring support beyond what they were provided with at school and home. In comparison, the parents who participated in this study represented the ‘new middle-classes’, with the economic capacity to be part of this social group but lacking the cultural capital (for discussion, see Gupta, 2022b) that included the ability to speak English for everyday interactions, which, as indicated before, often features in the imagery of traditional middle-class, in post-­ colonial India. Moreover, some parents I spoke to referred to the dual role of English in everyday life—being helpful as a tool for communication and a resource for claiming one’s place in the social hierarchy. For example, a mother during the interview maintained: In the olden days, people used to learn how to speak English so that they were able to go to different countries, but now it is a matter of just feeling connected with other people, even within Dehradun. You may feel isolated within the community if you don’t speak English. There are no written rules about it, like nobody tells you that you are not part of a community if you don’t speak English, but still, this feeling of not really belonging to a group [when one cannot communicate with others in English] is very real.

Indeed, English is not just a language in North India; it is associated with middle-class desires, a tool for securing access to this privileged social group. Speaking English is considered essential for claiming the social position of a middle-class and a higher social status in Indian society (see LaDousa, 2014). Furthermore, for many parents, fluency in spoken English was crucial for their children’s education and career success in the rapidly globalising labour market. This is illustrated in the middle-class parents’ school choice strategy for the next generation, as typified in the following interview excerpt (quoted in Gupta, 2020, p. 53): All good jobs need someone who knows the operation of the firm and someone who can communicate efficiently with colleagues and a wide range of customers or clients. Now, some people with whom you work, even within India, might not even speak Hindi. I know that those who live in the South [of India] may not. English is the language of work. It is vital to master it to be successful.

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These views, shared by all the parents, motivated them to choose ‘English-­ medium’ schools for their children. Selecting an ‘English-medium’ school is not restricted to the middle-classes in India, though—families across socio-­ economic groups prefer to enrol their children in such schools. Most parents felt that while the schools helped their children understand concepts (in subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology) in English, illustrating the importance of enrolling children in ‘English-medium schools’, they considered English tutoring centres valuable avenues for their children to improve their spoken English as the school they had chosen was perceived to lack adequate resources to meet this aspiration. Many parents deemed spoken English proficiency as a marker of being ‘educated’ and ‘urban’ or someone ‘not from the village’, signifying not only what one is but also what one is not. Schools reinforced such perceptions; for example, it was common for schoolteachers to mock students who spoke English or Hindi with a strong Garhwali accent, the local dialect, labelling the influence of the local dialect on mainstream languages as ‘backwards’ and to ‘get rid of ’. These views had implications for the linguistic identity of children in middle-class families. While most parents could converse in Garhwali, very few children could hold a conversation in this dialect. Interestingly, this was something parents were proud of—although some acknowledged it was a shame their children could not communicate with their grandparents, many of whom only spoke Garhwali—and deemed it necessary to exploit future life opportunities. Furthermore, tutors maintained that many middle-class youths aiming to study abroad or work in English-speaking countries seek support from English tutoring centres to succeed in English fluency tests such as TOEFL and IELTS. They also felt that other groups pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes saw speaking English as a requirement for a better job in an increasingly globalised local, national, regional and international job market, favouring English over local languages, as does society—not only in India but also in other countries globally—more widely.

Conclusion and Implications This chapter has revealed the nature of EPT provision in India. Specifically, it has shown how, within the tuition industry for English, some tutorial centres consider English as a subject—closely aligned with its understanding in the formal education system—while others consider it a language for communication purposes. This difference encapsulates the institutional nature of EPT

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in India. Specifically, the conceptualisation of English as a subject in the EPT sector signals the ‘shadowing process’—a mimicry of the formal education system, to prepare students for tests in English as a subject at various educational levels and different education boards—in the organisational arrangement of these centres. In comparison, coaching centres for spoken English operate outside this ‘shadowing’ framework; their services neither mimic nor are shaped in any way by the formal education system. Instead, they are shaped and influenced only by the changing demands in the globalising education sector and labour market. Hence, this investigation of EPT has indicated ways in which tutoring services can, and do, operate beyond the concept of the ‘shadow education’ system. This observation not only sheds light on the conceptual understanding of the complexities of non-state education provisions and ‘shadow education’ as a field of inquiry, it also offers practical implications for English language teachers in mainstream schools regarding how their pedagogical practices can be compatible with those provided by their counterparts in the ‘shadow’ sector, in order to maximise their students’ language learning efficiency inside and outside school. In addition, the chapter has revealed the scope, emerging from the diversity, of tutoring provisions for spoken English, exemplified in terms of availability of spoken EPT services for various social groups, including young children, typically during their school holidays, those seeking employment opportunities and those preparing for English fluency tests to study abroad or work in an English-speaking country. This variety of EPT services shows the impact of private tutoring on not just school-aged children but also various other stakeholders in contemporary Indian society. Thus, a practical implication is that tutoring support for spoken English can be considered a provision, or an avenue, for lifelong learning—acquiring a new language skill—for individuals and social groups. In this regard, training or coaching for spoken English also shapes various transitional (preparedness for future educational and career trajectories) and transnational practices for international students and workers. This may be considered an alternative for English language teaching in addition to the provision in mainstream schools. Finally, this investigation into tutoring services for English has illustrated how private tutoring relates to, influences, shapes and is shaped by the social class dynamics more broadly. On the surface, these centres may seem to aim to offer their subscribers mastery over the English language. However, digging slightly deeper reveals that these centres have been established for and flourished within the social context of the rise of the new middle-classes. Studies have shown the complexity and diversity of the Indian middle-classes (see Gupta, 2020, 2022b). While traditionally, this group mainly constituted the

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English-speaking public, this is not necessarily the case for the ‘new’ members of this social group. EPT assists the ‘new middle-classes’ to acquire the spoken English skills that were not transferred to them at home, intergenerationally. In doing so, spoken EPT services provide middle-class Indians with the post-­ colonially rooted social privilege as English speakers and offer them linguistic capital—a form of cultural value and a symbolic resource—for succeeding in globalising India. The understanding of EPT that this chapter produces will inevitably resonate with other countries, especially within post-colonial South Asia, that have similarly experienced the forces of neoliberal globalisation, thriving in the larger context of the knowledge economy. Recommended Texts Gupta, A. (2021). Exposing the ‘shadow’: An empirical scrutiny of the ‘shadowing process’ of private tutoring in India. Educational Review. https://doi. org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1931038 This text is helpful in understanding the provision of private tutoring as a case of shadow education—it shows the specific ways in which the shadowing process occurs. The principles used here can be beneficial to understanding the organisational arrangement of centres that are part of the ‘shadow education’ system and the ones that are not. Yung, K. W. H. (2020). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: a narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. This text provides a valuable account of how investment in English private tutoring may be seen as a strategy adopted by low-income families to move upward on the social ladder. LaDousa, C. (2014). Hindi is our ground, English is our sky: Education, language, and social class in contemporary India. Berghahn. This text offers a nuanced ethnographic account of the socio-politics of the English language in contemporary India. Engagement Priorities • How does EPT feature in the complexity of private tutoring provisions across social and historical contexts? • What are the implications of EPT for broader social practices (class relations, for example) beyond the formal education system in your context? • How can we use private tutoring as a vantage point to review the processes and established forms of educational and social inequalities?

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• Could private tutoring be an avenue for lifelong learning? • What are the implications of private tutoring for broader issues such as social inequality and exclusion in your context?

References Azam, M. (2016). Private tutoring: Evidence from India. Review of Development Economics, 20(4), 739–761. Bhorkar, S., & Bray, M. (2018). The expansion and roles of private tutoring in India: From supplementation to supplantation. International Journal of Educational Development, 62, 148–156. Biswal, B. P. (1999). Private tutoring and public corruption: A cost-effective education system for developing countries. The Developing Economies, 37, 222–240. Boeije, H. (2010). Analysis in Qualitative Research. Sage. Chih-Hao, C. (2019). Effects of private tutoring on English performance: Evidence from senior high students in Taiwan. International Journal of Educational Development, 68, 80–87. Díaz, N. R. (2015). English private tutoring in France: The race for a better job starts in advertisement campaigns. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173, 176–180. Gupta, A. (2020). Heterogeneous middle-class and disparate educational advantage: Parental investment in their children’s schooling in Dehradun, India. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(1), 48–63. Gupta, A. (2021a). Exposing the ‘shadow’: An empirical scrutiny of the ‘shadowing process’ of private tutoring in India. Educational Review. https://doi.org/10.108 0/00131911.2021.1931038 Gupta, A. (2021b). Social legitimacy of private tutoring: An investigation of institutional and affective educational practices in India. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2020.1868978 Gupta, A. (2021c). Teacher-entrepreneurialism: A case of teacher identity formation in neoliberalizing education space in contemporary India. Critical Studies in Education, 62(4), 422–438. Gupta, A. (2022a). A ‘shadow education’ timescape: An empirical investigation of the temporal arrangements of private tutoring vis-à-vis formal schooling in India. British Journal of Educational Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/0007100 5.2021.2024137 Gupta, A. (2022b). Revisiting educational advantage and social class: A Bourdieusian analysis of middle-class parents’ investment in private schooling and shadow education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569 2.2022.2126824 Gupta, A. (2022c). Middle-class mothers’ participation in tutoring for spoken English: A case of unlocking an urban middle-class identity and privilege in con-

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temporary India. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, https:// doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2022.2131738 Hamid, M. O., Khan, A., & Islam, M. M. (2018). The spread of private tutoring in English in developing societies: Exploring students’ perceptions. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 39(6), 868–886. Hamid, M. O., Sussex, R., & Khan, A. (2009). Private tutoring in English for secondary school students in Bangladesh. Tesol Quarterly, 43(2), 281–308. Jahan, I., & Hamid, M. O. (2019). English as a medium of instruction and the discursive construction of elite identity. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 23(4), 386–408. LaDousa, C. (2014). Hindi is our ground, English is our sky: Education, language, and social class in contemporary India. Berghahn. Mahmud, R., & Bray, M. (2017). School factors underlying demand for private supplementary tutoring in English: Urban and rural variations in Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(3), 299–309. Mahmud, R., & Kenayathulla, H. B. (2018). Shadow education: Patterns and scale of private supplementary tutoring in English in secondary education at urban Dhaka in Bangladesh. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 48(5), 702–716. Ömeroğulları, M., Guill, K., & Köller, O. (2020). Effectiveness of private tutoring during secondary schooling in Germany: Do the duration of private tutoring and tutor qualification affect school achievement? Learning and Instruction, 66, 101306. Park, H., Byun, S.  Y., & Kim, K.  K. (2011). Parental involvement and students’ cognitive outcomes in Korea: Focusing on private tutoring. Sociology of Education, 84(1), 3–22. Sonntag, S.  K. (2009). Linguistic globalisation and the Call Center Industry: Imperialism, hegemony or cosmopolitanism? Language Policy, 8, 5–25. Yung, K. W. H. (2015). Learning English in the shadows: Understanding Chinese learners’ experiences of private tutoring. Tesol Quarterly, 49(4), 707–732. Yung, K.  W. H. (2019). Exploring the L2 selves of senior secondary students in English private tutoring in Hong Kong. System, 80, 120–133. Yung, K. W. H. (2020). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: A narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. Yung, K. W. H., & Chiu, M. M. (2020). Factors affecting secondary students’ enjoyment of English private tutoring: Student, family, teacher, and tutoring. The Asia-­ Pacific Education Researcher, 29(6), 509–518.

Chinese Parents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning in Private Tutoring: An Ecological Perspective Chun Zeng and Kevin Wai Ho Yung

Introduction Parents play an important role in children’s English language learning (ELL), particularly in out-of-school contexts, that is, the private domain. A common way to support children’s English learning is to enrol them into EPT. Other practices include teaching children by themselves, creating an English-rich environment by providing various learning resources (e.g., books, audio-­ visual products) and offering opportunities to travel to or live in English-­ speaking regions (Chao et al., 2014; Zheng & Mei, 2020). These practices can be the manifestations of parents’ agency. In this chapter, we adopt the definition of parents’ agency by Curdt-­ Christiansen and Wang (2018, p. 236)—it is parents’ ability to make choices and act on these choices to facilitate or prevent English learning activities based on their perceptions of the functions and values of English. Moreover, parents’ ability to act on their choices is influenced and conditioned by sociocultural factors, such as the language and education policies, and social realities in the situated contexts (Ahearn, 2001). Therefore, we consider parents’ agency is highly contextualised in different situations.

C. Zeng • K. W. H. Yung (*) Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_5

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Previous studies relevant to parents’ involvement in children’s ELL have mainly focused on exploring the relationship between parents’ beliefs, expectations, involvement, parenting style, socio-economic status (SES), home literacy environment and children’s English academic achievement (Butler, 2014; Butler & Le, 2018; Chen et al., 2020; Yeung & King, 2016). These studies reveal various facets of the roles that parents play in the domain of family, but they did not consider parents’ thoughts and actions in the larger sociocultural contexts. Although EPT, a resource for ELL at meso-­community level, is commonly chosen by parents, few studies (e.g., Yung & Zeng, 2022) have focused on parents’ agency in supporting children’s enrolment in EPT courses. It is important to explore parents’ agency, because parents are the real consumers, and thus key stakeholders in the private tutoring industry and, in particular, of EPT. In this chapter, we examine issues related to parents’ agency in their children’s EPT in two Chinese contexts—Hong Kong and Nanchang—where the political and educational ecologies differ. We use these two contexts as examples to illustrate the complex nature of parents’ agency in children’s EPT.

 arents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning P and in Children’s EPT Agency has received increasing attention in recent language learning studies (Larsen-Freeman, 2019), but previous studies in this area mostly focus on teachers’ agency (Ashton, 2022; Biesta et al., 2015; Chen, 2022) or learners’ agency (Mercer, 2011; Muramatsu, 2018). These studies explore and analyse how language teachers and learners (mostly adult learners or students at tertiary level) enact agency in various contexts. Younger language learners (especially children and adolescents), on the other hand, are not physically/mentally mature or financially ready to make choices or decisions regarding their second language learning process. For example, children may not be able to independently decide when to start learning a foreign language, where or how to learn a foreign language in a formal way. Hence, parents could greatly involve in children’s language learning by subscribing to EPT and offering other resources (Carmel, 2019; Gupta, 2020). Recently, an emerging body of literature on parents’ agency in children’s language learning has appeared (Curdt-Christiansen & Wang, 2018; Prošić-­ Santovac & Radović, 2018). Curdt-Christiansen and Wang (2018) reveal the agentive roles of parents in Mainland China. Perceiving differing values of three languages/dialects (Chinese, local dialects/subdialects and English),

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parents raised their children in Putonghua (the standard spoken form of modern Chinese), prioritised Putonghua over Chinese dialects, and dedicated themselves to create a good environment for their children’s ELL. Among the eight cases of families in the study, seven chose to enrol their children in EPT. Similarly, Prošić-Santovac and Radović (2018) investigated the agency of parents of children who were attending a bilingual kindergarten in Serbia, reporting that parents played agentive roles by sending children to EPT, or employing private English tutors. This growing body of literature on parents’ agency provides us with better understanding of how parents enact agency, as well as testing the theoretical and analytical approaches for studying their agency, but there is still much to learn about the complex way in which parents enact agency in daily practice. Building on previous research, this chapter explores the agency of parents in Hong Kong and Nanchang, and the affordances and constraints in the two contexts that impact their agency. For this purpose, this chapter draws on the ecological model of agency introduced by Biesta et al. (2015), which shows how individual agency is achieved through iterational (past), practical-­ evaluative (present) and projective (future) dimensions. In line with this ecological model, parents’ agency is acted out via daily practice in the present, but informed by their past experiences and driven by aspiration in the short- or long-term future (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Priestley et al., 2015). From the ecological perspective, agency is not an individual ‘property, capacity or competence’, and ‘it is something that people do’ in the situated context (Biesta et al., 2015). Parents’ agency is only possible when they can perceive the existing affordances and constraints in their contexts (Gibson, 2014), and choose between different options. For example, the contexts of Hong Kong or Nanchang may require parents’ intensified focus on their current ‘stock’ of economic, cultural and social capital (Bourdieu, 1986) which can be adopted to support children’s EPT. Parents also pay attention to their past experiences or aspirations for their children in the future, reflect and evaluate their practice for adjusting their actions in this course. Therefore, the nature of parents’ agency is complex as it is achieved by the interactions between context and individual. However, our understanding on how parents enact their agency in children’s English learning via EPT is rudimentary. Thus, this chapter will address the following three research questions: 1 . Why do parents in Hong Kong and Nanchang enrol their children in EPT? 2. What affordances and constraints do parents in Hong Kong and Nanchang identify in their children’s EPT? 3. How do parents in Hong Kong and Nanchang enact agency in this process?

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The Two Studies These two studies draw from two larger year-long studies. Study 1 investigates Hong Kong parents’ agency in their senior secondary school children’s EPT, while Study 2 explores Nanchang parents’ agency in their preschool children’s EPT.  The two studies adopt similar qualitative approaches. While the data sources of the larger year-long studies involve surveys, observations and semi-­ structured interviews with various stakeholders (including children, parents, tutors and schoolteachers), this chapter mainly focuses on parents’ interview data.

Hong Kong and Nanchang Study 1 was conducted in Hong Kong, an international city where educational competition among adolescents is fierce. Students have to make great efforts in the examination-oriented educational system to seize the opportunities in higher education, and many of them rely on attendance at private tutoring courses to prepare themselves for the examinations. Zhan et  al. (2013) reported that 71.8% of Secondary Six students had received private tutoring in the past 12  months. English is one of the official languages in Hong Kong and a compulsory subject in the curriculum. A high level of English proficiency is required for university admission. Hence, EPT is quite popular among middle school students, especially those in Secondary Six. Study 2 was conducted in Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province in Southeastern China. Nanchang is a second-tier city (The State Council of China, 2014) where English is learned as a foreign language and seldom used in daily life. Early English education (EEE) is not favoured at governmental level, and English teaching is prohibited in all public kindergartens for children between three and six (Ministry of Education of China, 2018). However, as in many other non-English-speaking contexts worldwide, Nanchang parents suffer from ‘English fever’—the overwhelming desire to acquire English and ensure children acquire English as a second or foreign language (Fish et al., 2017; Park, 2009). If parents want their children to learn English at a young age, they have to access it in the private sector.

Participants Fourteen parents (12 mothers and 2 fathers) in Hong Kong and 11 parents (11 mothers) in Nanchang were recruited for the two studies. The reason for recruiting these parents was that their children were attending EPT at the

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time of the study. In Study 1, we approached the 14 parents with the help of their children (aged 17–20), who were preparing for The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) and attending lecture-type EPT. In Study 2, the 11 parents were recruited through an online survey that was only open to parents whose children were attending kindergarten (between three–six  years old) and studying English via EPT.  There was variation in these parents’ own educational backgrounds—from lower primary to postgraduate. Only two Hong Kong parents received higher education, but all the Nanchang parents had degrees. Eight Hong Kong and four Nanchang participants regarded EPT tuition fee as a financial burden.

Data Collection and Analysis The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with all the parents. Guided by the ecological model of agency (Biesta et al., 2015; Biesta et  al., 2015), the interview inquired into parents’ beliefs about ELL, their attitudes towards EPT, their choices and practices towards their children’s ELL, their perceptions on the resources they could adopt, and the challenges they faced. The interviews were conducted at participants’ homes, or locations where they felt comfortable, such as cafés and convenience stores, or through phone calls. The interviews were conducted in Cantonese with Hong Kong parents, and in Mandarin with Nanchang parents. All the interviews were audio-recorded for transcription. Open coding was used to allow interesting themes to emerge. The ecological model of agency was utilised to guide the grouping of themes.

Enacting Agency in Hong Kong and Nanchang The findings are presented in two sections—one for Hong Kong and one for Nanchang. Informed by the ecological model, parents’ enactment of agency in the two cities is resolved and reported into six themes: past experiences, belief in ELL, enacting agency, affordances, constraints and aspiration for children.

Hong Kong Parents’ Enactment of Agency The 14 Hong Kong parents all indicate that their children initiate enrolment in EPT. Their children make the request and ask them to pay the tuition fee for specific EPT programmes and all the parents support their children

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financially. Five parents (Jane, Yasmine, Chloe, Kate and Tess) do this because they observe very high levels of tutoring engagement among children in their neighbourhood, and sense peer pressure exerted by other parents who support their children’s enrolment in EPT. I see many people are having tutorial. If you are not going to have tutorial, you are disadvantaged. (Kate) To be honest, when all the parents are doing the same thing [supporting children to enrol in EPT], then you will try to do that as well. (Yasmine)

Seven parents (Lily, Ivy, Anna, Nina, Chloe, Kate and Tess) say they paid the tuition fee of EPT for another important reason: they believe mainstream schooling is not good enough and EPT can supplement mainstream schooling. I can see that, from the latest news, the English proficiency of the teachers is really bad, like using ‘are’ but not ‘am’ after ‘I’. How can you trust the teachers with such level of English proficiency? (Lily) I believe that current secondary school English teachers switch jobs too regularly, making it difficult for students to adapt. The teachers are also quite young … However, young teachers lack experience and are not respected as much by students. Their teaching methods are also slightly faulty, differing from the methods of private tutoring, especially when they are less mature in their teaching methods. (Ivy) It [having EPT] is like learning practical skills rather than just basic skills from day schools, which are just theories. Tutorial schools can really teach you some practical skills to tackle the exams. (Tess)

Six parents (Helen, Jane, Anna, Kate, Zara and Chloe) regard EPT not only as a supplement to mainstream schooling, but an approach to outsource parental responsibility of teaching children English by themselves. I taught my son English when he was small, when I could still manage to teach. But now, I am not able to do that, so I will allow him to attend tutorial classes outside. (Anna) It [enrolling in EPT] is because I may not have the academic level to teach them, then finding a tutor to teach them relieves me a bit. (Zara)

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Among the 14 parents, seven of them (Yasmine, Tess, Chloe, Nina, Samuel, Jane and Anna) report strong wishes of their children to be admitted by a university, and they hope that enrolling in EPT would help children prepare for the public examination. This might be influenced by parents’ belief in the importance of English language in Hong Kong and their aspirations for their children, that is, entering university and finding jobs in the future. The universities in Hong Kong all teach in English. If your English proficiency is poor, you will be tough in university. (Tess) [English] may be useful while searching for jobs. English was used widely in Hong Kong in the past. So, when you search for jobs, English proficiency is very important. (Lily) English is important for working in this community. English is a mainstream language, so it becomes a necessary language to learn. (Zara)

Nina mentions parents’ own working experiences to emphasise the importance of English in job market. It is ok for them not be able to write English. But it was a big matter if you couldn’t read English [in the workplace]. (Nina)

In the same way as Nina, Samuel, who works in the toy exporting industry, says he has many opportunities to meet foreigners and speak English. Among the 14 parents, 11 (Helen, Jane, Lily, Anna, Nina, Ivy, Chloe, Tess, Samuel, Zara and William) firmly believe that English is very important for children’s future study and career. It seems that this belief derives from their own life experiences in Hong Kong. Although all the parents have paid the tuition fee of EPT, eight of them (Chloe, Daisy, Helen, Jane, Kate, Tess, William and Zara) consider it a financial burden. Daisy, whose family is in extreme poverty, still allows her daughter to go to tutorials. Interviewer: I heard there are financial difficulties in your family … she is still going to have tutorials, right? Where does the tutorial fee come from? Daisy: How should I say … a woman taking care of 4 children … this one needs to eat, this one needs … because there are 4 … 4 children growing up, merely eating costs a lot. I have a head-

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ache on that … I … I sometimes give a little pocket money to her. She also … maybe … maybe … asks for money from her aunt. I don’t know. Interviewer: Um, how do you feel? If … let’s say she asks you for money for the tutorial fee, but you can’t give her. How do you see that? Daisy: I … I … I … am very upset. Because my daughter … is … doing that for her studies. But I’m not paying enough money for her tutorial. While Daisy fully supports her daughter at EPT, she is plagued by negative emotions for not being able to provide enough money for the tuition fee. It seems that EPT is essential in the eyes of parents regardless of their economic conditions. However, parents could see the constraints brought by EPT. Jane (regarding the tuition as a burden) and Anna (not regarding the tuition as a burden) express their dissatisfaction with EPT. It is exam-oriented. So, if it was not for the purpose of exam, I would not let her take EPT. They are not consolidating students’ foundation. (Jane) I think it’s not a healthy trend [to take EPT]. Children nowadays are really too spoiled, and they have lost their self-motivation in learning, which is really bad. (Anna)

The following table (Table 1) provides a summary of Hong Kong parents’ enactment of agency.

Nanchang Parents’ Enactment of Agency The 11 Nanchang parents all admit that they initiated EPT for their children. Moreover, they have all been exposing children to English via playing English songs or reading English books since their birth. However, when asked to recall their own English learning experiences, ten parents say they received English education only after entering junior middle school (usually 12 years old). Only one (Clair) remembers having some English learning during primary school. So why do Nanchang parents in this study pay so much attention on ELL of their very young children (three–six years old)? Five parents (Cathy, Esther, Pan, Zheng and Wang) emphasise the communicative value of the English language. English is an essential tool for communication. (Cathy) English is an important channel for my child to obtain information and knowledge of the world. (Esther)

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Table 1  A summary of Hong Kong parents’ enactment of agency Past experiences

Belief in ELL

Enacting agency

Affordances

Constraints

Aspiration for children

• English as a • important • support • Children’s • EPT tuition • getting basic to future children’s initiative to fee as high requirement study and request of take EPT financial remarks at career subscribing burden for workplace to EPT and English provide test in tuition fee HKDSE • taught • EPT as a • the limited • being children supplement effectiveness admitted English to of EPT in by before but mainstream laying good university not able to schooling English continue foundation now or cultivating children’s selfmotivation • observed • outsourcing • finding many other ELL at good jobs parents home to in the supported EPT future children’s EPT

When asked about why very young children should learn English, Wang considers its future value in children’s lives: English is not important to children at all. They do not need it now. I just think it will be important to my daughter’s future life as it can be a tool to connect to the world. (Wang)

From this excerpt, it seems that Wang doesn’t have a clear or short-term vision towards enrolling children in EPT. Cathy simply feels ‘earlier is better’ and Sisi says ‘if children start to learn English later, it would be more difficult’. Esther shared more thoughts on the early start of ELL: I do not know why, but I believe English as an academic subject is easy to be acquired. If my daughter can get ahead of others in the race of English learning when she is young, it will save some time for her to study other subjects, such as math and Chinese. (Esther)

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In this excerpt, Esther believes it could be easy for young children to learn English well, although she doesn’t have any evidence to support this idea. She also believes learning English well at an earlier age will save time for her daughter to learn other subjects in the future. Pan expresses similar views. Additionally, Wang and Pan attribute their motivation for enrolling children in EPT to the influence from other parents and ‘English fever’ in the context of Nanchang. Many children around our family are studying at EPT institutions. I often see friends and colleagues post short videos of children speaking English on social media, and they can read English quite well. This causes my anxiety. (Wang)

Although English is hardly used in daily life in Nanchang, and ELL for young children is discouraged by the government, Wang and Pan still suffer anxiety in an environment where ‘English fever’ can be easily observed. Zheng explains her reason to purchase EPT for her four-year-old son: As parents, we don’t want our child to lag behind other children. (Zheng)

Therefore, Nanchang parents’ perceived that value of English learning, their understanding on the benefits of an early start and their observation of the popularity of EPT in their surroundings contribute to their motivations to engage children in EPT. So how do parents choose EPT programmes for children? In the last decade, BigTech companies and capital have flooded the private tutoring marketplace and contributed to advertising wars between the major firms. Tens of billions have been invested in advertisement by these big market players (Zhang, 2021). The prevalent online and face-to-face EPT programmes, omnipresent advertisements, promotion calls, messages and emails enable parents’ easy access to EPT. Faced with massive amount of information, parents have to choose the appropriate EPT programmes for their children, taking into account children’s personalities, their own relationships with their children and family financial status. Rui once enrolled her child in face-to-face EPT, but she was not satisfied with the local tutor and the curriculum: I think the local tutor’s English pronunciation is not standard, and the curriculum is a little slow. (Rui)

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At the moment, Rui noticed many advertisements of EPT on TV and in the advertisement column in the lifts in blocks of flats. She started to conduct a careful evaluation and comparison of various EPT programmes, and finally chose an online EPT programme for her daughter: The online course is taught by real foreign teachers, whose English pronunciation is standard. We receive many fancy supporting materials each month from the institution. It is flexible for us to have the course. My daughter can have it anytime during the day and watch the courses repeatedly. She has been keeping studying English with the APP for a long time. (Rui)

Conversely, Pan’s child transferred from online EPT to face-to-face EPT. She enrolled her five-year-old son in an online EPT programme during the pandemic in 2020, but the boy was not able to sit still in front of the screen. He likes interactions. He is not appropriate for online ELL, so I decided to transfer to face-to-face EPT.  I think ELL should contain more real interactions. (Pan)

Wang is an English lecturer at a university in Nanchang. She tried to teach her daughter English, but she found herself becoming impatient and frustrated. It was a total failure. After all, I am not familiar with pedagogical skills for teaching young children. She couldn’t accept the way I teach her. We were both painful. But I don’t want to destroy her interest in English, so I choose to enrol her in a face-to-face EPT programme. (Wang)

The two examples above demonstrate that EPT helps maintain children’s interest in learning English, and even playing the role of ‘lubricant’ between Wang and her daughter, reducing parent-child conflict. Among the 11 parents, four (Zheng, Yang, Cathy and Jane) admit that tuition fees for face-to-face EPT are a big financial burden to their families, so they chose online EPT because it is much cheaper. Cathy identifies some advantages of online EPT: Face-to-face EPT usually costs over 10,000 yuan or more a year, but online EPT only costs about 2,000 yuan a year. Moreover, online EPT has greatly saved my time, effort, and money, because I totally get rid of travelling between home and institutions. (Cathy)

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Table 2  Nanchang parents’ additional practices to facilitate their children’s EPT Practice

Family 1. Pan 2. Wang 3. Zheng 4. Rui 5. Huan 6. Yang 7. Claire 8. Esther 9. Sisi 10. Cathy 11. Jane

1. EPT homework guidance

2. Parent-­child 3. English reading exposure

4. English 5. English talk communities

√ √ √ √

√ √ √ √

√ √ √ √ √

√ √ √ √

√ √ √ √ √ √

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √

√ √ √ √ √

√

Descriptions of practices: (1) EPT homework guidance: parents assist children to finish homework from EPT, such as supervising children to write letters and words, review learning contents and read books; many tutors require parents to record videos clips of children speaking/reciting English as a proof of their efforts after class. (2) Parent-child reading: parents read English picture books to children, which is advocated or even required by tutors and institutions. (3) Exposure to English: parents expose children to English resources, such as English songs, stories and cartoons). (4) English talk: parents talk to children in English in daily life, whether for structured learning or not. (5) English communities: parents establish or join communities/groups to create an English learning environment for children with their social networks

Besides subscribing to EPT, the 11 parents adopt various practices to cooperate with tutors and institutions, thus to facilitate or maximise the learning effect (Table 2). From the table above, it is obvious that enrolling young children in EPT is not only about paying tuition fees. EPT explicitly or implicitly brings burden to parents, whether physically or emotionally. For example, in order to assist her children to finish various English tasks from EPT, Wang plans intensive schedules for her daughter. We have a routine of study every night. We first review the contents in the books, then finish the English homework, then we read an English picture book. It takes about one and half an hour. The APP of the EPT course records our study time and frequency. We have been insisting on this schedule for 179 days! (Wang)

Pan expressed the great pressure brought by EPT:

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My son is happy to go to the EPT class, of course, because most pressure is on parents. It costs me too much energy to assist him fulfil the English learning tasks assigned by the tutor. (Pan)

It seems that parents had to employ a variety of supportive practices to maintain children’s motivation and cultivate their learning habits due to what Tao and Xu (2022) term ‘the underdeveloped autonomy of young children’. The following table (Table 3) is a summary of Nanchang parents’ enactment of agency.

 omparing Parents’ Agency in Two Studies C and Implications Taken together, and viewed through the lens of the ecological model of agency (Biesta et al., 2015), the findings reveal that the enactment of parents’ agency is complex in nature. Informed by past experiences and driven by their aspirations for their children’s future, Hong Kong and Nanchang participants deploy their agency by negotiating between the affordances and constraints that they perceived in their situated contexts (Emirbayer & Mische, 1998; Priestley et al., 2015). In Hong Kong, the participants financially supported their Secondary Six children’s enrolment in EPT because they believed in the instrumental value of English for children’s academic and career development (Carmel, 2019). This belief was derived from their own lived experience in Hong Kong, where English is a basic requirement in the job market. Meanwhile, they lacked confidence in mainstream schooling, and they did not want to be disadvantaged when many other parents were financially supporting children’s EPT. As children proactively proposed enrolment in EPT, an easily accessed resource to help them remedy the limitations of mainstream schooling and achieve higher scores in DSE, parents regarded it as affordances. However, EPT might entail a financial burden for a family, or inhibit children’s self-regulative development. Although parents recognised these constraints, they still chose to support their children’s decisions with financial capital (paying the tuition fee) (Bourdieu, 1986). In Nanchang, English is hardly used in daily life or in the workplace, and English education for young children is banned in the public sector. Parents’ proactive practices towards children’s ELL were mainly motivated by their belief ‘earlier is better’ and their perception of the popularity of EPT aimed at young children. Parents used the available channels and resources to access EPT as affordances to enact their parental responsibilities. However, they

Belief in ELL

• taught children English by themselves • observed the popularity of EPT among young children in Nanchang

• ‘earlier is better’

• an essential tool for communication and an important channel to access knowledge • exposed children in • importance in English language children’s future since their birth study

• started ELL since junior middle school

Past experiences • prevailing information and opportunities to subscribe to EPT

Affordances • EPT tuition fee as financial burden

Constraints

• to not lag behind other children

Aspiration for children

• helping children try • EPT as a lubricant • underdeveloped • to connect different EPT to alleviate autonomy of young children to programmes and parent-­child children the world selecting the more conflicts with English proper one proficiency • making changes and • much time and adjustments in choosing energy of engaging EPT programmes in children’s EPT • enacting various • pressure from supportive practices engaging in outside of EPT class to children’s EPT achieve good learning effect

• initiating EPT for children and paying the tuition fee

Enacting agency

Table 3  A summary of Nanchang parents’ enactment of agency

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were constrained as they shouldered the burden of assisting young children’s EPT and maintaining their interest in ELL, because their children were too young to be self-motivated. In this process, Nanchang participants not only afforded financial capital (tuition fees), but also cultural capital (e.g., their knowledge, competence and time to assist children’s homework from EPT and culture objects they provided, including books and digital resources), and social capital (e.g., English communities established with parents’ social network) (Bourdieu, 1986). Although living in two quite different contexts, the two groups of parents showed similarities in enacting agency. The two places are typical examples of a context with ‘English fever’ (Chik & Besser, 2011; Fish et  al., 2017), which can be observed in many parts in East Asia (Park, 2009; Zhou & Ng, 2016). In this chapter, parents’ choices and efforts confirm Choi’s (2021) argument that ‘English fever’ manifests itself via continuous engagement in EPT.  The participants’ strong desire for children to learn English well via EPT can be attributed to their understanding of English as a global language. Moreover, the prevalence of neoliberalism, which celebrates those who bear the responsibility and capability for making choices that benefit individual development, amplifies parents’ choice to financially support their children’s EPT (Choi, 2021). Differences were identified in the two cases. The age of children has important influence on parents’ agency. Participants in Hong Kong only played the role of financial support, because their children were old enough to make the request and decide which EPT programme to subscribe to. On the other hand, Nanchang parents of preschool children played dominant and complex roles, including those of financial supporter, home tutor, resources provider and learning organiser. The varied educational backgrounds of the two groups of participants differentiated their agency. Only 2 of the 14 Hong Kong parents had received post-secondary education, whereas all the 11 Nanchang participants had degrees. This may contribute to their different expectations towards children’s EPT. Hong Kong participants wanted children to get higher remarks in tests, to be admitted to university, to find good jobs and ultimately to achieve upward social mobility. Similar aspirations of parents were observed in previous studies (Sriprakash et al., 2016; Zhang & Bray, 2018). On the contrary, Nanchang participants did not have such explicit aspirations for children’s upward social mobility. They mainly hoped their children use English for communicating and connecting themselves to the world. This is probably because their children are still too young to be involved in fierce competition in the adolescents’ or the adults’ world, but it doesn’t mean that Nanchang

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parents are more relaxed than their Hong Kong counterparts. With higher education qualifications, Nanchang parents might have accumulated more economic, cultural, and social capital, which seems to be affordances to facilitate children’s EPT. However, this caused Nanchang participants (all mothers in this study) to stretch their capital and even practise ‘intensive mothering’— a ‘child-centred, expert-guided, emotionally absorbing, labour intensive, and financially expensive motherhood’ (Hays, 1996, p.  8). This further caused Nanchang parents to feel constraints, mainly a drain on time and energy, and emotional pressure. To sum up, the ecological model provides a comprehensive perspective to understand how parents in two different contexts act out their different choices and practices by perceiving and evaluating affordances and constraints. For parents in other regions who are concerned about children’s English learning, they may find resonance in this chapter as well as implications. If parents wish to help children improve English through EPT, they can first assess their capital, evaluate the affordances and constraints according to their family conditions and the social contexts. For example, if their children are still very young, parents should consider in advance how much economic, cultural and social capital they would like to invest in children’s ELL, especially what efforts they might make after enrolling children in EPT. These prejudgements can help parents make more sensible choices and decisions. For mainstream schools, governments and policymakers of other countries, they should see the possible limitations in both mainstream English education and EPT in their own situated contexts. Taking our Hong Kong case as an example, the Hong Kong government and policymakers should see parents’ dissatisfaction of schoolteachers not helping children effectively coping with high-stake examinations, as well as the unhealthy trend brought by massive EPT to destruct children’s learning autonomy. Hence, the mainstream teachers should hear the voice of parents, and respond to the needs of students. The government and policymakers may enhance mainstream English education by encouraging schoolteachers to develop assessment literacy. On the other hand, they should further monitor the teaching quality of EPT to ensure its positive influence on students, while the Chinese government and policymakers should confront the paradoxical picture that some parents involved themselves so deeply in young children’s EPT when EEE is banned in the public sector. The prohibition of EEE seems to aggravate parents’ burden because parents need to invest a large amount of economic, cultural and social capital into children’s EPT. It may exacerbate educational inequalities as parents with more capital can easily gain an advantage in educating their children. The

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policymakers and government in China may re-examine the one-size-fits-all policy and consider more about educational equality. This chapter also recommends researchers in other areas to pay more attention to the achievement of stakeholders’ agency in EPT from the ecological perspective. Wherever their studies are based, they should carefully examine the contextual components for a panoramic and deep understanding in individuals’ agency. This is conducive to a wider and deeper understanding of EPT from the macro-, meso- and micro-levels. Recommended Texts  1. Curdt-Christiansen, X.L., & Wang, W. (2018) Parents as agents of multilingual education: Family language planning in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 31(3), 235–254. This is the first article to depict parent’s agency in children’s language learning in China, which showcases the appropriate methodology to be employed for conducting research in this area and provides pivotal insights in the notion of agency and the theory of family language policy. 2. Liu, J., & Bray, M. (2022). Responsibilised parents and shadow education: managing the precarious environment in China. British journal of sociology of education, 1–20. This is a newly published article to understand Chinese parents’ choice-­ making towards private tutoring in an environment full of neoliberal values and marketisation. It vividly shows how parents’ responsibilisation has been shaped and perpetuated through enrolling children in private tutoring in China. 3. Pan, L. (2015), English as a global language in China: deconstructing the ideological discourses of English in language education. Cham: Springer. This book discusses the fluctuations of ideologies of English in China within a time-space frame. The author argues that the varying ideologies represent China’s complex attitudes and uncertainties towards English language education in the tide of globalisation. Engagement Priorities  1. In your experiences, how effective is EPT in helping you (or your students, your children and others around your) achieve various aspirations (e.g., university admission, job opportunities, capabilities to connect to the world and so on)? 

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2. In your context, how much does ‘freedom of choice’ have relevance in parents’ experiences to their children’s education? 3. In your context, is EPT a relief or a burden to parents? 4. Further research may deconstruct the parents’ agency in children’s English learning from different SES backgrounds. For example, do wealthy parents always have the upper hand in building social capital? Are poor parents always constrained in participating in the issues relevant to children’s English learning?

References Ahearn, L.  M. (2001). Language and agency. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30(1), 109–137. Ashton, K. (2022). Language teacher agency in emergency online teaching. System, 105, 102713. Biesta, G., Priestley, M., & Robinson, S. (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 624–640. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood. Butler, Y. G. (2014). Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: A case study in mainland China. Research Papers in Education, 29(4), 410–437. Butler, Y.  G., & Le, V.-N. (2018). A longitudinal investigation of parental social-­ economic status (SES) and young students’ learning of English as a foreign language. System, 73, 4–15. Carmel, R. (2019). Parents’ discourse on English for young learners. Language Teaching Research, 1–19. Chao, X., Xue, M., & Xu, M. (2014). Elementary English education: An arena of social struggle for professional Chinese parents. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 11(4), 252–272. Chen, M. (2022). Digital affordances and teacher agency in the context of teaching Chinese as a second language during COVID-19. System, 1–13. Chen, S., Zhao, J., de Ruiter, L., Zhou, J., & Huang, J. (2020). A burden or a boost: The impact of early childhood English learning experience on lower elementary English and Chinese achievement. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1–18. Chik, A., & Besser, S. (2011). International language test taking among young learners: A Hong Kong case study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 8(1), 73–91. Choi, T.-H. (2021). English fever: Educational policies in globalised Korea, 1981–2018. History of Education, 1–17.

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Curdt-Christiansen, X.  L., & Wang, W. (2018). Parents as agents of multilingual education: Family language planning in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 31(3), 235–254. Emirbayer, M., & Mische, A. (1998). What is agency? American Journal of Sociology, 103(4), 962–1023. Fish, R. J., Parris, D. L., & Troilo, M. (2017). Compound voids and unproductive entrepreneurship: The rise of the “English fever” in China. Journal of Economic Issues, 51(1), 163–180. Gibson, J.  J. (2014). The ecological approach to visual perception: Classic edition. Psychology Press. Gupta, A. (2020). Heterogeneous middle-class and disparate educational advantage: Parental investment in their children’s schooling in Dehradun, India. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(1), 48–63. Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. Yale University Press. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2019). On language learner agency: A complex dynamic systems theory perspective. The Modern Language Journal, 103, 61–79. Mercer, S. (2011). Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system. System, 39(4), 427–436. Ministry of Education of China. (2018). Notice on prohibiting teaching primary school contents in the kindergarten. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from http://www.moe.gov. cn/srcsite/A06/s3327/201807/t20180713_342997.html Muramatsu, C. (2018). Portraits of second language learners: An L2 learner agency perspective. Multilingual Matters. Park, J.-K. (2009). 'English fever' in South Korea: Its history and symptoms. English Today, 25(1), 50. Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: An ecological approach. Bloomsbury Publishing. Prošić-Santovac, D., & Radović, D. (2018). Children's vs. teachers’ and parents’ agency: A case of a Serbian-English bilingual preschool model. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 31(3), 289–302. Sriprakash, A., Proctor, H., & Hu, B. (2016). Visible pedagogic work: Parenting, private tutoring and educational advantage in Australia. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37(3), 426–441. Tao, J., & Xu, Y. (2022). Parental support for young learners’ online learning of English in a Chinese primary school. System, 105, 102718. The State Council of China. (2014). Notice of the state council on adjusting the standards for categorizing city sizes. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from http://www.gov.cn/ zhengce/content/2014-­11/20/content_9225.htm Yeung, S. S., & King, R. B. (2016). Home literacy environment and English language and literacy skills among Chinese young children who learn English as a second language. Reading Psychology, 37(1), 92–120.

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Yung, K. W. H., & Zeng, C. (2022). Parentocracy within meritocracy: Parental perspective on lecture-style English private tutoring in Hong Kong. Language and Education, 36(4), 378–394. Zhan, S., Bray, M., Wang, D., Lykins, C., & Kwo, O. (2013). The effectiveness of private tutoring: Students’ perceptions in comparison with mainstream schooling in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Education Review, 14(4), 495–509. Zhang, W. (2021). Non-state actors in education: The nature, dynamics and regulatory implications of private supplementary tutoring. Background Paper for the Global Education Monitoring Report. UNESCO. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https:// gem-­report-­2021.unesco.org/wp-­content/uploads/2021/12/03-­Wei.pdf Zhang, W., & Bray, M. (2018). Equalising schooling, unequalising private supplementary tutoring: Access and tracking through shadow education in China. Oxford Review of Education, 44(2), 221–238. Zheng, Y., & Mei, Z. (2020). Two worlds in one city: A sociopolitical perspective on Chinese urban families’ language planning. Current Issues in Language Planning, 1–25. Zhou, Y., & Ng, M.  L. (2016). English as a foreign language (EFL) and English medium instruction (EMI) for three-to seven-year-old children in east Asian contexts. In V. A. Murphy & M. Evangelou (Eds.), Early childhood education in English for speakers of other languages (pp. 137–158). British Council.

Part II Practices and Policies of English Private Tutoring: Case Studies in English as an Additional Language Countries

The Dynamics of Private Tutoring and the English Language in Bangladesh M. Obaidul Hamid and Rafsan Mahmud

Introduction Private tutoring (PT) has emerged as an unavoidable feature of education and society in the contemporary neoliberal world (e.g. Bray, 2009, 2021; Hamid et al., 2018; Kim & Jung, 2019; Yung, 2015). Although it is known to have originated in East Asian societies, where it is very common, it has also spread to other parts of the world, including Western societies (Bray, 2021; Sriprakash et  al., 2016; Stastny & Kobakhidze, 2020). The phenomenon has caused mainstream education to be redefined, creating complex and contested relationships between the two (Gupta, 2021a; Kwo & Bray, 2014; Yung, 2019). PT is construed to be shadowing mainstream education—shadow education is a common metaphor in the literature (Bray, 2009, 2021; Gupta, 2021b; Mahmud, 2019). However, this parasitic idea has been challenged by some researchers (Hamid et al., 2018; Kim & Jung, 2019), as the PT market has come to claim a life of its own, without necessarily depending on the mainstream for its sustenance. Other conceptions of mainstream schooling and PT relationships also appear in the literature. From a positive perspective, it is

M. O. Hamid (*) The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia e-mail: [email protected] R. Mahmud Bangladesh Open University, Gazipur, Bangladesh © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_6

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argued that PT offers individualised learning missing from the group focus of mainstream schooling (Kwo & Bray, 2014), referring to the public-private distinction between these two forms of education provision. The metaphors of tap water and public bus service are associated with mainstream schooling, while privately purchased bottled water and taxi service refer to PT (see Hamid et al., 2018). Mainstream schooling is also referred to as formal while tutoring is informal (Gupta, 2021b). In some societies, the relationship between mainstream education and PT has also been conceived as challenging the traditional dominance and prestige of the former (Kim & Jung, 2019). This concept of competition received a boost during the pandemic, when many schools were closed and much of students’ learning depended on online PT in so-called micro-schools (Stastny & Kobakhidze, 2020; see also Hamid, 2021). A substantial body of research has now shed light on PT, although PT-E has not received comparable attention. PT-E is a special case in the PT market due to several factors. First, like Mathematics or Physics, English is a core component of the school curriculum, but in addition, English is a global language which is widely believed to mediate access to key instrumental opportunities in a globalised world including higher education, information and employment. English is considered part of the human capital (Ali & Hamid, 2021), essential for navigating an English-dominated capitalist economy. Finally, unlike other subjects, English is a second or foreign language in most education systems in the world. While English has become a popular language—rather than an elite privilege—a significant number of students still find English difficult to learn for individual, social, economic and cultural reasons (Hamid, 2009). English teaching at school may be inadequate, needing extra support. It is no surprise that in many societies, including Bangladesh, demand for English in the PT market is second only to Mathematics (Hamid et al., 2018; Islam, 2018; Mahmud, 2021b). English is a compulsory subject in the Year 1–12 curriculum in Bangladesh and this fuels tutoring demand. Both PT and PT-E have become essential features of Bangladeshi and South Asian education (e.g. Cole, 2016; Gupta, 2021a; Khan & Shaikh, 2013), where it is almost impossible to imagine students learning without tutoring. In both urban and rural settings, PT has become the norm, even inevitable for students and their families, and as elsewhere, an essential item of family expenditure on children’s education. Although research has only recently highlighted the education and social issues surrounding outside school learning, it has nevertheless become widespread in the past few decades. While tutoring in Bangladesh reflects many of the forces and dynamics reported in other Asian societies, in Bangladesh, it has unique features. Particularly noteworthy is the indigenous form of tutoring which preceded

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current commercial tutoring. The phenomenal growth of tutoring and its perceived role in disrupting school learning standards (Liu & Bray, 2020) and the social and ethical issues surrounding it (see Hamid et al., 2009) have led the government to ban some forms of tutoring and teachers not being allowed to teach their formal education students for fees. However, whether government intervention will curb the growth in tutoring in Bangladesh and its alleged damaging effects on formal education is a moot point. In the meantime, the unprecedented spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent school closure for about 18 months has given tutoring a new legitimacy. The aim of this chapter is to trace the evolution of tutoring in Bangladesh— from its earlier, indigenous form to the globally comparable ‘edu-business’ (Ball, 2012; Hamid & Luo, 2016) and its recent reincarnation as micro-­ schooling (Hamid, 2021). Our examination of each phase of tutoring recalls education and social consequences, where relevant. Although there are good reasons for distinguishing between PT and PT-E, as previously noted, the focus of the chapter requires acknowledging their interrelationship, making it impossible to draw clear lines between them.

The Origin of Tutoring in Bangladesh Historically, PT in the region was a desirable social and cultural practice underpinned by philanthropic sentiments. Before the introduction of formal education during British colonial rule (1757–1947), Quranic education was provided by madrasas and maktabs, the latter being affiliated with mosques (see Hamid & Ali, 2021). It was common practice in those days for rich Muslim families to host home tutors who were either teachers or students of madrasas. Locally known as lodging masters, these home tutors taught the children in those families. The social practice of hosting home tutors also benefitted tutors, whose homes were often far away, so they could not commute to their madrasas. The practice originating from Islamic education was extended to secular education introduced by British colonial rulers. Many students pursuing education had to leave their homes and find accommodation near schools. Some were accommodated in the surrounding areas as home tutors who contributed to children’s education in the host family. The practice continued during Pakistani rule (1947–1971) and the first few decades of independent Bangladesh, until the 1990s. While school expansion may have reduced the need for students to stay apart from their own homes, the commercial opening of student accommodation both within and around

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notable educational institutions, and the significant improvement in commuting facilities, contributed to the disappearance of the practice of hosting home tutors. The current form of fee-paying tutoring began around the 1980s, when private English-medium education was introduced for children from upperand upper-middle-class families, mainly in the capital, Dhaka (Hamid & Jahan, 2015). Many of these children needed support beyond school classes for enrichment or remedial purposes. The proliferation of schools and increases in student enrolment in the public and private sectors led to the unofficial classification of schools in terms of quality and prestige. Middle-class families in metropolitan and other urban locations started targeting schools in line with their class ambitions and values (Ball, 2003; Gupta, 2020). Such desires contributed to the demand for tutoring support for their children beyond formal schooling.

Tutoring as Edu-Business in a Neoliberal World Tutoring as a commercial activity emerged in the 1990s, when education was commodified in a neoliberal environment. The fierce competition for the small numbers of places in elite schools created an opportunity for some schoolteachers to offer paid coaching for school admission purposes. Coaching was offered by teachers working in different schools for admission to what are called cadet colleges (see Hamid,  2016). These residential schools are fully funded by the Armed Forces and provide the best quality education in the best environment. Admission coaching also became common for entrance to universities across the country, in Dhaka and other cities. Notably, commercial coaching was introduced even for job recruitment tests for the Bangladesh Civil Service, primary and secondary school teaching, and public and private sector banking. While these forms of tutoring are non-academic, academic coaching that shadowed the formal school curriculum also became ubiquitous in big cities and district towns (Khan, 2016). Nath (2011) reported that a 2006–2007 Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey identified 5499 coaching centres in the country, the majority located in urban areas. The coaching centre represents the institutional form of tutoring which works like a mini-school where students receive fee-paying lessons in groups. As reported by Nath (2011), 120,000 tutors worked in these coaching centres, full or part-time. However, the actual number of coaching centres and employees was many times more, as coaching centres are not required to register with any government agencies. Moreover, individual tutors, on the whole, offer PT

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throughout the country in a non-institutional form. In 2007, it was reported that 40% of secondary schoolteachers across the country were involved in paid individual or group private tutoring (see Nath, 2011).

Nature and Extent of the Spread of PT and PT-E Although there has not been much research into private tutoring in Bangladesh, the few studies that have been conducted provide reasonable understanding of its spread. The earliest study, by Nath (2008), based on Education Watch, a database created by a civil society initiative to monitor primary and basic education, reported that the tutoring participation rate had increased by 2% every year, reaching 31% in 2005. Boys and urban students participated most in tutoring. Participation was also higher in more educated and well-off families. Hamid et  al. (2009) investigated participation in PT-E in a rural sub-­ district in the north of the country. Based on a survey of 228 secondary school students, they reported that even in this remote, low socioeconomic and low literacy community, the PT-E participation rate was over 75% of secondary level students. The rate was higher for girls (80%) than for boys (71%). Hamid et al. (2018) expanded their research to include nine non-government schools from metropolitan, regional, and rural regions and surveyed 577 secondary students. They reported an 82% participation rate, significantly higher for girls (88%). Mahmud (2016) researched PT-E extensively, focusing on urban and rural settings, highlighting school, family and other factors for its spread and popularity. In a comparison of metropolitan Dhaka and a rural setting in Southern Bangladesh, Mahmud and Bray (2017) reported that the participation rate was 85% overall in Dhaka and 61% in the rural area. They also reported that the participation rate was higher for females in Dhaka (91% of females versus 79% of males), and the opposite in the rural area, 62% of males versus 59% of females (see also Mahmud, 2021b). Mahmud (2019) reported that participation in group tutoring was more common (80%) than one-to-one tutoring in the rural setting. Based on the available studies, it can be argued that tutoring has become common in both urban and rural locations in Bangladesh. Tutoring is available in one-to-one, small (less than 10 students) and large groups (over 20 students). However, the mega tutoring lessons attended by students in hundreds and thousands noted in China (Hamid & Luo, 2016) or star tutors (Yung & Yuan, 2018) have not been recorded in Bangladesh. Although online tutoring, which is available in Southeast Asia and Australia (Chang, 2019;

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Kozar, 2015), is rarely reported in Bangladesh, there is a website called bdtutors (https://bdtutors.com/#) which arranges tutoring services for potential tutors as well as students and their families. As of 2020, the website had 20,000 registered members (Zaman, 2020).

Reasons for the Spread of PT-E As elsewhere, the reasons for the spread of PT in Bangladesh are related to both school and family factors (Hamid et  al., 2009; Hamid et  al., 2018; Mahmud, 2021a). School teaching, in English in particular, is considered inadequate to ensure students learn and develop adequate language competence (Islam, 2015). School English teaching is poor, particularly in rural schools where there are significant shortages of qualified teachers, logistics and resources (Hamid, 2009). Students and families cannot rely on schooling alone to learn school subjects and perform well in competitive school-leaving examinations, which often determine students’ future education destinations (Ali & Hamid, 2020). Bangladeshi education is an exam-driven system (Islam et al., 2021), pushing students to tutors to achieve the desired level of performance on tests (Begum & Farooqui, 2008). In extreme cases, students may prefer not to go to school and to learn from tutors at home instead, considering school a waste of time (Hamid et al., 2009). However, participation in PT-E is ultimately determined by family factors such as parental education and family capital (Hamid et al., 2009; Mahmud, 2021a). While parents from all kinds of families may wish to arrange additional learning opportunities for their children due to the perceived inadequacy of schooling, this depends on the family’s financial capacity. At the societal level, competition for getting ahead is observed in the developed as well as the developing world. Despite significant technological development and increased economic opportunities, children’s futures are marked by uncertainty. Parents try their best to make sure their children do not fall behind in the competition for limited education and employment opportunities. It may be hard for parents to feel they can adequately equip their children for an uncertain future, which underpins the social race for academic achievement. This competition creates various demands for learning opportunities, including private tutoring. The supply side of tutoring also needs investigating. The commodification of education and the neoliberal entrepreneurial spirit may whet some teachers’ appetites for making money (see Block, 2018a; Flubacher & Del Percio, 2017). Social Darwinism notions of getting ahead may influence members of

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the teaching profession, particularly those teaching English and STEM subjects. Other teachers may resort to tutoring just to make ends meet. For example, teacher salaries in Bangladesh and other countries are not enough to sustain a decent standard of living and therefore teachers seek moonlighting opportunities as a survival strategy (Liu & Bray, 2020). Islam (2018) investigated what he called the phenomenology of PT-E drawing upon the lived experiences of 11 higher secondary (Years 11–12) students in the northern region of Bangladesh. Analysing interview transcripts, researcher field-notes and PT-E artefacts, he identified 13 themes, including: PT-E emerging as an alternative to school learning, pressure from public examinations, desire for academic success and academic credentials, dissatisfaction with school English learning, the role of English in society, peer pressure to participate in tutoring, parental encouragement, differences in access to PT-E and the social construction of tutoring. These themes illustrate the complex motivations for being tutored, fueled by individual, family, social, schooling and language factors. Tutoring is a significant item of household expenditure in general, and education expenditure, in particular (Hamid et al., 2009; Mahmud, 2021b; Mahmud & Bray, 2017; Nath, 2008; Pallegedara & Mottaleb, 2018). Nath (2008) reported that Bangladeshi families spent 46% of their total education expenditure on private tutoring. Educated and wealthy parents are more likely to be able to arrange tutoring for their children and pay for it within the family budget (Nath, 2011). Mahmud and Bray (2017) reported that there were significant differences in how much was spent on tutoring in English and other subjects across urban and rural settings. For example, the mean monthly expenditure on PT-E was 1290 takas, with the urban and rural averages being 1885 and 695 takas, respectively. While the lowest amounts spent on PT-E in urban and rural areas were 500 and 200 takas respectively, the corresponding highest amounts were 6000 and 2000 takas. Based on BBS Income and Household Expenditure Surveys (HIES) in 2000, 2005 and 2010, Pallegedara and Mottaleb (2018) reported that household expenditure on tutoring increased over the three periods. While the annual average expenditure was 709 takas in 2000, it rose to 1274 takas in 2010. The authors reported that tutoring expenditure constituted around 43% of overall family education expenditure and varied across urban and rural settings as well as income quartiles, pointing to varied education and social consequences for students from different family backgrounds.

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Effectiveness of PT-E The high level of PT participation reported above, together with the family investment, leads to the key question: How effective is PT-E in meeting students’ learning needs? However seminal this question, research has yet to provide conclusive answers. Yung’s  (2019) notable  mixed-method approach of students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of tutors and schoolteachers found that the students’ (n = 477) survey responses suggested tutors were effective, while the qualitative interview data were more complex. However, the findings are based solely on students’ perceptions without any objective measures of learning outcomes. Apart from the methodological challenge of measuring the effectiveness of tutoring or any pedagogical instruction (Bray & Kobakhidze, 2014), effectiveness also depends on student goals (to achieve higher grades in the examination, improve English language competence etc.), the subject of tutoring (English, Mathematics etc.), type of tutoring (one-to-one, group; face-to-face or online) and the quality and background of the tutor (qualified schoolteacher, inexperienced graduates, etc.). PT researchers in Bangladesh have yet to examine the effectiveness of tutoring using the kind of methodological rigour required. Nath’s (2008) research drew on data for primary level students. He measured tutoring participation by whether the students had a tutor or not. He reported that Year 5 students with tutors achieved two more of the 27 cognitive competencies of basic education measures than those without tutors. Hamid et al. (2009, p. 293) also examined the relationship between PT-E participation and academic achievement measured by the grades achieved in two tests. They reported that secondary level ‘students who took private lessons had double the chances of attaining higher grades than their counterparts who did not have private lessons’. While these findings provide some indication of whether tutoring works for student wishes for higher grades, PT-E participation in the study was measured by Yes/No items, which can only make a limited contribution to the question of the effectiveness of tutoring. Hamid et al. (2009) argued that whether PT-E works or not was probably not the central issue; rather, it is parents’ and students’ desire for an alternative to ineffective schooling that may drive them to seek tutoring (Islam, 2018). The social perception of tutoring in the context of unhelpful school learning and the family’s desire for their children to pass, even excel in the exam hurdle that are likely key drivers. As Hamid et  al. (2018) pointed out, the strong endorsement of tutoring may be unrelated to its effectiveness. Many of those who purchase tutoring may simply assume that it works—if it did not work,

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they might think, then surely other students would not go for it. Thus, the perception of tutoring is likely to be informed by social experience and pressure; its effectiveness may be secondary, at best.

Government Regulation of Tutoring and Coaching Centres The spread of tutoring across the country and its perceived harmful effect on the quality of education, as reported in the print and electronic media, has led the government to introduce regulations. In 2011, the relevant government agencies and some heads of education institutions were issued with a rule by the judiciary to explain why teachers teaching their own students outside schooltime for a fee should not be considered illegal (Mustafa, 2016). In response, the government set up a committee in January 2012 to suggest recommendations for regulating tutoring across the country. Based on the recommendations, some specific measures were adopted (see Abdullah, 2021; Ahmed, 2017; Alamgir, 2021; Bangladesh Post, 2020): • All coaching centres running tutorial businesses will be closed down. • Schoolteachers cannot tutor students of their own institutions; however, they can teach a certain number of students from other schools. • School authorities can arrange special remedial coaching for their students to be conducted by teachers. School authorities will determine the fee to be paid by each student; individual teachers cannot decide this privately with individual students. • All commercial notebooks that students rely on to prepare for school-­ leaving examinations will be banned from schools. While these are laudable measures, they fail to address some of the bigger questions. For example, regulating tutoring without enhancing the quality and effectiveness of school teaching may leave parents helpless in terms of what they can do to support their children’s learning. There are no restrictions on one-to-one tutoring, but this may be beyond the financial capacity of many families as this form of tutoring is more expensive and not the preferred option of students. Finally, as previously mentioned, the coaching industry is a source of employment for thousands of people with different capacities. Closing these centres would mean people losing their jobs, creating economic challenges for them and their families (Zaman, 2020). However, the status of the regulatory measures is unclear at present. Reportedly, the measures were to be in the Education Act-2020 and ratified

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by the Bangladesh Parliament. Although, according to reports, the Act has been finalised (Abdullah, 2021; Alamgir, 2021; Ahmed, 2017), it has not yet been presented to parliament. It is unclear whether priorities have changed following the spread of the pandemic and school closures and the Ministry of Education may have a new set of priorities, which may delay—if not shelve permanently—the reforms to regulate the tutoring sector.

 eincarnation of Tutoring During R the COVID-19 Pandemic Many of those in the tutoring sector who were worried about their jobs within regulatory measures might have welcomed the COVID-19 pandemic, as it gave their edu-business a new lease of life. As many schools were closed for a long time and the online teaching provided by the government either did not work effectively or did not reach most of the student population (Menon, 2020; Noor & Shaoun, 2021), tutors were the only resort for parents and their children. Many teachers took this as a windfall opportunity to use their entrepreneurial desire and acumen. Teachers, particularly in rural areas, where the spread of the virus was more modest and where surveillance measures were more relaxed, initiated micro-schooling, either individually or collectively with their colleagues (Hamid, 2021). Schoolteachers as well as non-teacher tutors with skills and expertise in online tools such as Zoom and Skype, transferred their tutoring from face-to-face, to online. Online tutoring became both essential and convenient during the pandemic as lockdowns restricted travel. The convenience could apply to both tutors and tutees, saving travel time and hazards in traffic-congested cities like Dhaka. Apparently, some tutors were paid less, due to the convenience, which was acceptable to some, but not all tutors (Zaman, 2020). However, online tutoring depends upon many factors, affecting some tutors and coaching centres during the pandemic. Individual and institutional actors with limited technological know-how may have been unable to offer their services. Parents with limited technological literacy could also be unwilling to use online tutoring for their children. Therefore, while the pandemic has worked as an opportunity for some tutors, it had the opposite effect on others, who have reportedly lost their jobs, income and living standards through financial hardships (Bari T., 2021b; Zaman, 2020). One of the most fortunate beneficiaries of the pandemic in Bangladesh, as elsewhere, may be the Edtech companies and various start-ups seeking entrepreneurial opportunities (Bari S., 2021a; The Economist, 2021). School

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closure brought a rare opportunity for them to introduce an online alternative to face-to-face teaching through their technological expertise and capital and gain social legitimacy with almost zero marketing investment. Edtech companies such as Instructory reported significant increases in enrolment in their various online courses for students and other customers (Bari S., 2021a). These online ventures expressed optimism about online teaching which was seen as the potential solution to teaching and learning challenges during emergencies such as the pandemic. Redefining traditional education and educational institutions and putting forward innovative ideas based on public-­ private partnerships are common proposals from tech-based edu-solution companies. They are likely to capture the biggest slice of the tutoring market in the country, while the greatest losers will be small coaching centres with limited capital and technological endowment. The latter may not survive long in the market for online tutoring. If that happens, which seems likely if the pandemic persists longer, there will be capitalist wars fought between small and bigger education businesses in Bangladesh. Like the providers, student customers of tutoring would be affected differently during and after the pandemic. As previously noted, students’ access to tutoring was mediated by family income and parental education factors before the pandemic, creating education and learning inequality. This inequality took a new form during the pandemic exacerbated by significant digital divides in Bangladesh and other developing societies (Badiuzzaman et  al., 2021). It is those students who had access to more and better-quality tutoring prior to the pandemic who were to benefit more from its online provision during the health emergency compared to their less fortunate counterparts.

Conclusion and Implications This chapter has provided an overview of the dynamics of Bangladeshi private supplementary tutoring in three contexts over time. The indigenous origins of tutoring were associated with Islamic education and learning, reflecting a philanthropic, sharing attitude to learning and education. The commercialisation of education started in the 1980s under the influence of globalisation and neoliberalism in all aspects of society, including education. PT spread widely across the country driven by a complex set of school and family factors in the context of competition for higher education and career opportunities in a world full of uncertainty and anxiety. Although the government in Bangladesh has adopted some responsive measures to regulate private tutoring, the regulatory framework has yet to attain legal status through the

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parliamentary process. However, the spread of COVID-19 introduced a new element into the practice of tutoring as long-term school closure both facilitated and restricted it. Tutoring, in the second and third phases, became an educational commodity. As commodities in the market have different brands and qualities targeting different customers, PT has become available in various forms in the market in a similar way. People’s access to the quality and quantity of a product is mediated by their capital endowment on the one hand, and the availability of the product in the local market on the other. This raises the question of access and equity in education and learning, with their clear influence on the academic achievement and skills development of students from different social and family backgrounds (Hamid et al., 2009; Khan & Shaikh, 2013). This observation assumes that tutoring helps students to learn academic content and perform better in competitive school-leaving exams. Although research has not produced any conclusive evidence that this is the case, it is the social perceptions of its value and effectiveness that drive students and parents to use it. Predicting the future of tutoring in the country may be difficult, given the existing dynamics and forces at play. It is likely that tutoring will operate online, particularly in Dhaka and other cities, even after the end of the pandemic. This may be due in part at least to the convenience of saving time and avoiding security concerns when going out. While regulatory measures are on the table, their impact is unclear. Maintaining the physical presence of coaching centres may prove difficult, but edu-entrepreneurs are likely to switch to online to avoid attention from the authorities. As previously suggested, much of the tutoring market is likely to be captured by Edtech companies that have already tested their potential during the pandemic. Regulatory measures are unlikely to produce the desired policy effects, mainly because they fail to address the key issues. The shadow market cannot be stopped without enhancing the quality of teaching in the school sector. There is no evidence to suggest that appropriate measures have been put in place to improve the quality and efficiency of mainstream education. While parents will continue sending their children to school, their lost faith in schooling may not easily be regained (Kim & Jung, 2019). They will look for other ways to help their children, depending on their family’s ability to pay and their geographical location. Their reliance on tutoring is likely to intensify in the coming years as competition for school and university places and for employment in a globalised environment all increase. Researchers investigating PT-E will find understanding its origin, evolution, and dynamics, in comparison with other societies in terms of demands,

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drivers and outcomes very useful. Since it is unlikely to go away soon, regardless of policy intervention, researchers need to find ways to connect the informal and formal sectors within a mutually complementary relationship. Policymakers and other stakeholders need to understand that learning English (with various objectives) can no longer be restricted to classroom and formal instruction. How language learning opportunities and affordances outside the classroom can be made available to all social groups for curriculum and pedagogy purposes needs to engage teachers, educators, researchers and policymakers alike. The key challenge for government and school authorities and educators is addressing the education and learning inequality produced by inadequate learning opportunity at school on the one hand and the availability of learning for purchase in the tutoring market on the other. Schools and teachers may not be able to fight this socio-educational problem within their structural conditions and resources. However, they can certainly work towards improving the quality of their own educational offering which may give at least some hope to those students with limited or no access to tutoring. Schools may also be able to arrange in-house remedial learning support for the benefit of these students. Education is unlikely to be reclaimed as a public good in a neoliberal environment characterised by the dominance of private capital, competition and state deregulation (Block, 2018b). Finding a workable balance between the public and the private sectors of education and the strategies of control and deregulation to reduce the learning gap between different groups of students is the critical lesson that is offered by the dynamics of tutoring and English language in the Bangladeshi context. Recommended Texts  Hamid, M. O., Sussex, R., & Khan, A. (2009). Private tutoring in English for secondary school students in Bangladesh. TESOL Quarterly, 43(2), 281–308. This is one of the earliest research articles on private tutoring in English published in a reputed journal. The mixed-method study reported in the article focuses on students’ motivations for participating in private tutoring in English in a rural region which, in turn, helps explain the spread of private tutoring in developing societies. Nath, S. R. (2008). Private supplementary tutoring among primary students in Bangladesh. Educational Studies, 34(1), 55–72.

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This article draws on locally gathered Education Watch data to investigate the rate and cost of participation in private tutoring and socioeconomic differences in participation and its impact on primary school students’ learning achievement as measured by competencies. Mahmud, R., & Kenayathulla, H.  B. (2018). Shadow education: Patterns and scale of private supplementary tutoring in English in secondary education at urban Dhaka in Bangladesh. Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 48(5), 702–716. Using quantitative and qualitative data, the study reported in this article provides a multidimensional exploration of private tutoring in English for secondary level students in the Dhaka metropolitan region. The work documents the penetration of tutoring in the city and participation patterns together with reasons for participation. Engagement Questions • The local origin of tutoring as described in the chapter was desirable as it complemented formal schooling. What could have been the reasons for turning this desirable form of tutoring into a commercial activity in your country in recent years? • The chapter has referred to several metaphors to talk about school-tutoring relationship. Can you think of any other ways of understanding the relationship between them? • What do you think of the ethical issues underlying teachers teaching their own students in your context? Can you think of any ways to resolve these ethical questions? • The chapter has predicted the future of private tutoring in Bangladesh in a particular way. Can you predict the future of tutoring in any other way in your context?

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lems. Language Testing in Asia, 11(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1186/ s40468-020-00116-z Khan, B. H., & Shaikh, S. A. (2013). Analyzing the market for shadow education in Pakistan: Does private tuition affect the learning gap between private and public schools? The Lahore Journal of Economics, 18, 129–160. Khan, S. (2016, April 7). Opinion: When did private tuition become a crime? The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/country/opinion-­when-­did-­private-­ tuition-­become-­crime-­1205644 Kim, Y. C., & Jung, J.-H. (2019). Shadow education as worldwide curriculum studies. Palgrave Macmillan. Kozar, O. (2015). Discursive practices of private online tutoring websites in Russia. Discourse, 35(3), 354–368. Kwo, O., & Bray, M. (2014). Understanding the nexus between mainstream schooling and private supplementary tutoring: Patterns and voices of Hong Kong secondary students. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(4), 403–416. Liu, J., & Bray, M. (2020). Private subtractory tutoring: The negative impact of shadow education on public schooling in Myanmar. International Journal of Educational Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102213 Mahmud, R. (2016). Shadow education: Determinants and implications of private supplementary tutoring in English at secondary level in Bangladesh. PhD dissertation, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Mahmud, R. (2019). Mixed implications of private supplementary tutoring for students’ learning: Urban and rural disparities in Bangladesh. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 21(1), 61–75. Mahmud, R. (2021a). Family socioeconomic determinants and students’ demand for private supplementary tutoring in English in urban and rural Bangladesh. Education and Urban Society, 57(3), 831–851. Mahmud, R. (2021b). Learning in the shadows: Parents’ investments, family burden, and students’ workload in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Education Review, 22, 41–52. Mahmud, R., & Bray, M. (2017). School factors underlying demand for private supplementary tutoring in English: Urban and rural variations in Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(3), 299–209. Menon, S. (2020, September 21). Coronavirus: How the lockdown has changed schooling in South Asia. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/ world-­south-­asia-­54009306 Mustafa, S.  S. (2016, May 8). Coaching business and its impact. The Financial Express. https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/coaching-­business-­and-­ its-­impact Nath, S.  R. (2008). Private supplementary tutoring among primary students in Bangladesh. Educational Studies, 34(1), 55–72. Nath, S. R. (2011, August 21). Private tutoring. Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar. net/news-­detail-­199463

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Noor, S., & Shaoun, S. P. (2021). Online education and community participation in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities to ensure inclusive learning during COVID-19 school closure. Indian Journal of Public Administration, 67(4), 620–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/00195561211044531 Pallegedara, A., & Mottaleb, K.  A. (2018). Patterns and determinants of private tutoring: The case of Bangladesh households. International Journal of Educational Development, 59, 43–50. Sriprakash, A., Proctor, H., & Hu, B. (2016). Visible pedagogic work: Parenting, private tutoring and educational advantage in Australia. Discourse, 37(3), 426–441. Stastny, V., & Kobakhidze, M.  N. (2020). Throwing light on shadow education. Orbis Scholae, 14(2), 5–12. The Economist. (2021, October 7). The pandemic will spur the worldwide growth of private tutoring. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/international/ the-­pandemic-­will-­spur-­the-­worldwide-­growth-­of-­private-­tutoring/21805216 Yung, K. W.-H. (2015). Learning English in the shadows: Understanding Chinese learners’ experiences of private tutoring. TESOL Quarterly, 49(4), 707–732. Yung, K.  W.-H. (2019). Comparing the effectiveness of cram school tutors and schoolteachers: A critical analysis of students’ perceptions. International Journal of Educational Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2019.102141 Yung, K.  W.-H., & Yuan, R. (2018). ‘The most popular star-tutor of English’: Discursive construction of tutor identities in shadow education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 153–168. Zaman, S. (2020, June 2). Private tutors: No schools, no livelihood. The Business Standard. https://www.tbsnews.net/feature/panorama/private-­tutors-­no-­schools-­ no-­livelihood-­87628

A Sociocultural Perspective on English Private Tutoring in South Korea in the Last Two Decades: A Critical Review Byungmin Lee and In Chull Jang

Introduction South Korea (henceforth Korea) is (in)famous for its citizens’ excessive investment in English education—a phenomenon that is frequently referred to as ‘English fever’ (Park, 2009). The demand for the global language has resulted in not only government measures to enhance English language education at the public level but also unprecedented development and expansion in the private education market (Lee, 2010). Particularly throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the new millennium, when Korean society embarked on a drive for globalization, English learning was elevated to the highest priority level in education. It followed that, in response to students and parents seeking educational opportunities outside of the public school system, a number of innovative (and lucrative) English private tutoring programs appeared. While public engagement in English private tutoring (henceforth EPT) has fluctuated over the past decades, about half of Korean primary and secondary school students have participated in it in some form. Its popularity has sparked government responses and measures, public debates, and scientific research. Drawing on a variety of academic, institutional, and public sources of data,

B. Lee (*) • I. C. Jang Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_7

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this chapter examines the trends, causes, and issues surrounding EPT in Korea from 2000 to 2020, a period during which both the public and private sectors made significant investments in English language education in response to the need to boost individual and national competitiveness in a globalized world. In this chapter, private tutoring is referred to as any kind of educational service for which students pay to learn an academic subject beyond formal schooling (cf. Bray, 1999; Park et al., 2016; Yung, 2015). Following this definition, it includes not only home-visit one-to-one tutoring but also private institutes called hagwon and subscribed learning programs (Kim & Jung, 2019). In particular, this study focuses on the types of EPT to those delivered outside of the public school system to K-12 students. To gain a critical understanding of the nature, characteristics, and implications of EPT, the investigation employs a sociocultural and multidimensional approach (Bray, 2017; Spolsky, 2004). This perspective assumes that Koreans’ active participation in EPT cannot be simply explained. It would be imprudent, though tempting, to conclude, for example, that the reason for engagement in EPT is the higher quality of teaching or that socioeconomic position plays an important role in the engagement. This research, conversely, proposes a view of EPT as a sociocultural phenomenon. In other words, it is a complex issue that cannot be accounted for by reduction to a simple factor or list of factors due to its reciprocal interactions and interdependencies with stakeholders’ beliefs and practices, government policies, and broader social discourses such as globalization and neoliberalism (Bray, 2017). Indeed, the history of the development and consumption of EPT in Korea over the last two decades reflects and reveals a variety of sociocultural and multilayered factors, including parents’ aspirations for their children’s academic and professional success, the status of English as global social capital, private education’s strategies for meeting individual and social demands, and the government’s endeavors to improve public English education. Against this background, this chapter attempts to answer the following questions: • What are the key trends and features of EPT in South Korea over the last two decades in terms of practice, research, and policy? • What sociocultural implications does the South Korea’s case have for the practice and belief of EPT?

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Methodological Considerations While interest and engagement in private tutoring are expanding globally, academic research into it frequently falls short of capturing the public’s attention (Bray, 1999; Kim, 2016; Kim & Jung, 2019). This is not unique to EPT research; not only is the quantity and breadth of research limited, but English is also classified as a single school subject within the framework of general education (cf. Hamid et al., 2009; Lee, 2010; Yung, 2015). As Lee (2010) argued, in an environment where EPT is prevalent, overlooking or dismissing the role of EPT would amount to ignoring a significant part of the language-­learning process as it occurs in reality. In addition, the sociocultural status of English as a global language and the distinctive processes of developing language competence demand that the processes, characteristics, and outcomes of EPT receive a separate analysis. With this in mind, this study retrieved, selected, and evaluated three sources of literature for systematic and critical review: government surveys, academic studies, and media and policy documents.

Government Surveys To investigate the overall trends and patterns of EPT, this study analyzed private education statistics generated and distributed by the Korean government (https://kosis.kr), which has collected data and published findings since 2007. The data set contains statistics on the overall gross expenditure on private education, the monthly expenditure per capita, and the rate of participation in private education by school level, region, grade, subject, type of private education, and parents’ background (e.g., income, age, education level, and employment status).

Academic Studies Despite the limited number of empirical studies exclusively focusing on EPT, a research synthesis was undertaken to ascertain the issues and significant findings from the research on EPT in Korea. To compile a corpus of publications, two research databases were accessed: Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) for Korean domestic journals and ERIC for international journals. For RISS, the keywords ‘yeongeo’ (English) and ‘sagyoyuk’ (private education) were inserted; for ERIC, the keywords ‘English’, ‘South Korea’, ‘tutoring’, and ‘shadow education’ were inserted. A total of 258 and 18 scholarly publications published between 2000 and 2020 were extracted from the two

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databases, respectively. The two-step procedures of selection were conducted. To begin, the articles that exclusively examined EPT for primary and secondary school students were included. Then, the quantitative studies that examined EPT practices and beliefs of students simply from one or two schools were excluded because of small sample sizes, localized research contexts, and limitations to representativeness. Finally, a total of 17 publications were included in the systematic review (15 from RISS and 2 from ERIC). In fact, the considerable reduction in the number of selected articles underscores that a systematic research project on EPT has yet to be conducted to a fuller degree in the field.

Media and Policy Documents The media serves as a forum through which public discourse is formed, mediated, and distributed (Spitulnik, 1996). The media discourse on EPT may disclose which English education policies sparked heated debates and what responses developed during the policy proposal, development, and implementation phases. To elicit public opinion on EPT, news articles, editorials, and opinion pieces from ten national newspapers and four broadcasting services were gathered from the BigKinds news database (www.bigkinds.or.kr). The titles of publications published between 2000 and 2020 were searched for the keywords ‘yeongeo’ (English) and ‘sagyoyuk’ (private education). After excluding those that did not meet the scope and goal of this study, 137 pieces remained, which formed the corpus used for the analysis. When the selected articles were listed by year and the titles were read, it was found that the initiatives for public English education (2008–2013) and the introduction of jeoldaepyeongga in the College Scholastic Ability Test’s (CSAT) English section (2015) have drawn much public attention. The news articles and governmental documents pertaining to these two specific policies were retrieved and analyzed in terms of the government’s rationales for the introduction and implementation of the policies and the public responses to them.

Findings Practices According to national surveys on private education, middle school students are the most active participants in EPT in terms of cost and participation rate (see Figs. 1 and 2). This is a common occurrence in other countries (Bray,

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Fig. 1  Monthly expenditure per capita by school level

Fig. 2  Participation rate by school level

1999; OECD, 2014). Despite the government’s policy intervention to reduce students’ participation in EPT (see the ‘Policies’ subsection), as seen in Fig. 3, the total of EPT expenditure at the middle and high school levels has remained constant over the last decade. In addition, the cost per capita has gradually increased while the participation rate has gradually decreased. This trend indicates that access to EPT is economically stratified and unequally distributed; in other words, a smaller proportion of middle and high school students are now able to access private English education in more expensive (and perhaps intensive) forms.

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Fig. 3  Gross expenditure by school level

Fig. 4  Participation rate by monthly household income

The English divide has long been a national concern (Shin & Lee, 2019). As English is viewed as a necessary skill for upward social mobility, such as university admission and employment opportunities, individuals are more willing to invest in English education outside of the public school system. Kim (2011) revealed that English competence in Korea is unequivocally stratified by socioeconomic class as a result of differential access to EPT. As illustrated in Fig. 4, national survey data on EPT support a similar conclusion;

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Fig. 5  Participation rate by student school performance

students from wealthier households participate more actively in EPT. When compared to the equivalent data with Korean as a subject of study at school, the correlation between socioeconomic status and involvement in EPT is apparent. Not only is the participation rate in private education for Korean nearly half that of English, but the disparities in participation rates among the top three socioeconomic categories are also substantially narrower in Korean. Another distinguishing feature of Korean students’ participation in EPT is that academically superior students tend to engage in a greater degree of EPT (see Fig. 5). It has been argued that Koreans’ primary motivation for partaking in EPT is not for remedial, but enrichment purposes (Kim, 2016); rather than catching up on missed schoolwork, students are more likely to aim to review and deepen previously acquired knowledge and develop their competence to allow them to compete in school environments. This appears to be consistent with the data; more participation in EPT correlates with higher academic performance in English. In the case of Korean, on the other hand, the rate of participation in private tutoring is relatively constant across the achievement spectrum. One plausible explanation for the difference in participation patterns between English and Korean is what is known as seonhaeng hakseop, or prior learning. Compared to private tutoring for enrichment or remedial purposes, which are types of supplementary education that aim to maintain the pace of the school curriculum (Bray, 2017), prior learning is an educational strategy that involves learning ahead of the curriculum. In the system of prior learning, the students are led to learn a more advanced level of

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English than what is stipulated in the national curriculum. The demand for prior learning for English is particularly strong due to the ‘the earlier, the better’ belief in English development (Butler, 2015; Lee et al., 2021). This belief has motivated parents to begin their children’s English education at a younger age or to urge them to reach a targeted level as early as possible. The assumption of ‘the earlier, the better’ and the pursuit of prior learning in English education have fueled parental demand for and consumption of EPT for (very) young learners. EPT, particularly English hagwon, a type of EPT preferred by the majority of Koreans for English study, has successfully met the demand for prior learning by providing more customized curricula, materials, and evaluations for individual students (Kim, 2016; Lee et  al., 2021; Park & Abelmann, 2004). Over the last two decades, the market’s expansion and parents’ interest and engagement in EPT have primarily benefited young learners, such as preschoolers and elementary school students, while EPT for middle and high school students has primarily focused on preparation for school-based English exams or the CSAT.  As illustrated in Fig. 3, expenditures at the elementary school level account for the majority of total revenue from private English education, even though it began to decline in 2009, and the gap between elementary and the other two school levels has been narrowing since then (see the ‘Policies’ subsection for the reasons for this decline). Given that the age at which children begin English learning is far younger than the time when public English education begins (3rd Grade), it is expected that the market for EPT for young learners may be much larger than the market share shown in Fig. 3.

Research Table 1 summarizes the findings of 17 empirical studies on EPT that were included in the systematic review. Three important themes emerge from these studies: effects, factors, and perceptions and experiences. Before delving into these three themes in depth, it is worthwhile to review research trends in this area over the last two decades. Particularly, three noteworthy trends have emerged: first, 15 empirical investigations (88.2%) were published in Korean journals aimed at a Korean audience. Of 15 articles published in Korean, 13 studies tended to focus on the effects, causes, and perceptions of EPT through the use of quantitative research methodologies (e.g., panel or survey data). Park and Abelmann (2004) and Lee (2010), on the other hand, are the only two empirical studies included in this review that were published in international journals; the first is an ethnographic study that examines the complex

E

E

E

E

M

English

Korean

Korean

Korean

Park and Abelmann (2004)

Chung (2005)

Lee and Choe (2009)

Nam (2010)

Park and Korean Park (2010)

Quantitative Panel

Students

Parents

Interview Parents

Quantitative Survey

Qualitative

Students

Effects

Factors

Perceptions/ experiences

Perceptions/ experiences

Perceptions/ experiences

Participant Main theme

Interview Parents

Type of data

Quantitative Survey

Qualitative

School levela Method

Research

Publication language

Table 1  A summary of selected studies on EPT in Korea (2000–2020)

(continued)

Access to EPT is determined by social status, but it is also influenced by mothers’ desires for their children’s future, English education ideologies, and individual aspirations for cosmopolitan living. Students view EPT as beneficial but not pleasurable. They participate because their parents encourage them to. Mothers value English as a necessary skill for scholastic achievement, international communication, and social success. Their discontent with public English education and their difficulty regulating and monitoring their children’s English learning motivate them to seek EPT. Parents enroll their children in EPT because they believe in the qualities of teachers and learning environments, as well as the necessity of English for elite school admission. Although EPT has a statistically significant effect on English achievement, the effect is not practically meaningful when the variance is considered. The effect is negatively correlated with academic self-concept and parental expectations.

Key findings

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English

Korean

Korean

Lee (2010)

Oh (2011)

Kim et al. (2012)

Park and Korean Jang (2012)

Publication language

Research

Table 1 (continued)

E

E, M, H

E

E, M, H

Quantitative Panel

Quantitative Survey

Students

Students, Parents

Parents

Effects

Factors

Factors

Perceptions/ experiences

Participant Main theme

Interview Students

Type of data

Quantitative Survey

Qualitative

School levela Method

College students have varying experiences with EPT at the elementary and middle school levels, resulting in greater variation in English proficiency within the same cohort of undergraduate students. Parents’ desire for their children’s English, satisfaction with EPT’s learning environments, and belief in EPT’s effects all contribute to their engagement in EPT. The socioeconomic status of the family plays a significant role in determining involvement. Family income, student achievement, and region are all statistically significant predictors of EPT participation. Family income, region, parents’ education, and school level all contribute statistically to EPT expenditure. EPT is a statistically significant predictor of English achievement, but its effect is small. The most important predictor of English achievement is one’s attitude toward learning.

Key findings

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M

M

Korean

Korean

Korean

Korean

Korean

Kim (2014)

Jung and Cha (2014)

Kim (2015)

Ha and Park (2015) Jung and Seo (2017)

M, H

M, H

H

E

Korean

Park (2012)

Quantitative Panel

Quantitative Panel

Quantitative Panel

Quantitative Survey

Students

Students

Students

Students

Students

Effects

Effects

Effects

Perceptions/ experiences

Effects

Perceptions/ experiences

Participant Main theme

Interview Students

Type of data

Quantitative Panel

Qualitative

School levela Method

Publication language

Research

(continued)

EPT provides a more individualized learning atmosphere with fewer students and longer learning hours. Students find their learning at hagwon to be academically focused but not fun. Participation in and time spent on EPT have a negligible influence on English achievement. Learning attitudes and methods are more significant factors. The region plays a significant role in determining the participation in EPT. Students believe that public school education alone is insufficient for English development. EPT assists with exam preparation and differentiates learning, but the study burden is excessive. Parents enroll their children in EPT to ensure admission to better secondary schools or universities. There is no discernible effect of EPT on English achievement. The spending is determined by family income and the desire to attend an elite school. Previous participation in EPT mediates an effect on English achievement. EPT has a positive influence on English achievement, but it is not linear.

Key findings

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Korean

Jin and Jung (2020)

E

E, M, H

a

Type of data

Quantitative Survey

Quantitative Panel

School levela Method

E: Elementary, M: Middle, H: High School

Korean

Publication language

Yi and Koo (2019)

Research

Table 1 (continued)

Parents

Students

Perceptions/ experiences

Effects

Participant Main theme

The effects of EPT on students’ interests and self-efficacy in English vary according to grade level, type of EPT, and average time spent. In the nationwide survey, almost 90% of students participate in prior learning in EPT. Parents believe that even though English is essential for their children’s future success, the time spent in public school on English teaching is insufficient.

Key findings

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processes of parents’ engagement in EPT, while the second is an in-depth interview study with a participant survey. Second, parents were chosen as participants in six studies (35.3%) examining factors affecting their engagement, perception, and experience in EPT.  This presupposes that parents’ interest in their children’s academic performance, strategic involvement, attitudes about English and English education, and socioeconomic status, all play a crucial role in their active engagement in EPT (Butler, 2015). Third, while studies into the effects of EPT on academic achievement focus on middle or high school students (6 out of 9 studies), studies on elementary school students have concentrated on the factors that contribute to, and perceptions of, EPT (6 out of 11 studies). One possible explanation for this difference between school levels is that policymakers, teachers, or even some parents are concerned that parents’ strategic and excessive investment in English for younger children would have a negative effect on these young learners’ first language development and exacerbate the English divide from their early ages (Lee, 2014; Lee et al., 2021; Shin & Lee, 2019).

Effects of EPT on English Achievement Using longitudinal panel data collected by national or regional education authorities, these studies examined whether students who participate in EPT achieve a higher level of English standard than those who do not, and/or what individual, family, or school factors influence or interact with the effects of EPT on English achievement. In contrast to the prevalent notion that EPT with public school education is more successful in improving English achievement than public school education alone, the statistical results of these studies reveal that the effects are not clear-cut. Four studies (Kim, 2014, 2015; Park & Park, 2010; Park & Jang, 2012) concluded that the effects were not statistically significant or that even when the effects were statistically significant, they were not sufficiently large enough to be considered meaningful. It has been claimed that internal factors such as learning attitude (Kim, 2014; Park & Jang, 2012), learning methods (Kim, 2014), and self-concept (Park & Park, 2010) have a greater influence on English achievement than EPT. Additionally, the extent to which EPT improves English achievement is dependent on grade level (Yi & Koo, 2019), past experiences in EPT (Ha & Park, 2015), parental expectations (Park & Park, 2010), the amount of time spent learning in EPT (Yi & Koo, 2019), and the type and quality of EPT (Yi & Koo, 2019). The inconsistency in empirical studies on the effects on English achievement may be due to differences in research designs and models (Park et al.,

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2016). In fact, some studies (e.g., Jung & Kim, 2014; Lee, 2014), which were not included in this study as they did not meet the criteria of selection for review, showed that the effects of private tutoring on academic achievement are more pronounced in English than other school subjects such as Mathematics or Korean because students who have learned English through innovative, qualified, and intensive English education programs from an early age have a stronger command of the language and display a higher academic achievement in English. Given these findings, rather than simply disregarding the effects of EPT on English development, it is imperative to examine who benefits the most from the participation in EPT in terms of socioeconomic and individual factors. Furthermore, researchers need to use increasingly sophisticated statistical techniques using latent variables (e.g., latent growth curve analysis or structural equation modeling) to ascertain the effects of EPT.

Factors Affecting Participation in EPT Survey studies utilizing large sample sizes have revealed two factors that correlate strongly with participation in EPT: family income and region. Results consistently show that students from more affluent socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to engage in EPT (Kim et  al., 2012; Oh, 2011). Another significant aspect is region (Kim, 2014; Kim et  al., 2012), as the majority of opportunities for quality EPT, such as a franchised English hagwon, are concentrated in metropolitan areas. It also bears mentioning that region is frequently used as a proxy for socioeconomic status in Korea (Jung & Kim, 2014). However, one obvious factor that contributes to parents’ or students’ participation in EPT is their attitudes toward English and English education. Particularly, because parents view English as a vital factor in their children’s academic success and career opportunities, they want to ensure that their children receive high-quality English education (Lee & Choe, 2009; Nam, 2010; Oh, 2011; Park & Abelmann, 2004). They are, however, dissatisfied with public English education in terms of the national curriculum, learning hours, and instructional approaches (Jin & Jung, 2020; Lee & Choe, 2009). They feel that the learning environment provided by EPT will help their children strengthen their English skills (Lee & Choe, 2009; Nam, 2010; Oh, 2011). More importantly, such perceived necessity and benefits of EPT explain why participation in EPT has not declined despite some empirical evidence suggesting that the effects of EPT are relatively uncertain or dependent on individual differences in learning styles and strategies. In other words, the participation in EPT is somewhat psychological or ideological in nature (cf. Yung, 2020).

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Perceptions of and Experiences in EPT Both students and parents believe that compared to public English education, the learning environment and curriculum in EPT are more systematic and customized for students (Jung & Cha, 2014; Nam, 2010; Oh, 2011; Park, 2012); EPT, for example, offers smaller class sizes, extended study hours, intensive courses, tracked courses, and customized materials, methods, and evaluations. Parents and students particularly value diversity in English classes according to proficiency level when it comes to EPT (Lee & Choe, 2009; cf. Kim, 2016). However, students’ and parents’ perceptions of the efficacy of EPT vary according to the students’ backgrounds. While high school students (and their parents) believe that EPT helps them achieve higher grades on English examinations, they admit that it does not result in increased communicative competence in English (more specifically speaking) (Jung & Cha, 2014, cf. Chung, 2013; Yung, 2015). Elementary school students see English learning in EPT as being excessively academic due to the emphasis on grammar and reading (Chung, 2005; Park, 2012). Additionally, students assert that involvement in EPT is not entirely voluntary; their parents play a crucial role in not only encouraging participation but also determining the type of EPT in which they engage (Chung, 2005; Jung & Cha, 2014). Thus, two qualitative studies (Lee & Choe, 2009; Park & Abelmann, 2004) have used in-depth interviews or ethnographic approaches to analyze parents’ ideas and behaviors toward English education for their children. While parents, particularly mothers, agree on the importance of English as a tool for global communication in a globalized world and as linguistic capital for admission to elite secondary schools or prestigious universities, their approach to their children’s EPT varies according to their social class (Park & Abelmann, 2004). Indeed, this is one reason why students’ paths to English learning, including EPT, are diverse, which is likely to be a factor in growing disparity in English competence among students (Lee, 2010).

Policies The government’s statement on the purpose of collecting and analyzing national survey data on private education demonstrates how it views private education and the policy direction in which it intends to proceed. The stated purpose is:

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to identify the costs, participation rates, and types of private education that elementary, middle, and high school students in Korea receive, and to use this information to advocate for educational policies that reduce private education expenses while improving public education. (Statistics Korea, 2015)

This statement draws a clear dichotomy between private and public education, characterizing private education as ‘expense’ that needs to be controlled (i.e., undesirable) and public education as the means by which that goal might be achieved (i.e., desirable). Based on these unfavorable perspectives on private education, EPT has been a focus of governmental concerns because widespread involvement in EPT creates social concerns such as substantial financial burden on many households, disparity in education, and a disregard for public education. Although the Korean government has developed and implemented a variety of English education policies, as illustrated in Fig. 6, whenever a new initiative was proposed, it created heated controversy. To demonstrate how the government’s English education policy objectives and public response have been inextricably linked, this section analyzes and discusses the following two examples: initiatives for public English education (2008–2013) and the introduction of jeoldaepyeongga1 in the CSAT’s English section (2015).

Fig. 6  The number of newspaper articles on EPT in the Korean Press (2000–2020)

 The literal translation of jeoldaepyeongga is a criterion-referenced test. To avoid confusion, we use it as a Romanized Korean word. Even though it is often named criterion-referenced test, as a large-scale standardized test, it considers test takers’ relative standing. Furthermore, as it employs the English level system based on score ranges, the difficulty of the English section in the CSAT, which is established differently each year, plays an important part in determining a test taker’s level. 1

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When the Lee Myung-bak government (2008–2013) took office, it announced a series of plans to drastically improve public English education for students’ communication skills in English. Due to widespread public interest and growing investment in English education, the issue of public English education and policy addressing it was a point of contention throughout the 2007 presidential campaign. Thus, the new government stated the following about the urgency of reforming public English education: To alleviate the current astronomical expenditure of EPT, it is vital to strengthen public education. Enhancing English education is a priority for our generation, as English is critical in today’s globalized society. EPT, on the other hand, has been a financial burden on the Korean people. As a result, the agreement has been reached that it is critical for the new government to adopt an educational program that will channel the private sector’s demand for English into public education. (The 17th Presidential Transition Committee, 2008, p. 182)

Under this agreement, the government attempted to introduce innovative English policies and programs, such as English-medium instruction on several school subjects (often referred to as English immersion), Teaching English through English (TEE), and the National English Ability Test (NEAT), as well as to significantly increase funding for hiring native-speaking English teachers and training local English teachers both domestically and overseas. However, as evidenced by the jump in the number of newspaper articles in Fig. 6, these initiatives caused fierce controversies in the public domain. Of 28 news articles published in 2008, 22 articles (78.6%) expressed that the government’s series of English education policies were more likely to increase demand for EPT, because such policies would strengthen the role of English as a critical gatekeeper in the Korean society, for example, in admission to elite middle and high schools or prestigious universities, thus increasing competition for higher English achievement among young students. One newspaper article (Jin, 2018, February 24) said that public reactions to the government’s English education policy were ‘cynical’ and published the following quotation from an interview with a public school English teacher: ‘Because English competence benefits individual competitiveness in entrance examinations, participation in EPT will not decline as long as the power of English in entrance examinations is maintained.’ Such criticisms of the initiatives aimed at reforming public English education (e.g., English-medium instruction on Mathematics or other subjects), along with the unintended consequence of increased involvement in EPT, prompted the following government to rethink its approach to English education. While it repealed the majority of the previous administration’s initiatives

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and reduced funding for English education, it sought to weaken the role of English as a potential gatekeeper in almost every walk of life, especially in entrance examinations for special middle or high schools and universities. For example, it prohibited universities from considering standardized English test scores and pushed for an ‘easy’ level of difficulty on the CSAT’s English section. In 2015, the government stated that the CSAT’s English section would be converted to jeoldaepyeongga to ‘cause less burden for students’ English learning and involvement in EPT’ and ‘normalize public English education’. The government reasoned that the new CSAT’s English test system would reduce the students’ competition for higher scores and thus discourage their participation in EPT.  The media, on the other hand, presented conflicting views on this English education policy. While some believed that this would result in a fall in household expenditure on EPT, others argued that demand for private tutoring would shift to other CSAT subjects, such as Mathematics and Korean. Others expressed concern that if the quality of public English education was not improved, the need for EPT would continue to grow or that students’ overall English competence might deteriorate as a result of their decreased motivation to learn English. What has been reported after nearly four years of the implementation of this policy is that participation in EPT has remained stable or even increased slightly (see Figs. 1, 2, and 3) and that prior learning of English, particularly for young learners, is still widespread.

Discussion The analyses and reviews of a wide range of data, including national surveys, empirical studies, and media coverage, revealed that EPT is not simply a pedagogical practice for academic achievement but a complicated sociocultural issue involving multiple social actors pursuing their own distinct goals and beliefs (Bray, 2017). Findings highlight four major characteristics of EPT in South Korea in the last two decades when English was vigorously pursued in the course of the country’s globalization: prior learning as a motive for EPT, the persisting belief in ‘the earlier, the better,’ the importance of parents’ perceptions of English and English education, and the government’s dilemma in controlling EPT. Above all, one distinguishing aspect of EPT in Korea is the pursuit of prior learning. This motive for EPT has had a significant impact on its curriculum and learning methods, as it requires an independent and well-designed curriculum for individualized learning. Parents’ and children’s belief in the efficacy of EPT is based on such tailored learning plans and environments.

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Additionally, the expectation for individualized learning has resulted in the development of innovative programs and the proliferation of EPT in the education industry. This commodification of English learning in the private sector may justify unequal access to EPT in particular and English learning in general (Choi, 2021; Park, 2011). Compared to other school subjects such as Korean, EPT is more clearly stratified according to students’ socioeconomic background. Depending on their family’s socioeconomic backgrounds, they have highly distinctive patterns of participation in EPT.  In particular, students from more affluent socioeconomic backgrounds have more opportunities to learn English through innovative, intensive, or high-quality forms of EPT. This stratified access to EPT contributes to widening the English divide in Korean society (Shin & Lee, 2019). This mechanism of prior learning suggests that EPT may serve as a strategy for educational competitiveness and class reproduction. The requirement for EPT is closely linked to a belief about effective English learning—‘the earlier, the better’ (Butler, 2015; Lee, 2014; Lee et al., 2021). Due to the widespread practice of beginning English learning prior to the start of the English curriculum in schools, EPT targeting young learners sees higher demand than that targeting older learners. In the mid-2000s, when the government launched a series of measures for English education, participation in EPT for young learners increased significantly. Following that, empirical research examined why early English education is so popular and how EPT meets pedagogical demand. Although the belief in ‘the earlier, the better’ has often been attacked for its empirical fragility in an EFL environment like Korea and its detrimental impact on young learners (Lee, 2014), it still prevails, especially among parents who are anxious that their children should have a ‘good’ command of English as a part of academic achievement as well as a global language. Parents play a critical role in their children’s participation in EPT. They are aware that English has long served as a gatekeeper in Korean society, as it is required for admission to elite schools and colleges, as well as for prominent jobs in an increasingly competitive globalized environment (Choi, 2021; Park, 2011). This awareness has prompted parents to take control of their children’s English education and to seek out new English programs available in the private education industry. They are also convinced that the hours of English instruction and seemingly ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches in the public education system are insufficient to improve their children’s English competence to the extent they desire. Given their dissatisfaction with public English education and their high expectations for their children’s English proficiency,

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parents’ pursuit of better English education through private tutoring can be viewed as rational. Due to the growth and development of EPT, the Korean government has been forced to adopt efforts to improve public English education. However, a look at the history of English education policies during the last two decades reveals a dilemma. In the early 2000s, as demand for better English education grew, the government proposed and enacted proactive policies aimed at improving the quality of public English education and addressing parental dissatisfaction. Such policies and measures, however, drew criticism as they were ideologically based on neoliberalism, they increased the value of English in various sectors of life, and they exacerbated the situation of EPT. Following the controversy of the interventions, the succeeding government went in the opposite direction, artificially reducing the prominence of English in society. However, the shift in policy direction was politically expedient as the policies were implemented without a clear understanding of why Koreans have to study English and the level of proficiency they need to succeed academically and socially. Thus, parents continue to enroll their children in EPT due to a lack of perceptible meaningful shifts in English education policies while English remains a required subject in school and for college admission. These discussions regarding the characteristics of EPT in South Korea prompt the following important questions: Why does EPT exist as a significant English education institution, and what effects does EPT have on the practice and ideology of English learning and teaching? One way to answer these questions is to examine the (in)consistency between the achievement standards in the national curriculum, the level of English taught in the public school system, and the criteria for the assessment of English ability (Choi et al., 2022). If the level of English assessed on a high-stakes test, such as the CAST, is higher than the level students can achieve through public English education, students and parents cannot avoid the allure of EPT. This inconsistency may result in an excessive reliance on EPT, such as prior learning, and the formation of a particular English education ideology, such as ‘the earlier, the better.’ In turn, such practices and ideologies may contribute to the widening of the English divide, the creation of English classrooms with students possessing vastly different levels of English ability, and the devaluation of the national curriculum. In this sense, the countries where EPT is growing and expanding or where parental support and involvement play an increasingly crucial role in their children’s educational achievements (Yung & Zeng, 2022) should take a careful and critical look at the extent to which public English education can improve students’ English, how well students learn English in their public schools, and how their English ability is assessed, particularly on

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high-stakes tests. Furthermore, rather than viewing EPT as a supplement to public education or disregarding or suppressing it from above, these countries should reconsider the relationship between EPT and public English education and investigate the varying perceptions and experiences of those who participate in EPT (Lee, 2010).

Future Directions This study has suggested that participation in EPT is strongly related to students’ and parents’ perceptions of English and English education, their socioeconomic level, and government interventions. These sociocultural components will play a significant role in shaping the future of EPT in Korea. Above all, alternative approaches have evolved in response to heavy reliance on the private sector of English education and the commodification of English learning. One intriguing type is referred to as ‘maternal English education’, a form of English education in which mothers lead and educate their children’s English using specified guidelines, mostly reading materials (Seo, 2021). This kind of English education is very popular with stay-home mothers of preschoolers and elementary school students. Online education, particularly asynchronous methods that utilize web-based materials and/or pre-recorded lectures, has been a popular platform due to its relatively low cost and high accessibility (Kim & Jung, 2019). As a form of synchronous online learning, one-on-one phone or video conferencing has been a niche market for students seeking to develop their oral communicative skills in English (cf. Tajima, 2018). Since the outbreak of COVID-19, several educational technology startups have developed and released hybrid online platforms for interactive learning by combining the most effective features of online tools (e.g., videoconferencing, cloud-based document processing, machine translation, and AI-based natural language processing). When it comes to future research, it should be noted that a limited number of empirical studies on EPT in the Korean context exist. Given that the majority of exiting research has used quantitative research methods, more qualitative studies need to be conducted to examine situated experiences and perceptions surrounding EPT.  In particular, ethnographic research projects on teachers and students engaging in a specific type of EPT will offer us detailed descriptions of what kinds of teaching and learning are taking place and convincing explanations of sociocultural aspects of EPT. Finally, the government’s recent budget cuts to public English education and modifications to the English test system in the CSAT have resulted in

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diverse viewpoints and attitudes. Some argue that English is no longer as critical as it once was for college admission and social life. Others are concerned about the decline in students’ motivation to learn English and their competitiveness in a global society. However, parents and students continue to participate in EPT in a variety of ways. This reality demonstrates that regardless of the direction taken by the government, there is dissonance between what students and parents expect of English education, what the national curriculum establishes as standards for English competence, what public school English classes prioritize for learning, and what admission and hiring policies and entrance exams evaluate. Without resolving these existing inconsistencies and discrepancies, the link between EPT and the government’s and schools’ actions is bound to remain convoluted, causing persistent dissatisfaction to many students and parents. As a consequence, EPT may continue to play an important role in English learning and teaching in Korea as an alternative to public education. Recommended Texts Lee, B. (2010). The pre-university English-educational background of college freshmen in a foreign language program: A tale of diverse private education and English proficiency. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(1), 69–82. This study shows the diversity of Korean students’ trajectories in EPT and how such different experiences contributed to widening gaps in English proficiency. This paper highlights the importance of paying scholarly and pedagogical attention to English learning outside of the public school system, which has been overlooked in mainstream TESOL research and practice. Kim, Y. C. (2016). Shadow education and the curriculum and culture of schooling in South Korea. Palgrave Macmillan. Using ethnographic data, this monograph offers fleshed-out descriptions of Korean students’ experiences in various types of shadow education and cultural explanations for their participation. As this study considers English to be a major component of shadow education, it provides an intriguing account on how the patterns and logics of participation in EPT change as students progress through their school years. Lee, M.  W., Kim, H., & Han, M. (2021). Language ideologies of Korean mothers with preschool-aged children: Comparison, money, and early childhood English education. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(7), 637–649.

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This qualitative study examines the ways in which the participation in EPT is practically managed and discursively justified by mothers of preschoolers. In particular, it is governed by mothers’ constant comparison of their English education management for their children with that of other mothers, as well as calculations of financial investment and benefits. Encouragement Priorities  • Why are the effects of EPT on language development or academic achievement not consistent?  • What students would benefit the most from participating in EPT? • How are the parents’ beliefs in EPT formed? Who are the most influential players in parents’ ideological construction of EPT? • Can the government’s interventions to reduce EPT be successful? How can the entanglement surrounding EPT be resolved?

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English Private Tutoring: The Case of Brazil Alexandre Ventura and Candido Alberto Gomes

Introduction Around the world, private supplementary tutoring is commonly named shadow education because its content to a large extent mimics that of regular public or private schools: as the curriculum changes in these schools, so it changes in their shadows (Bray & Lykins, 2012). The importance and complexity of the private supplementary tutoring phenomenon has been recognized internationally. This is evident in Brazil, the focus of this chapter. Considering the importance of the growing knowledge-based economy and of intellectual capital for the development of nations (Carlaw et al., 2006), all factors influencing the expansion of this phenomenon should be scrutinized. The landscape of English private tutoring is particularly complex, containing an extended panoply of variables. Unsurprisingly, then, there is a need to collect evidence that can contribute to clarifying the intricacies of this phenomenon. This chapter discusses relevant information about the nature of English private tutoring in Brazil. One of the main aims of this chapter is therefore to review the current developments of English language teaching

A. Ventura (*) University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal e-mail: [email protected] C. A. Gomes Research Centre of the Higher Education Institute, Fafe, Portugal © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_8

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(ELT) in both public and private sectors and compare approaches and experiences in different educational contexts. Therefore, this chapter reports on an overview of the literature relevant to shadow education in Brazil, with a specific focus on the phenomenon of English private tutoring.

Overview of the Brazilian Context Brazil occupies the largest portion of territory in South America and has an estimated population of 213.7 million inhabitants (IBGE, 2021). Brazil is the only previous colony in America speaking Portuguese, a fact which has reinforced the cohesion of the country. The country’s economy is among the ten biggest in the world. However, the economic forecast shows that Brazil is losing its competitiveness and wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. In 2020, the GDP per capita was USD6783 (World Bank, 2021), which means it has decreased in the past ten years. The indicator of inequality for family income per capita (Gini coefficient) is 0.540 (maximum = 1), having increased in the 2018–2019 economic crisis to 0.543 (World Bank, 2021). Thus, Brazil is currently the ninth most unequal country among 164 other nations (Neri, 2021). Social, regional and sectoral inequalities are therefore striking. Accordingly, household income may tend to limit the possibilities of private tutoring attendance. The national education system is divided into a nine-year Ensino fundamental (ISCED 1 and 2) and three or four years of secondary education (ISCED 3) (UNESCO, 2011). English as a second language makes part of the curricula since the 6th grade of Ensino fundamental. Most often, it is the only international language for students. Some secondary schools may add Spanish to their curricula. Private tutoring in English, as well as other subjects, such as mathematical sciences, has flourished in all the Brazilian territory. English took French’s place in Brazil, particularly after the Second World War, yet the population’s level of proficiency is modest, which has led to the creation of networks of language schools and freelance tutors (Bohn, 2003; Skidmore, 2003). While education was confined to the elites in Brazil, some classical languages and modern international languages (English, French, Greek, Latin and Spanish) were part of the traditional curricula. With school massification in the 60s, the same situation could not be maintained. Modern international languages were reduced to only one, most often English, in line with geopolitical conditions (Marques, 2021).

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Conceptual Framework According to Bourdieu and Passeron (1970) and the theory of reproduction, social stratification is largely geared towards its own maintenance, that is heirs receive economic and cultural capital from their ancestors, often in the form of inheritances, both material assets and non-material culture. Moreover, the individual also possesses social capital: its manifestations involve the cultivation process itself, the cultural assets in the individual’s possession and the network of enduring social relations, reputation and prestige, as well as his/ her educational credentials (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1964). Thus, economic capital largely contributes to cultural and social capital. Furthermore, social capital generates economic capital and cultural capital, in a virtuous circle for some (and vicious for others), that is, it generates symbolic gains from being associated with prestigious groups. Therefore, a significant part of school failure at least in Western societies is due to heritage, with tangible cultural artefacts as well as symbolic goods inherited from past generations (Lahire, 2021). Cultural arbitrariness establishes preconditions for the student to succeed in the curriculum. Pedagogical authority creates and maintains this obstacle course, particularly in language learning, where access to the cultural norm, because it is inherited, makes it easier to win the race. Indeed, inheriting the cultural norm is an enabler for faster and more sophisticated language learning. Equally, learning foreign languages requires special provisions in comprehension, reading, writing and speaking. Initially the appanage of the elite, the social competition for higher income and higher socioeconomic status today gives a pragmatic meaning above all to the learning of English, the new lingua franca, to meet the demands of employability. In fact, there is a wealth of literature that points to socioeconomic status as a predominant factor in student performance. For example, Breton and Canavire-Bacarreza (2018) explained the difference in the results between Latin America and Scandinavia in PISA 2012. Regarding a large public university in Brazil, Guimarães and Sampaio (2013) state that the most prominent predictors of student access to university were family background, family income, and the likelihood of attending public school and private tutoring. The impact of private tutoring was twice that of tutoring provided in school. As Bray and Lykins (2012) point out, weak education systems with extensive programmes, incomplete curricula, and poorly prepared teachers tend to generate, as a back-up, a complex and growing network of private tutoring. Thus, even if compulsory public education in many countries is free, private supplementary spending can burden families, especially regarding high-stakes examinations to gain access to top schools and universities.

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English Language Teaching in Brazil Considering the above social dynamics in Brazilian society and the structural and operational shortcomings of its educational system, regular English language teaching in Brazil, particularly in public schools, suffers from significant limitations. The literature converges in pointing out conditions such as large and heterogeneous classes, reduced workload, teaching materials restricted to the chalkboard and the textbook (when available), poorly trained teachers and with reduced fluency in the English language, students’ lack of interest, the little relevance attributed to modern foreign languages in curricula still prone to encyclopedism, with an extensive list of subjects and little integration between them (Miccoli, 2007; Ialago & Duran, 2008; Estivalet, 2011; Mariuci et al., 2012; Cronquist & Fiszbein, 2017; Oliveira, 2019). Indicators corroborate this description. The average number of students per class in general education (2020) was 21.4 for ISCED 1; 26.6 for ISCED 2 and 30.3 for ISCED 3. The percentage of teachers with adequate training, according to legislation, to the subject taught were 15.2% for ISCED 1, 8.4% for ISCED 2 and 2.4% for ISCED 3 (INEP, 2021b). The tradition of the elite valuing a vast and complete knowledge about many diverse subjects and the pressure exerted by some interest of professional corporations, like associations and unions, are so strong that the curriculum ends up being overly pulverized (Braslavsky, 2001). That’s a perfect scenario to demonstrate the usefulness of the political arenas and political agents’ metaphor (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Anecdotal facts related to the authors’ personal experience show teachers improvising in subjects other than their own just so as to teach the complete curriculum. Another phenomenon in less populous cities and rural areas is that of teachers moving from one school to another, from one municipality to another, to teach a small weekly workload to make ends meet. This adds transportation costs which are often subtracted from teachers’ net salaries, since income tax does not allow this deduction. Based on the literature, the Latin American education landscape, including Brazil, can be interpreted as a sort of unwritten and unspoken contract establishing a division of labour between the public and private sectors, as well as between regular and supplementary (private) education: public schools accept implicitly they can do less than private schools in teaching-learning English as a Second Language (Souza & Góis, 2021; Ferreira & Mozzillo, 2020; Knobel & Verhine, 2017). Public and private schools both seem to agree, implicitly, that private tutoring can do what they cannot. In such a division of labour, the greatest losers are those who cannot pay and choose. Confirming Bourdieu and Passeron (1970), the interrelation of economic, cultural, and social

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capital works in favour of the sociocultural selectivity, instead of the education democratization in an unequal continent. This is one of the not so subtlest filters of educational systems in this continent. In other words, the necessary conditions are lacking for students to learn how to read, write, speak and understand an international language. Hence the emergence of alternative foreign language courses, otherwise fluency would not be attained neither in private nor in public schools. According to one interesting study, since extracurricular courses have fluency as their major objective, a one-off survey revealed that only 37.0% of teachers of these courses in three cities had specialized pedagogical training, that is, less importance was given to qualifications than to oral and written English skills (Mariuci et al., 2012). Current legislation is often criticized because of lack of clarity for not indicating which modern foreign language should be taught when the legislator’s intention has been to ensure flexibility and decentralization. The authors, having witnessed the legislative process, can attest to this fact. Similarly, the legislation has avoided naming English as a second language to elude the dominance of this option due to cultural incentives and job requirements. The intention is to offer a plurality of possibilities in foreign language learning and not to restrict it to English. In relation to middle and secondary schools (ISCED 2-3, 11–17 years of age), English teachers are often graduates from colleges of arts and humanities. As a strong trend, these programmes emphasize complex grammar and literature, instead of speaking, understanding, reading and writing the language fluently (Lima, 2012). Private higher education institutions often dedicate lower resources to teacher education programmes since the cost per student is lower (they are labour intensive activities, seldom using laboratories) and the students are less demanding than in “hard” programmes. Several managers may see these courses as guaranteed means of earning lower but steady profits, essential for their business (Gomes & Palazzo, 2017).

 eacher Education and English Private Tutoring T in Brazil The configuration of teacher education has several implications for the private tutoring phenomenon. These can be related to tutoring supply and demand or differences between schools and their “shadows”. We shall describe the landscape of these aspects as a way of better understanding the intricacies of the phenomenon in the Brazilian context.

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Brazil has long-standing inconsistencies in teacher education, which remain unresolved. One of them is the tension between specific training in the scientific subject to be taught and pedagogical training for that purpose. Previously, the latter was added to the former as an appendage, with a lack of integration concerning theories and practices, generating inconsistencies between scientific knowledge, pedagogy and didactics. New experiments and projects have inverted this priority, wherein teachers are partly trained by pedagogues, specifically in teaching techniques. However, higher education language degrees hardly lead to the development of fluency in a foreign language, especially in English, with curricular fractures not yet fully healed (Palazzo et al., 2016; Gomes & Palazzo, 2017). In contrast, private English courses tend to prefer fluent teachers, regardless of their qualifications, since these courses are not subject to the requirements of the formal school system. At the same time, the rapid expansion of primary education since the 1970s has paradoxically led to declining demand for teacher education courses. Low salaries and violence in schools are among the preponderant factors for a decrease in attractiveness of teaching jobs (Gomes & Palazzo, 2017). However, the lower average ratio of applicants/admissions to higher education, coupled with the relative ease of employment, had led less privileged social strata to seek teacher initial training because it is considered as less demanding and more affordable. In many cases, the graduate is the first person in the family to tread the path of third level education (Palazzo & Gomes, 2012). Of course, in this case, cultural capital tends to be reduced, including linguistic capital. In fact, they tend not to be Bourdieu’s and Passeron’s (1964) heirs, privileged citizens by birth. With low expectations, such an achievement as becoming a teacher is a victory. Accordingly, teaching has become a channel for moderate social ascension, although the profession has missed social prestige (Gomes & Palazzo, 2017). In this complex scenario, public school networks have access to a larger supply of applicants that tend to accept lower salaries because they have scarce options and modest ambitions. Moreover, degrees in English Language have been associated with degrees in Portuguese Language. For competitive commercial interests, numerous entities have offered this double degree, under the benevolent approval of authorities (Ialago & Duran, 2008). This generates reduced accuracy, lack of specialization and reduced proficiency in the English language. The paradigm of the for-profit company dominates the Brazilian foreign languages teaching market, as does the corporate state (Musso, 2019), generating a commodification where means are given more importance than ends. Moreover, curricula have been stratified in terms of their prestige (Bernstein, 1977), selectivity of subjects and degree of difficulty, integrating more

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sophisticated and abstract cultural capital. Bernstein’s theory is considered valid until today. Modern foreign languages assume less relevance for many students and their families in Brazil. Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, due to students’ generally lower level of achievement and correlative perceived difficulty of the subject, receive greater attention, translated into priority and workload at school (Oliveira, 2019). Even the introduction of English in the National High School Exam (which constitutes a kind of college entrance unified examination) has not given it the desired prominence in the attention of students and their families since English is considered easier than those other subjects (Oliveira, 2019). Technological changes such as online courses, both in teacher preparation and in English as a second language learning, have also advanced rapidly in the country. Many programmes of English as a second language are almost entirely offered in distance learning formats, with minimal face-to-face contact. Their greatest attraction for managers (and for students) lies in the lower cost per student, which increases the profit margin for private managers: monitors (teacher local collaborators) tend to be paid less than teachers, classes can reach hundreds of students for a single teacher, increasing the student/ class ratio, as well as other “benefits” that are often detrimental to teaching quality levels, since they are not interested in education as a public good (Knobel & Verhine, 2017). In fact, in line with the Washington Consensus, the liberal economic agreement for Latin America in the 1990s, educational privatization and the conversion of schools into profit-making companies, particularly in networks and conglomerates, have advanced, aiming to reduce the public deficit. A part of this process has been, as Bray and Lykins (2012) identified, the apparent growth of private tutoring, including in the form of franchises, paralleled with both regular public and private schools. Selective exams, including in or after higher education, put intense stress on the candidates (André et al., 2019), as do a myriad of preparatory courses: for admission to higher education, for obtaining a lawyer’s licence, to pass an exam to be admitted in the police force, for a place in medical residency, etc. Students develop test-wiseness (Frey, 2018) and acquire the knowledge about the fundamental contents, based on exam tips and exam drills. Other forms of privatization can be observed, such as granting scholarships to lower-­ income students in exchange for reductions in the companies’ social security obligations, which essentially mean fiscal exemptions for the private sector in the name of a “just cause”. Therefore, the state partially finances the private sector and partially delegates its responsibilities.

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Distance education was institutionalized in Brazil in 1996, aiming to democratize opportunities of access. Here, too, the effects of privatization can be seen, as distance education has become a particular market of higher education, with 93.6% of enrolments in private institutions against 68.8% in face-to-face education, according to the 2019 Census of Higher Education (INEP, 2021a). There are likely to be implications for training educators: more than a third of enrolments in educational sciences (36.9% against 12.8% in face-to-face courses) refer to distance education. This remote approach corresponds around three times the candidates of face-to-face education, who apparently would have moved to distance education (INEP, 2021a). Indeed, according to INEP (2021a), the average candidates/admissions ratio in the former was 0.9 (fewer candidates than vacancies), while in face-to-face education it was much more demanding (3.1 candidates for each vacancy). In other words, it seems that the relatively low prestige of teacher education, including in English, has found a new and easier alternative for graduating in Brazil, easier not only in access, but also less demanding to avoid drop out (see, e.g., Bravo et  al., 2020). Is it possible to expect an improvement in education at short and medium terms?

Private Tutoring in Brazil A common form of primary schooling in Brazil was education with preceptors, often foreigners, according to the colonial mentality, preferably in their homes, particularly in the case of socially advantaged families from the eighteenth to early twentieth century. Schooling would then continue in establishments, often boarding schools, given the dispersed geographical origins of the student population. In colonial times children, usually of less well-off backgrounds, including indigenous ones, could also receive their first letters in small schools or classrooms, associated to the catechism of Jesuits, Franciscans, Mercedarians and other religious congregations (Azevedo, 1963). Research was conducted in 2009  in one public and one private middle school (ISCED 2, 11–14 years of age) in Brasília (the capital city of Brazil), whose students generally received free of additional charge tutoring (Gomes, Vargas et al., 2010). Both schools had approximately the same score in external evaluations and were oriented towards the continuation of studies in higher education. Confirming the reality of social competition described above, the students of both establishments still resorted to private tutoring, especially for the subjects in which they faced greatest difficulties, notably chemistry, mathematics and physics. Although Bourdieu and Passeron (1970)

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pointed out the value of linguistic capital through language learning, the most selective subjects have been mathematical sciences rather than languages. In all, 36.2% of students spent between one and three hours a week on tutoring outside their respective schools, while 23.4% used more than ten hours. As these are the final years of basic education (15–18 years of age), on the threshold to higher education, families seek to secure a better future for their children. One of the rewards is entering a public and free higher education institution, which ensures a favourable cost/benefit ratio for early investments in private tutoring. The average annual expenditure in 2009 was estimated at €1.053  in the public school unit and €1.352  in the private one (Gomes, Vargas et al., 2010). Disaggregating the costs, it was found that spending on private tutoring was proportionally higher relative to the household budget for lower-income families. Families in the private school spent the equivalent of 62.3% of the tuition fee on tutoring. The proportion of students in remedial classes in the public school was 22.0%, and in the private school 51.9% of the sample, reflecting differences in socioeconomic status and household income. By gender, a higher percentage of males, who are more likely to fail, declared that they attended remedial classes. To have another angle of the social cleavage, the annuity of the private school corresponded to 285% of the minimum value set by the State for this educational level in the public school networks. Furthermore, the tutoring constituted 62.3% of the private school annuity (Gomes, Vargas et al., 2010). In other words, families in the private school spent much more on their children than those in the public school, reinforcing their competitive advantages. Thus, through private family spending, the distance between the most and least socially well-off increased. Again, the economic capital, associated to the cultural capital (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1970), is an expressive obstacle for access and equality in education. Some have argued that this constitutes a violation of the constitutional principle of equal opportunities for all citizens (Gomes, Mariano et al., 2010).

Overview of the Current Situation The latest Household Budget Survey was conducted in 2017–2018, in an unfavourable economic environment, which continues until today especially due to the devastating pandemic and the volatile political situation of the country. Table 1 presents data on average private educational expenditure on education, disaggregated as per the original source (Ribeiro et al., 2020).

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Table 1 displays averages and is therefore subject to variations around them, both up and down, in a country with striking social inequalities. These values show that free basic education in public schools relatively reduces the percentage dedicated to it, accounting for 26.1% in the calculation of educational expenses in 2018. In fact, 18.6% of the students were enrolled at private schools (INEP, 2021b). Poor quality and more exposed violence in basic public schools have forced a part of the households to migrate to private schools. On the other hand, the growing privatization of higher education, including post-graduate education, leads to the largest share of average household expenditure on education (44.9% of the total). The strength of academic traditions, in detriment of the stigma on manual occupations, leads to a modest percentage allocated to technical courses, only 5.6%, often reserved to lower socioeconomic status students. As regular schools often do not reach the expected standards in foreign language courses, with English leading the way, account for 10.1 of total spending. School graduates seek to improve their knowledge, instrumental also for higher education and job market. This opens up a broad market for the private sector, both in classroom courses and distance learning courses. Foreign language courses, extracurricular courses Table 1  Brazil: average private monetary and non-monetary yearly spending per household by category 2018

Categories Basic education (ISCED 1–3) Higher education (ISCED 5–) Higher education, post-graduate programmes Technical courses Foreign language courses Extracurricular courses Higher education admission and other preparatory courses Instructional materials School textbooks Others Total

Current values in national currency Jan 2018 (A)

Values in euros 2018

Participation of each category in the total (A) %

6703

1471

26.1

7527

1843

29.4

3985

1012

15.5

1432 2597 1069 616

364 660 269 156

5.6 10.1 4.2 2.44

170 956 590 25,645

43 243 150 6211

0.7 3.7 2.3 100.0

Source of the original data: Ribeiro et al. (2020). All values are rounded. Euro closing market rate for selling by Brazil’s Central Bank. Percentage computed by the authors on the basis of original numbers

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(which may include sports and physical exercise, since most public and private schools do not meet expectations) and preparatory courses account for 16.7% of total spending, with the largest of those shares devoted to languages. Textbooks would reach a higher percentage than 3.7% if it were not for the Ministry of Education’s extensive programme of free textbooks for public schools. Therefore, this table mirrors the educational system internal stratification. Shadow education, then, is the complement to curricular deficiencies and a remedy for students’ underachievement. To get a broader picture of families’ educational expenditure, the already mentioned IBGE sampling survey (2019) indicates that average household expenditure on education stands at 4.7% of total household expenditure. These numbers have tended to grow: they were 2.3% in 1974–1975, and have risen to 4.7% in 2017–2018, although the methodology of the two surveys is only partly the same. However, these numbers tend to vary according to social and regional disparities. Around the general average of the sample there are variations for rural areas (2.3%) and for the relatively more developed region, the Southeast (5.1%), with similar variability at the level of parental education. It is interesting to note that housing (36.6%), followed by transport (18.1%) and food (17.5%) stand out in the expenditure of Brazilian households. Health accounts for 8.0%, clothing 4.3% and recreation and culture 2.6%. Smoking is a serious public health problem, with 0.5% of total household expenditure. It is again worth noting that numbers vary significantly with lower level of education and in more rural areas. Returning to out-of-school language teaching, this market niche is so promising that the 20 largest education franchises in this country are in the field of international language teaching. The estimated annual turnover of the public and private education markets is more than 134 billion US dollars, with modern language teaching alone accounting for over 35 billion (Portal do Franchising, 2021). The main objective of students (77.0%) is practical: professional growth (Portal do Franchising, 2021). Table 2 presents the largest existing franchises, excluding freelance teachers and independent free courses. This excludes Kumon, the major educational franchise in Brazil, which started with mathematics and extended to English, Portuguese and Japanese. The size of the market could be indicative of the deficiencies of public and private school networks, which seek to save on costs per student by increasing the number of students per class, hiring available teachers even without ample knowledge of the language, and not creating the necessary conditions for learning (Schwartzman & Shwartzman, 2002; Dourado, 2007; Sguissardi, 2015). These strategies are applied in particular to higher education, which presents a higher degree of privatization and financialization. In this scenario,

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Table 2  Brazil: Largest franchising in modern international languages, by activity areas and number of companies 2018 Franchises

Activity areas

Number of companies

Wizard (Pearson) Fisk CCAA CNA Yázigi

Foreign languages Foreign languages mainly English and Spanish English and Spanish Basic education and foreign languages Foreign languages Foreign languages

1195 806 723 579 286

Uptime Idiomas In Flux

235 136

Fonte: Portal do Franchising (2021)

only those who can afford to pay have the possibility to improve themselves, another of the failures of educational democratization. In this, Brazil resembles other Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Peru (Cronquist & Fiszbein, 2017), where the challenge of democratization and inclusiveness of education suffers from analogous limitations. One of the most frequent allegations is “the lack of financial resources”, a simplistic statement that both hides inefficiencies in the application of existing funds and conceals the state’s inadequacies in allocating funds to education, science and technology. One of the liberal dogmas is the freedom for money allocation by decision-makers. As far as Brazil is concerned, the tax revenues earmarked for education have ensured more resources for education. The virtual extinction of such earmarking some years ago has contributed to the shrinking of resources, according to the literature and as inferred in Education at a Glance 2020 (OECD, 2021). Social sectors, including health and education, are often side-lined by decision-­ makers and advisors, particularly by economists to whom numerous politicians listen. Both groups share a common interest in having greater authority in distributing funds, often according to criteria related to the electoral calendar. As is often the case, private tutoring in Brazil and, to some extent, in Latin America, deserves the adjective shadow not only as a projection of the regular educational system, but also as a shadow in the field of research. Indeed, it is even difficult to estimate the size of the private tutoring market. That which is not official, formal, and easily identifiable, not included in statistics, is uncomfortable because it reveals the ills of the formal system, and therefore tends to hide, or be left, in the shadows.

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A Glimpse into Latin America Private tutoring is partly an enigma in Latin America, with a lack of research on the subject. Nevertheless, we can begin to pierce the veil due to the transnationality of companies offering franchises. We have surveyed the situation of three countries regarding the opportunities offered to investors: Argentina, Chile and Mexico and were able to pinpoint data referring to what appear to be the most frequent franchises (Table 3). The companies are ordered alphabetically since no data was available on relative market size or total enrolment. Given the number of franchises that have expanded into these countries, it is assumed that regular schooling, as is the case in Brazil, does not provide the desired proficiency in English. We may observe that the franchise networks dedicated to foreign languages focus primarily on children and professionals who need the English language and/or aspire to greater employability. Some research can be found in the three selected countries (e.g., Pozzo, 2009; Ramírez Romero et al., 2012; Rojas et al., 2013). However, their conclusions tend to be less critical than those that focus on the situation in Brazil. For Latin America as a region, it is known that private school students have achieved higher scores than public school students in comparative assessments in Language and Mathematics, since they have started being carried out systematically (Casassus, 2007). Even if the socioeconomic status of students and families were not considered in Casassus’s results, the evidence is that regular school has not been able to provide the instructions and resources for students to master the language skills in listening and reading comprehension, writing and speaking.

Table 3  Argentina, Chile and Mexico: some popular franchises in teaching English as an additional language Franchises

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Mexico

Berlitz Fisk Helen Doren Kumon Mortimer English Club Tell Me the Way Wall Street English Wiki Up

X X X X X X X X

X X

X X X X X ? X X

X X X X X X X X

X

X

Sources: Argentina—Franquicias de idiomas (2021). https://www.100franquicias.com. ar/franquicias/ensenanzaidiomas/; http://www.franquicias.com.ar/educacion2/; Chile— Franquicias de idiomas | Invierte en estos 9 negocios educativos (muchosnegociosrentables. com); México—Franquicias de Educación / Idiomas en México. (100franquicias.com.mx)

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Conclusion Brazil shows one more of its paradoxes: formal education and the corresponding teacher education hardly reach the desired effectiveness in the domain of international languages. In contrast, the non-formal sector, composed of parallel courses and private tutors offering their services autonomously tend to be effective. Nevertheless, extracurricular English courses in general do not have officially recognized certification, but they have the freedom to recruit teachers, even non-licensed ones and train them. Some of the courses’ networks look for young people who have English as their first language and do not have a Portuguese or Spanish accent, as advertisements in internet show (Marques, 2021). It is usual to find immigrant or even refugee teachers in courses such as educated people from India, Australia, Nigeria and other English-speaking countries, since those who have English as their first language are highly valued (anecdotical data). Besides the companies and franchises already listed, there is a vast array of teachers working independently, without being employed by any companies. Many of them are citizens from other countries who speak English, French, Spanish, Italian or German as their first language. They tend to promote themselves through word of mouth by their own students. These are also anecdotical facts since researchers cannot have access to fiscal data. Even in case of this possibility, the data would tend to be underestimated (Nascimento, 2007). In relation to middle and secondary schools (ISCED 2-3, 11–17 years of age), English teachers are often graduates from colleges of arts and humanities. As a strong trend, these programmes paradoxically emphasize complex grammar and literature, instead of speaking, understanding, reading and writing the language fluently (Lima, 2012). Private higher education institutions often dedicate lower resources to teacher education programmes since the cost per student is lower (they are labour intensive activities, seldom using laboratories) and the students are less demanding than in “hard” programmes. Several companies’ managers may see these courses as guaranteed means of earning fewer but more regular profits, vital for their businesses (Gomes & Palazzo, 2017). Particularly in teacher education programmes by private institutions networks, behaviourism is often the education psychology theoretical basis for tedious and endless repetitions and memorization exercises, either in classes or in learning materials especially produced for English language courses. In brief, the country and the continent present a hard obstacle course for the

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least privileged who would like to be proficient in an international language as a means to access jobs with better social status and higher pay. Brazil teaches us how difficult it is to offer quality education for all, in particular to more vulnerable population groups, one of the most important goals for 2020 in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Even France has been farther and farther from the Republican public schools, since there are multiple exceptions to the school map, besides other mechanisms in favour of free choice. School systems have been a political arena where favourable and opposite forces to privatization fight each other. The main lesson is the relevance of promoting a public quality school for all, particularly through improving teacher education. In contrast, professions in the social sectors have been in decline, despite early warnings. Remuneration, social prestige and working conditions have had expelling effects, instead of attracting personnel. The scenario described in this chapter shows that further research on the phenomenon of shadow education in Brazil is needed to better understand the intricate network of its influences on social dynamics, the equity in the distribution of cultural capital and the impact this has on the quality of life of populations. Furthermore, the multiple effects that shadow education has in terms of reinforcing the inequity of the structure and functioning of Brazilian society require public policies that scrutinize the phenomenon, determine its extent and moderate it through compensatory measures for more fragile populations. The market for shadow education would not disappear, but it would shrink significantly if there would be at least a free quality school for all, just the most important objective of the Sustainable Development Goal for education. Knowing that shadow education in Brazil plays such an important role in society and is a determinant for social mobility, as we have described in this piece of research, policy makers really need to be aware of the phenomenon and act upon it. Doing nothing will only increase the supply and demand for private tutoring, weaken the public education system and widen the already deep social divide. Recommended Texts Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.  C. (1970). La reproduction: Éléments pour une théorie du système d’enseignement. Minuit. This is a classical theorical work on the relations between education and social stratification. It has been translated into numerous languages.

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Ventura, A., & Gomes, C. (2013). Supplementary education in Brazil: Diversity and paradoxes. In Out of the shadows: The global intensification of supplementary education. International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 22 (pp.  129–151). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-­3679(2013)0000022006. This chapter contributes to improving knowledge on shadow education in Brazil, its causes and implications. This portrait of the Brazilian scenario enables comparative education purposes at regional and global levels. Gomes, C. A., & Palazzo, J. (2017). Teaching career’s attraction and rejection factors: Analysis of students and graduates perceptions in teacher education programs. Ensaio: Avaliação e Políticas Públicas em Educação, 25(94), 90–113. This is a research view on the lowering socioeconomic status of educators in Brazil and some policy implications. It detects education as an upward social mobility channel. Engagement Priorities 1. Can you identify a particular feature of English private tutoring in the Brazilian landscape when compared with global common trends regarding this phenomenon? 2. Globally, there is a consistent finding in research on private tutoring warning to its side effects exacerbating knowledge and social inequalities. Does this apply to what you have learned about the case of Brazil? 3. Is there any sign that English private tutoring may contribute to inefficiencies in the Brazilian education system? 4. Considering what you know now, what could be a very interesting topic of research regarding English private tutoring in Brazil?

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Palazzo, J., & Gomes, C.  A. (2012). Origens sociais dos futuros educadores: A democratização desigual da educação superior. Avaliação, 17(3), 877–898. Palazzo, J., Gomes, C. A., & Pimentel, G. S. R. (2016). La práctica em la formación de educadores en Brasil: Currículos fracturados. Revista Electrónica Interuniversitaria de Formación del Proado, 19(2), 45–58. Portal do Franchising. (2021). Franquias 2021. https://www.portaldofranchising.com.br/ Pozzo, M.  I. (2009). La enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras en Argentina. Diálogos Latinoamericanos, 15(2009), 1–25. Ramírez Romero, J.  L., Pamplón Irigoyen, E.  N., & Cota Gravala, S. (2012). Problemática de la enseñanza del inglés en las primarias públicas de México: Una primera lectura cualitativa. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación, 60(2), 1–13. Ribeiro, B. C., Kumatsu, B. K., & Menezes-Filho, N. (2020). Estimando os gastos privados com saúde e educação no Brasil. Insper. Policy-Paper-46.pdf (insper.edu.br) Rojas, D., Zapata, A., & Herrada, M. (2013). Enseñanza del inglés en los colegios municipales de Chile ¿Dónde estamos y hacia dónde vamos? Foro Educacional, 22, 95–108. Schwartzman, J., & Schwartzman, S. (2002). O ensino superior privado como setor econômico. Commissioned paper for the Economic and Social Development National Bank, 34 pp. Sguissardi, W. (2015). Educação superior no Brasil. Democratização ou massificação mercantil? Educação e Sociedade, 36(133), 867–888. Skidmore, T. E. (2003). Lévi-Strauss, Braudel and Brazil: A case of mutual influence. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 22(3), 340–349. Souza, M., & Góis, S. (2021). A marginalização do ensino de língua inglesa no Brasil e suas consequências para a comunidade escolar. Brazilian Journal of Development, 7(4), 35400–35416. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization  – UNESCO.  Institute of Statistics. (2011). International Standard Classification 2011. international-­standard-­classification-­of-­education-­isced-­2011-­en.pdf (unesco.org) World Bank. (2021). GDP per capita (current US$) – Brazil. GDP per capita (current US$) - Brazil | Data (worldbank.org).

The Role of English Private Tutoring for English Grades and Study Abroad Intent: The Case of Germany Steve R. Entrich and Mona Nishizaki

Introduction Ongoing globalization has put pressure on societies to foster higher levels of transnational human capital (THC), that is, intercultural skills and foreign language proficiency, among their future workers to cope with the new demands on the globalizing labor market. To achieve THC, in non-English-­ speaking societies such as Germany, English as the global lingua franca plays a vital role. The development of basic functional communicative and intercultural skills in English is not only becoming increasingly important in everyday life and at work (European Commission, 2012), but they are also a prerequisite to achieve advanced THC through participation in student exchanges or study abroad (Gerhards et al., 2017; Lörz & Krawietz, 2011). Because of this, the start of (compulsory) English Language Teaching (ELT) in Germany over the last few decades has been pushed further toward the beginning of school. Today, students in all 16 German federal states (Bundesländer) are required to

S. R. Entrich (*) University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria e-mail: [email protected] M. Nishizaki University of Genova, Genoa, Italy © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_9

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learn at least one foreign language in primary school. Eleven states start in third grade, while the other five Bundesländer start from grade one. In 12 Bundesländer English is mandatory as the first foreign language (Kultusministerkonferenz, 2013). In addition, merit-based scholarship programs to increase international student mobility (ISM) at the secondary and tertiary education levels (such as the European Union [EU]-wide operating scholarship program ERASMUS, a student exchange program funded by the EU enabling students to study abroad at a university within the 33 EU countries for a period of 3–12 months) became more prominent (Gerhards et al., 2017; Netz & Finger, 2016). Parallel to this development in mainstream education, a rising demand for private tutoring was observed in Germany, with English being the second most tutored subject after Mathematics (Dohmen et al., 2008; Entrich & Lauterbach, 2020). Despite the major implications of English Private Tutoring (EPT) for students’ THC in the form of English proficiency, which clearly affects students’ motivation to pursue a stay abroad (Lörz et al., 2016), the effects of EPT for THC acquisition have rarely been addressed in past research. Drawing on findings from prior research in ELT and private tutoring, this chapter critically discusses the role of EPT for English school grades and study abroad intent at the secondary school level in Germany. It first highlights the growing importance of English as an academic subject and a lingua franca in the German context, and illustrates the rise of EPT. It then discusses the implications of EPT for academic success and students’ study abroad intent, also considering the role of gender on these EPT outcomes. The chapter concludes with implications for ELT and policy development and directions for further research.

 he Growing Importance of English T as an Academic Subject and a Lingua Franca In Germany, as in other countries where English is the dominant foreign language, most learners first come into contact with English within the school system. In 2005 the European Council put forth a strategy to foster multilingualism in all its member states by enabling young learners to study at least two foreign languages in school (Kultusministerkonferenz, 2011). Another key development of the EU’s language policy is the so-called Common European Framework of References (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2022). The CEFR describes language competencies and standards for learners of all foreign languages and has informed a major paradigm shift in German foreign

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language teaching. In accordance with the CEFR, the German Conference of the Ministers of Education of all 16 Bundesländer (Kultusministerkonferenz, KMK) has defined language standard in terms of competencies. Highlighting functional communicative competence and intercultural competence, the KMK has developed educational standards for foreign languages that were defined in terms of knowledge, ability, and attitudes (Kultusministerkonferenz, 2012). In that sense, functional communicative competence encompasses reception and production of language alongside interpretation tasks, while intercultural competence describes orientational knowledge about different cultures, the ability to deal with cultural differences, recognizing stereotypes and cultural peculiarities, the ability to switch cultural perspective, and, from this, the development of strategies and knowledge to successfully handle intercultural exchanges (Kultusministerkonferenz, 2012). To foster THC, the Bundesländer have started mandatory foreign language instruction from primary school, which generally runs from the first to fourth grades. Traditionally, students had the choice to enter one of three secondary school types of different length and curriculum: Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. The latter leads to the Abitur (12 or 13 years), the highest secondary school degree, which provides students with the opportunity to enter university and a more academically oriented curriculum, including a strong emphasis on science and languages. Real- and Hauptschule have a stronger focus on preparing students on entering the dual vocational training system after 10 or 9 years of schooling, respectively (Weiss & Schindler, 2017). However, following a series of massive reforms, between 2000 and 2015 the percentage of students achieving the Abitur increased from 37.3% to 53.9% (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2019). Today, most German students learn two foreign languages during compulsory schooling, with the second foreign language being introduced from sixth grade onward, and a third foreign language offered from eighth grade, especially when attending the Gymnasium. In addition, a growing number of Gymnasium students take part in student exchanges abroad typically in 11th grade and, through this, advance their English skills to a higher level, making the basic English learned at school a prerequisite for study abroad during school and beyond (Gerhards & Hans, 2013; Hübner et al., 2021). In sum, close to seven million German students studied English in school year 2019/2020 (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2021). The heightened importance of English proficiency and THC is even more visible at the tertiary education level. English is not only becoming more important to gain access to specific study programs; it is essential across all subjects to be able to keep up with research findings and teaching materials increasingly displayed in English. Furthermore, within Europe, there has been

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a ten-times increase in English Medium Instruction (EMI) master’s programs since the start of the century, among which Germany offers the second highest number of EMI programs (Brenn-White & Faethe, 2013). These programs not only attract many international students but also appeal to Germans who wish to pursue a more global education. Especially prominent and widely used to acquire transnational skills are student exchange programs at the upper secondary school level and study abroad (e.g., through the largest of its kind and EU-wide operating ERASMUS program) at the tertiary education level, where the proportion of students studying abroad tripled since the early 1990s (1991: 34,000 = 2%; 2016: 137,300 = 5.8%; Statistisches Bundesamt, 2017). Here, too, English plays an essential role as lingua franca, as stays abroad are usually not feasible without sufficient knowledge of English (Lörz & Krawietz, 2011; Lörz et al., 2016; Netz & Finger, 2016). The dominant status of English in Germany’s foreign language classrooms reflects the use of English as the global lingua franca within Europe and beyond. As such, English functions as a contact language, with the majority of English use occurring between non-native speakers (Syrbe & Rose, 2018). As a communication tool, English is used in a variety of domains such as the media, the internet, conversations with friends, and at work, and it is the most dominant foreign language in 19 EU member states, including Germany. When it comes to language attitudes, 47% of Germans reported the main advantage of learning a foreign language is to work in another country (64%) or to use at work (66%) (European Commission, 2012). Today, companies increasingly screen their potential employees according to whether they possess THC in the form of foreign (esp. English) language proficiency and transnational experiences (such as study abroad), which signal high flexibility and additional functional communicative and intercultural competences (Di Pietro, 2020; Lörz & Krawietz, 2011). Higher English proficiency thus significantly increases the probability of being employed in Germany—especially for women (Gazzola & Mazzacani, 2019).

The Rise of English Private Tutoring The value of THC as a status-setting investment is increasingly recognized (Netz & Finger, 2016). Hence, socioeconomic selectivity in (English) private tutoring (Entrich, 2020; Yung, 2020) and study abroad (Entrich & Fujihara, 2022; Gerhards & Hans, 2013; Netz et al., 2020) is well-known. It appears that especially transnational elites seek the best (English) support for their children to prepare them for more advanced forms of THC such as study

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abroad at university. And since national and international scholarships such as ERASMUS are—with the exception of the needs-based BAföG—generally merit-based, that is, awarded based on prior performances, especially in English (Netz & Finger, 2016), sufficient English skills are vital (Lörz et al., 2016). In fact, a language proficiency test is mandatory for all who wish to apply to study abroad via the Erasmus program (European Commission, 2022). Hence, the rise in English private tutoring (EPT) participation in Germany seems to be connected to the gradual transformation and institutionalization of THC as a new form of valued cultural capital (Igarashi & Saito, 2014). Private tutoring (Nachhilfe) in Germany has a long tradition and experienced a strong growth over recent decades. An estimated 1.2 million students annually receive tutoring of different sort (Klemm & Hollenbach-Biele, 2016)—often in one of the approximately 4500 Nachhilfe schools (Birkelbach et al., 2017). Between 2000 and 2010 the proportion of 17-year-olds who at some point received paid private tutoring rose from approximately 27% to 46% and stayed at a comparable level ever since (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2019). It is expectable that the annual profits of approximately 879 million Euros (school year 2014/2015) will strongly increase due to recent policies to cope with problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the recently adopted “Catching up after Corona” action program, EUR 1 billion is made available for private tutoring in 2021 and 2022 in order to reduce learning backlogs caused by the pandemic.

 nglish Private Tutoring for Academic Success E and Study Abroad Intent In Germany, underperformance in the core academic subjects (German, Mathematics, and English) is the main motive for SE attendance. Evidence suggests that private tutoring at the lower secondary level is primarily used by low-performing children, often from disadvantaged family backgrounds, trying to keep up in school and avoid dropping out before reaching the middle school diploma in tenth grade (Dohmen et al., 2008; Entrich & Lauterbach, 2019, 2020, 2021b). Following Mathematics, English is the most tutored subject in secondary schools in Germany (Dohmen et al., 2008). A limitation in past research is that it did not examine tutoring or EPT at the upper secondary schooling level but largely concentrated on the transition from primary to secondary school and participation at the end of lower secondary

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school. It is less clear whether EPT from grade 11 onward remains used by low-performing students for compensatory purposes (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2019) or whether it follows international trends to prepare for university entrance and attain THC, especially in the form of enhanced chances of studying abroad (Entrich, 2019; Entrich & Byun, 2021). In particular, students from advantaged backgrounds should be more likely to obtain EPT under these circumstances. In this regard, moving beyond learner characteristics, a learners’ socioeconomic and cultural background may further determine academic success and achievement in the German school system, because children can receive very different learning support at home and elsewhere depending on their parental background (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2019). Even though EPT is a significant part of the tutoring industry and holds implications for students’ English proficiency levels and possibly their functional communicative and intercultural competences as a prerequisite for international student mobility, there is but one study on study abroad uptake at school controlling for English-related tutoring of sorts in the German context (Hübner et al., 2021). The main reason for EPT as well as key criterion in evaluating its success and usefulness is the improvement of grades. Better grades, assumed to represent students’ academic achievements, are seen as indicative of increased learning and thus increased English proficiency level. More so, higher grades provide an advantage for students competing in the labor market and aiming for higher education (Haag & Streber, 2018). Even though it was clearly shown that English grades affect study abroad intent and uptake at school and university (Gerhards & Hans, 2013; Hübner et al., 2021; Lörz & Krawietz, 2011; Lörz et al., 2016), it remains unclear whether EPT contributes to this equation. There are many factors that determine students’ learning and their academic success in terms of grades. Brühwiler and Helmke (2018) name learners’ previous level of knowledge and performance as the clearest determinants in predicting students’ success in any subject. Learning success and achievement are further determined by students’ ability to develop and maintain motivation throughout the learning process by regulating their affective factors, their learner strategies and learning styles, as well as working styles of students. If we consider EPT effective to the extent that students improve their grades, we can assume that EPT can positively affect one or more of these determinants. EPT with regard to the learners’ prior knowledge, their volitional, and their motivational-affective characteristics is especially worth investigating. Research has shown the crucial importance of learning strategies in terms of their ability to structure, plan, and carry out their own learning in a

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self-­regulated process for academic success (Wild, 2018). This ability for introspection and self-evaluation of the learning process with the aim to optimize learning strategies should be essential to attain higher grades (Wild, 2018). Homework, for instance, is effective to the extent that it supports learners to reflect on the strategies they employed and their thought processes (Mischo & Haag, 2018). EPT offers an opportunity for learners to receive individualized attention and extra time to engage with the subject matter (Dohmen et al., 2008), albeit it remains unclear whether tutored students actually spend more time learning than their non-tutored peers spending their time learning at home (Guill et al., 2020). By closing knowledge gaps, learners can increase their learning and more easily connect their new knowledge. Another area in which learner strategies are decisive is the emotional and motivational level of the students (Mandl & Friedrich, 2006). Studies have shown that a positive self-concept and a high degree of self-efficacy positively influence grades (Köller & Möller, 2018). Likewise, students who achieve higher grades also experience higher levels of self-efficacy and a stronger self-­ concept. In other words, students who envision themselves as speaking English successfully and performing well (or simply better) in school and believe they have the necessary tools and ability to do so also perform better in terms of grades. Past international research found positive effects of tutoring on grades and educational placement in countries where the education system offers concrete incentives for high-performing students to achieve competitive advantages (Buchmann et al., 2010; Entrich, 2020; Entrich & Lauterbach, 2021a; Ha & Park, 2017)—where central transition points are characterized by high-­ stakes examinations, for example. Studies also dealing with EPT are rare but indicate similar positive outcomes in these countries (see introductory chapter by Yung and Hajar in this volume). For Germany, past studies based on large-­ scale sophisticated longitudinal data report no global effects of private tutoring on grades (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2021b; Guill et al., 2020; Luplow & Schneider, 2014; Ömeroğulları et al., 2020) or educational placement (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2021b). The few studies that found positive effects are based on rather small samples and lack reliability and generalizability (e.g., Hosenfeld, 2011), but indicate that tutored students may indeed improve their performance—but not enough to catch up to their average or high-­ performing peers. But again, no studies cover students beyond tenth grade. Hence, our understanding of the efficiency of EPT is vague at best. Our limited understanding of the efficiency of EPT is not only due to a lack of research but mainly due to the complexity of the issue (Haag & Streber,

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2018). Shintani et al. (2013) highlight the relevance of ample opportunity for the production of language, specifically in later stages of the learning process. That is, tutoring needs to provide opportunities for learners to speak English to be successful. Therefore, there is a high probability that the real effects of EPT will only show after successful use. The duration and intensity of the application of English then determine the level of learning success and ultimately the proficiency in English. It is highly likely that learning success in EPT lessons positively influences English proficiency and the students’ confidence to use English as a lingua franca in overseas education contexts. Furthermore, the above findings imply that a higher level of self-confidence in English supported by EPT motivates students to use the acquired language skills outside of school in an everyday context. A strong self-concept as a successful English user should affect students’ belief in their ability to successfully follow transnational avenues in English learning and thus motivate them to do so. In particular, study abroad is considered one of the most efficient ways of acquiring functional communicative English and intercultural competences (Gerhards et al., 2017). Hence, EPT may affect the students’ transnational motivations and goals. Students experiencing learning gains and self-confidence in English through EPT should be more likely to realize new opportunities through enhanced proficiency of English as a lingua franca, which opens up new possibilities to travel the world and study abroad. An interesting aspect worth discussing is the difference in the outcomes of EPT between genders. Past evidence on gender disparities in educational attainment in Germany verified that girls show higher school performance in English (Lühe et al., 2017), more often achieve the highest formal school degree available in Germany, the Abitur (2015: 58.6% girls; 49.4% boys), enter universities more frequently (2015: 60.5% girls; 56.1% boys; data based on Entrich & Lauterbach, 2020), more often intend to (and actually participate in) study abroad at university (Di Pietro, 2021; Netz et al., 2020; Salisbury et al., 2010), while being more likely to pursue EPT if they show below-average grades in English (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2020) than boys. Theoretically, this can be explained through stereotypically gendered upbringing and socialization experiences that influence students’ interests, behaviors, and motivations, and affect their subject-specific performance and educational progress (Entrich & Lauterbach, 2020; Lühe et al., 2017). Hence, girls tend to perform better in languages, while boys show higher performance in mathematics, for example. The girls’ higher interest and performance in foreign languages should influence both their motivation for EPT and study abroad. Whether girls show higher or lower motivation to study abroad

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should depend on the general effectiveness of EPT to improve English performance and to bolster their self-confidence in English.

Implications and Directions for Further Research Based on our critical analysis of existing research in the German context, it appears that EPT may not significantly promote the students’ motivation for study abroad due to a lack of effective improvement of English performance and related self-concept. However, it is worth asking whether there is a positive correlation between EPT experience and study abroad motivation under certain conditions and, in particular, in other national contexts. Further international research should investigate the correlation between EPT and study abroad motivation of average and high-performing students. A potential implication for ELT in the shadow education sector is that tutors may include more elements that inspire tutees to explore cultures of other countries, with an aim to enhance their study abroad intent. A possible means is to focus on teaching English as a lingua franca rather than solely on achieving academic success (i.e., being highly exam-oriented). Tutors may therefore need to create an English-rich classroom that facilitates the use of English for authentic communication. Considering our assumption of EPT to affect one or more of the previously discussed determinants of successful learning and thus lead to improved grades, EPT has the potential to improve students’ academic achievement measured as mean grades in English. In this regard, looking at the upper secondary schooling level in Germany may be fruitful, since it opens up new avenues of inquiry. Specifically, we do not know the mechanics of how exactly EPT can positively affect learning strategies, students’ self-motivation, and their ability to reflect on their learning. We also do not know yet which of these determinants is affected by EPT and to what extent. This requires further research and in-depth study focusing on one determinant at a time. Such findings can offer tutors pedagogical implications regarding what metacognitive strategies they may introduce to their students to monitor their own process of learning. Furthermore, while the effects of EPT may be greater in other national contexts with more incentives for high-achieving students to pursue EPT (e.g., English as a core subject in university entrance examinations), the gradually increasing value of THC across the globe and the concomitant increasing enrolment in study abroad programs in Germany may induce more incentives for EPT of better performing students. This may, however,

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exacerbate inequality in EPT and study abroad further in Germany as well as other contexts. An implication is for policymakers to consider the educational advantages of wealthier and better performing students through their employment of EPT and how the disadvantages experienced by their counterparts from lower-income families and with lower academic performance can be compensated through other means. Another meaningful aspect for discussion is that the impact of prior grades on EPT use may be lower than expected. It is worth exploring whether there are differences in the effects of the students’ performance level on EPT attendance at the upper secondary schooling level compared to past findings on primary and lower secondary schools in Germany. Even in the German context there may yet exist avenues for well-performing students to make use of EPT (and possibly other forms of tutoring) to increase their human capital with regard to tertiary education and/or subsequent labor market outcomes. Lastly, what warrants further investigation is the potential gender gap in EPT use and its outcomes, and students’ dependency on EPT once EPT has been used. While the latter is in line with previous findings (Entrich, 2018), gender-based differences in language learning and study abroad experiences lead us to expect a different outcome of the former. If EPT actually encourages female students to study abroad, major implications for gender-specific inequalities in educational attainment are the result. This can be especially interesting as other research shows that female students are generally overrepresented in study abroad programs and are more likely to pursue such opportunities. Discussing a number of factors that determine female students’ motivation to study abroad, Van Mol (2022) highlights maternal education levels as particularly important in the Dutch context. It is particularly interesting that Cordua and Netz (2022) note a similar trend in German students, wherein they found early development of language skills the determining factor for the overrepresentation of female students in study abroad contexts. The cross-country study of Di Pietro (2021) further supports the importance of field of study and overall academic performance in intent to study abroad. Considering this, the question about what may cause the differences in the German context requires further investigation with a specific focus on the importance of overall academic performance. At the same time, the role of EPT for gender differences in academic performance and study abroad should be focused in future international studies. In fact, contrast, past research showed a high impact of English skills and a higher likelihood of girls to develop the intent to and actually pursue study abroad (Lörz & Krawietz, 2011; Lörz et al., 2016; Netz et al., 2020). Therefore, the question as to how and in what capacity EPT plays a role in this needs to

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be investigated in more detail. To achieve more clarity on this issue, it would be important to understand whether or not male EPT students’ motivation to study abroad is lower, whether they feel competent enough to engage in overseas studies is unclear due to their EPT status, or whether there is a socioeconomic element responsible requires investigation. Against the background of the known SES-specific differences in (transnational) upbringing and academic achievement (Becker & Lauterbach, 2016; Igarashi & Saito, 2014), any negative association between EPT and study abroad intent very likely rather strengthens the boys’ socioeconomic gap in study abroad uptake instead of reducing it. Hence, the extent to which EPT actually plays a role in developing or deterring male students’ motivation and perceived competence deserves further attention. In sum, the analysis in this study contributes to our knowledge on the possible role of EPT beyond the German context in several ways. Even though the analysis may not have provided support for all our theoretical thoughts, the German national education system and its specifics may account for these unexpected outcomes to some degree. Henceforth, the heterogeneity of EPT recipients needs to be taken into consideration to fuller extent in order to get a better understanding about the motivations to pursue EPT and its possible effects for individual educational pathways. Furthermore, the heightened importance of English as lingua franca is not specific to the German case but an international trend. Similar national policy reactions to ongoing globalization can be observed across Europe, Asia, and the world, strengthening the role of English across the globe. Shadowing this development, the significance of private tutoring in English will only be enhanced. It is thus important to explore new avenues and connect different lines of research to fully understand the implications of this international trend development. To date, only exceptional studies considered EPT as a route to prepare for more international pathways (e.g., through study abroad) by enhancing the attainment of THC (Entrich, 2019; Entrich & Byun, 2021; Hübner et al., 2021). Hence, more detailed analyses considering non-­ academic outcomes of EPT such as motivation to learn English, study abroad uptake, the choice of transnational study programs (e.g., double degree Bachelors or Masters), and subsequent professional careers are required. Recommended Texts Entrich, S. R., & Lauterbach, W. (2020). Gender- and SES-Specific Disparities in Shadow Education: Compensation for Boys, Status Upgrade for Girls? Evidence from the German LifE Study. Orbis Scholae, 14(2), 13–38. https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2020.10

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For the first time theoretically conceptualizes and empirically examines the role of socioeconomic background and gender and their intersection as motivators for pursuing private tutoring in the German context. Gerhards, J., & Hans, S. (2013). Transnational Human Capital, Education, and Social Inequality. Analyses of International Student Exchange. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 42(2), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1515/ zfsoz-­2013-­0203 This article discusses the increasing importance of transnational human capital in the German context focusing on factors underlying German upper secondary school students’ likelihood of studying abroad. Guill, K., Lüdtke, O., & Köller, O. (2020). Assessing the instructional quality of private tutoring and its effects on student outcomes: Analyses from the German National Educational Panel Study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 282–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12281 This article uses the database of National Education Panel Study for German secondary students. The authors deliver first empirical findings on the question how instructional quality of private tutoring in Mathematics, German, and English may affect students’ grades. Syrbe, M., & Rose, H. (2018). An evaluation of the global orientation of English textbooks in Germany. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 12(2), 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2015.1120736 This study well evaluates English teaching materials in the German context, discussing how the current practice of English language Teaching in Germany relates to English becoming a lingua franca for German students. Engagement Priorities • How effective and relevant is EPT for English grades, study abroad, and transnational pathways of students considering the presented findings? • How can we tackle the gender gap in ELT, EPT, and study abroad? • How can we ensure equal access to EPT for all students? • How can we ensure equal access to study abroad opportunities for all students?

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Tutors’ Perspectives of English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications Noemi Rámila Díaz

Introduction Shadow education—the academic term for private tutoring (PT)—refers to “courses given for a fee, outside school hours, in the academic subjects that pupils learn at school” (Glasman & Besson, 2004, p. 53). Although reports on PT are scarce in France, the results of a national survey of 29,502 collège students by Galinié and Heim (2016) showed that 10% of the students in 6ème (11–12-year-olds) and 20% in 5ème (12–14-year-olds) take PT. In France, an important part of the national budget is allocated to tutoring, as there is a 50% tax reduction for some activities which include PT. According to the Xerfi 1 report of 2017, France had become the country with the most lucrative PT market in Europe and, financially, the third most important country in the world for private lessons. PT businesses have grown in part due to the 50% tax reduction for the employment of home-based staff implemented in 1991 with the objective of eliminating the black market, including in tutoring activities. In 2005, the Borloo law was implemented, and the Personal Services Development Plan launched, whose most important measures were a reduction in the social security contributions of individual  Xerfi is an independent economic institute, which offers analysis and reports on many sectors, among them, PT. 1

N. Rámila Díaz (*) Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_10

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employers. There was total exemption from social security contributions by employers, where employee earnings were under 1839 euros per year, per employee, a 5.5% VAT rate for personal services. Furthermore, in 2020, the French government extended this benefit to online services, which include online PT. As a result of these benefits, tutoring company activity has been growing at an average of more than 5% per year since 2013 (Xerfi, 2021). However, according to Xerfi (2021), this trend seems to have slowed in 2020 because of the pandemic situation. By contrast, according to Ruelle Megrelis, manager in France of the Helen Doron franchise that offers English courses, the number of customers increased by 60% between September 2020 and September 2021 (Monier, 2022). The customers of companies offering English courses can be divided into two categories. Some companies target an adult audience and tend to specialize in business English. On the other hand, there are companies that offer courses for children due to the development of English in France (Rámila Díaz, 2020). At compulsory education level, English is the most studied foreign language: 93% of secondary students and 94% of high school students follow English as a foreign language courses at school (Halimi, 2012). Given this market-based scenario, the figure of the English tutor seems little studied. In France, few studies have examined the perceptions of English language tutors of the nature and effectiveness of PT (Rámila Díaz, 2016). The present qualitative study aims to fill the gap by offering an analysis of the qualifications, experience, and professional lives of six private tutors of English. The interviews illuminate a profession that is not fully understood by uncovering the challenges these tutors face in their daily lives as well as their dual identity as teachers and tutors. This study posed the following research questions: • • • •

What are the tutors’ perspectives of their identity? What is their view of teaching English as a career? How do tutors describe their daily professional lives? What is the role of the native English speaker in this particular market scenario?

PT is very complex as it encompasses educational, economic, and even ethical aspects (Kobakhidze, 2018). The present study focuses on PT as a social phenomenon and on English as a second language concerns, such as English language tutors’ professional lives, points of view, and identity. To

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answer the research questions and given the hybrid nature of this study, first I discuss the few studies that have focused on tutors, particularly in France, then Bourdieu’s theory of capital before giving a brief account of the terms native English speaker (NES) and non-native English speaker (NNES).

Theoretical Background Who Are the Tutors? Tutors’ perspectives have been examined by various authors. Popa and Acedo (2006) in Romania explored teacher’s professionalism and views of tutoring to discover how high school teachers’ engagement with tutoring helped them to develop a better professional identity and also re-establish their authority as teachers. Kobakhidze (2014) studied corruption risks, dual identity as teachers and tutors, and moral dilemmas in post-Soviet Georgia. More recently, Kobakhidze (2018) focused on teachers’ professionalism, professional beliefs and views of morality, and corrupted practices. Yung and Yuan (2018) investigated tutor identity as portrayed in the websites of 41 English language tutors. They identified three overlapping identities (authoritative exam expert, star performer tutor, and highly qualified English language teacher) which collapsed into a hybrid “exam expert-star-teacher” identity. Also, in Xiong et al. (2022) English language tutors in China demonstrated a hybrid identity as exam experts, salespeople, and “underdogs.” Moreover, Bray (2022) took a historical and comparative point of view to highlight the blurred lines between the terms teacher and tutor all round the world. However, in France, not many studies have focused on private tutors of English (Rámila Díaz, 2016), as authors (Galinié & Heim, 2016) have mainly analysed PT from the point of view of students, with scant attention to tutors. According to Rosenwald’s survey (2006), 28% of 16–18-year-olds’ private lessons were taught by a private tutor working as a freelancer; 31% of lessons were given by a tutor from a private enterprise; 18% by university students, and 6% by regular teachers outside work hours. At collège level, freelance private tutors were the most common (38%), 32% were university students, 18% were private tutors working for an enterprise, and 4% were regular teachers (Rosenwald, 2006). The Hetzel report (2007) found tutors were often university students or regular teachers. For example, in Acadomia and Complétude (tutorial companies) only 20% and 6% respectively of their tutors were regular teachers, and the bulk of tutors were students with a

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BAC+3 level (first 3 years leading to a Licence or BA). In contrast, in Cours Legendre, 90% of the tutors were regular teachers working afterhours. All the tutors in Rámila Díaz’s (2016) study of an English PT company were depicted as NES, the few of them with a good command of French acted as mediators between French managers, English language tutors, and students’ parents. Regarding tutors’ salaries, in the present study, parents paid about 495€ per year (or 16.5€ per hour) plus a registration fee for every child, while the tutors received 14€ gross per hour per class of 10–15 children. Over the years, prices have not increased, but on the contrary, in 2020 because of the pandemic situation, some companies decided to lower their prices and even offered free lessons to avoid customers cancelling their services (Xerfi, 2021).

Bourdieu’s Capital Theory Bourdieu used the term “capital” as a metaphorical interpretation of individuals’ social resources. These are classified into three sub-types of capital. The first is economic capital (a person’s income and wealth); The second is cultural capital, which can take three forms: embodied resources, or dispositions learned during the socialization process and implemented through different activities (know-how, skills, consumption of cultural goods, language exchanges at school, etc.); objectified resources (ownership of cultural objects); and institutionalized resources (such as diplomas awarded by educational institutions). The third is social capital, which refers to social networks. Finally, symbolic capital refers to the three sub-types of capital together. According to Bourdieu, there is a type of capital specific to each social field that determines the structure of the field and the power struggles at stake. All types of capital are expressed through linguistic capital, which is only one dimension (Bourdieu, 1991). Bourdieu also developed the concept of linguistic market, according to which language varieties have a value depending on the languages present in a given context. In France, English can be seen as cultural capital for students, but also as linguistic, cultural, and symbolic capital for their tutors. As mentioned, English not only has become an asset to help students enter the best universities but is also a valuable resource for career development (Rámila Díaz, 2020).

Native vs. Non-native English-Speaking Teachers In linguistics, for authors such as Paikeday (1985) or Moussu and Llurda (2008), generative linguistics has contributed to the perception of the native

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speaker as an unattainable entity, not only for linguists but also for learners. Paikeday (1985, p. 87) challenged the linguistic dichotomy as valuing “native speakers” at the expense of “non-native speakers.” According to Paikeday (1985), the main problem is attributing language competence only to native speakers and assuming this competence amounts to professional skills. Holliday (2006) calls the alleged superiority of the native speaker/teacher, native-speakerism, which he thinks in terms of power. Recently Levis et al. (2016) have demonstrated that students’ improvement on pronunciation was the same when taught by an NES teacher than by an NNES teacher. However, as Kumaravadivelu (2016) discusses, inequalities at hiring continue to exist. According to the study by Tatar (2019) on the employment criteria used by school administrators, although NNES teachers were employed following their teaching training, this was not the case for NES teachers. In France, in the case of English language teachers, this view is common (Castellotti, 2011). According to Castellotti (2011), many people see NES as a “guarantee of effectiveness.” As other authors have demonstrated, companies use this common misconception to hire only NES teachers (Rámila Díaz, 2016). However, although research in higher education shows that students prefer NES to teach culture and pronunciation, they seem to prefer a team of NES and NNES teachers in class (Rámila Díaz, 2015).

Methodology The present study was guided by Grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) that focuses on a specific social phenomenon in a systematic way. Also, the researcher does not form a hypothesis before the research has been carried out but lets the process and the “theorisation” (the concepts and categories) emerge during research. In this methodology, the researcher should recognize the biases they bring to the study (Charmaz, 2007). Therefore, since I have worked as a tutor of English in Paris, under similar work conditions to the participants in the study, I may bring biases but also, as Kobakhidze (2018) points out, I bring deeper knowledge of the context and the different concerns. In addition, my identity as a tutor helped me collect data. I used NVivo to analyse the data.

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Data and Results The current research took place in one medium-sized enterprise that offers English PT to children and teenagers in Paris. For this study, the researcher interviewed six English private tutors referred to by the pseudonyms Linda, Marcia, Peter, Heidy, Nina, and Emily. Each semi-structured interview lasted about 45–60 minutes and took place in Paris between January 2017 and January 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic. With the participants’ permission, all the interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. The participants were young adults aged between 24 and 29. They all had a BA or a master’s degree in different fields. Table 1 gives some social demographic variables regarding the participants as well as information about their level of education and previous teaching experience. The company had 28 employees, 22 were tutors and 6 were administrative staff, including the company’s managers. Tutors can work just as tutors, or they can have an additional role of coordinator, acting as a bridge between parents and tutors, and also between tutors and administrative staff. Of the 22 tutors, 20 are women, most young (between 23 and 30), with two exceptions (a 40-year-old and a 58-year-old). The company website and flyers described the tutors as NES, and indeed 20 of them are NES. Administrative staff as well as managers were French. The lessons can be in the company centres, located all around Paris, at-­ home private tuition, by phone, online lessons, and in school after hours. The Table 1  Demographic data of the participants Tutors Age Sex Origin

Education

Previous teaching experience

Interview duration

Marcia 26

F

MA in Music

No

49′

Linda

26

F

New Zealand Scotland

MA in European Studies

60′

Peter Heidy

27 29

M F

Australia Austria

BA in Acting MBA, Graphic Design

Nina

29

F

Emily

24

F

Italy-­ America England

PhD in Anthropology BA in Applied Linguistics

Yes, as a baby-­ sitter (informal context) No Yes, as a German language tutor (informal context) No Yes, as an English language assistant (formal context)

53′

57′ 54′

45′

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age of the students ranges from 3 to 16, being grouped by age. Parents are mostly French, and few of them are NESs. Lessons take place once a week and last one hour.

Analysis and Results The following sections concern (1) the participants’ first experience as tutors, (2) views of the difference between being a tutor or a teacher, (3) considerations about their daily timetables and pay, and (4) reflections on being an NES/NNES tutor in this particular context.

First Experience as Tutor of English For three participants (Linda, Heidy, and Emily) this was not their first teaching experience. When I asked Linda about her first experience as an English tutor, she recalled previous work as a baby-sitter when she helped children with their English schoolwork. This involved explaining vocabulary or correcting grammatical structures in English. In addition, Linda’s previous experience came from the fact that she was the eldest of a large family and, hence, was used to being around children. Indeed, for Linda her relationship with the students ranged from the role of a big sister to a friend. She stated: Extract 1 […] with the younger ones, with the little ones, I try to be more like the big sister […] and with the older ones […], I can allow myself to be more of a friend to them. In fact, for Linda, the role of tutor was related to discipline: the more the children needed discipline, the more the formal role of a tutor came to the forefront and the less she felt like a friend or a big sister. For Emily as well, discipline was an issue in her tutoring, but from a quite different perspective. Her first experience was as a language assistant in Spain, “[In Spain] I was used to speaking to teenagers and adults and now the problem is the discipline and all that.” As Emily stated, her first experience was with teenagers with whom she could have a conversation. In contrast, now, when she teaches English to children, she does not know how to handle discipline problems. In addition, she complained that when she joined the company, she was not given appropriate training:

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Extract 2 We had two days of training but actually, it was just to present the company […] definitely, [training] it’s very important as I had never taught children before. As Emily highlighted, even for experienced tutors, training is very important, not only because of the language level of the learners, but also because depending on their age, learners may have different needs. Moreover, three other participants (Nina, Marcia, and Peter) with no previous experience as tutors also regretted their lack of training, as can be seen from Peter’s interview: Extract 3 Because I was a last-minute replacement, I think I still haven’t been trained. So, my knowledge is only what I have picked up from speaking to the boss and from reading stuff on the website or things like that. As can be inferred from Peter’s words, his lack of training means he has no clear methodology, even though he tried to train himself informally. Therefore, experienced tutors as well as tutors without previous experience described proper training to teach English to children as being very important, especially since they did not know how to handle discipline in class, or they had no background in teaching. Contrary to what the participants in Kobakhidze’s (2018) study stressed, tutors in the present study perceived their role as more related to discipline than guiding the students. Marcia expanded this point and offered an explanation: Extract 4 I think they [the managers] just presumed that we were all experienced teachers and we knew what to do. Of course it was very briefly mentioned that we kind of had a classroom structure and so on. But yeah, I didn’t, I can honestly say that I didn’t receive any training. As can be seen, for Marcia, the company assumed that the new employees were experienced tutors and offered no training. As she further elaborated, the company advertised teachers as being NES, “I dislike the misleading, if I can say, publicity, of it […] is not quite the reality,” but little attention was paid to their skills and competences as teachers (Castellotti, 2011; Holliday, 2006; Paikeday, 1985).

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Tutor or Teacher? Labelling seems to be a very important issue when it comes to tutors’ identity (Bray, 2022; Kobakhidze, 2018). In this company, tutors are called animateur/ animatrice, which is a French term to describe a tutor not necessarily having teaching credentials. In this case, when asked to define their identity, all the tutors answered that they preferred the term teacher to tutor. Indeed, even Linda, despite thinking of her relationship with students in terms of sister or friend, stated that she preferred to be called teacher. Extract 5 exemplifies this point: Extract 5 I prefer to be called ‘English teacher’, because I think that animatrice gives a little bit of a summer vacation feel. Also, I think that what we are asked to do is a little bit more and since I have already taught in a private school for the company, I can consider myself a teacher. So that’s it. As Linda points out, the term animatrice denotes a kind of “summer vacation” experience rather than language learning. Besides, for Linda, the place where the classes take place is also a source of legitimacy: as she works in a school after hours for the company, she finds the term English teacher more appropriate. Nina stated clearly that her purpose is to teach something, “I have a pedagogical role,” and not just have fun with the students. Indeed, this statement is in tune with her purpose in life as she is a PhD student, to become a professor in the future. Emily shares a similar goal as she wants to become a teacher of Spanish in England. Moreover, also for Heidy, who has no intention of becoming a teacher, the term animatrice seems inappropriate: Extract 6 Oh, I definitely define myself as a teacher, yes. An animatrice for me it would mean like, I don’t know, playing around, have no pedagogy behind, it’s like, being a kind of babysitter, hanging out with the children, and that’s not what this is about […]. And if I do commit to teach, no matter if it’s English or German, I know that I accept the fact that people pay for this and they should receive something for their money. Heidy brings to the fore that parents have to pay for her work, which she thinks is more of that of a baby-sitter. Thus, she commits to teaching English,

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raising ethical concerns about her job. This finding resonates with Kobakhidze’s (2018) participants who had to meet customers’ expectations. All the participants felt their role should be more connected to teaching than to playing with the students. As Bray (2022) argues, this is not only a matter of identity and legitimacy, but also an issue connected with the blurring of boundaries between what is considered teaching and tutoring. However, Marcia introduces a nuance in the following extract: Extract 7 Well, I feel something in between. In my CV I put enseignante d’anglais [teacher of English], because animatrice [tutor] sounds like you are in a fun club. But, having said that, I think the word animatrice is really good. We are teaching, we are managing our group but it’s kind of still fun at this stage. As Marcia suggests, the term animatrice is not entirely inaccurate for her. Indeed, Marcia makes a distinction regarding her experience: when she thinks she needs to legitimize her profession, such as in her CV, she uses the term English teacher, though she feels animatrice describes her professional daily life. On a different note, although Peter feels more a teacher because he has a “student-teacher relationship with the children,” he pointed out that he does not want to follow teaching as a profession: Extract 8 I’m not trained to be a teacher. […] It is not what I’m passionate about, it’s not what I’m trained at and it’s not necessarily what I’m good at. So, I sort of see it like the means to an end at the moment than as something that defines my life, like a career or so. I’ve got a lot of respect for the profession of teaching. This is because my dad is a teacher and my mum was, too. I feel that there is more to being a good teacher than what I do. Peter thought that teaching was not his calling in life, and he stressed the respect he had for the profession as both his parents were teachers. Also, Linda and Marcia highlighted that they do not have the desire to teach in mainstream schools. Echoing this point, Linda said: Extract 9 No. No. No, no. I could work in a school at the administrative level and also, I have a good relationship with the parents, but as a teacher, no. That’s not for me. That’s not for the future.

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Her background made Linda feel closer to an administrative job than to the job of teacher, which is presented as unwanted: “I did a master’s degree; if I wanted to be a teacher, I would have gone to university to be a teacher.” This point was also echoed by Marcia “I enjoy teaching, but I’m trying to teach music, not English.” In contrast, Heidy finds that she would like to teach, although only as aside job: Extract 10 Definitely, I rather see myself as a graphic designer or a designer of animation. But I don’t mind teaching too, if it were just a side activity, I would maybe enjoy it better. Currently, I just have to work too much in it, and it is really tiring. As can be seen, Heidy did not see teaching as her main professional occupation, not just because she wanted to become a graphic designer, but also because for her, teaching is a tiring activity on which she has to spend a lot of effort and energy. All in all, four participants, Linda, Peter, Marcia, and Heidy regarded teaching as a temporary or as a side job, not considering education as their calling in life. They seem to have a clear idea of what their future should be, always connected with their studies. For them, as for the participants in the study by Kobakhidze (2018), teaching as tutors might be seen as an enforced— not free—choice of job, imposed by the French job market. Also, like the participants in the study by Xiong et al. (2022), they seem to consider being a tutor as a “dead end.”

Daily Routine Tutors’ work is quite irregular: daily timetables are not consistent as they can have different start and finish times, group composition, and number of work hours per day. Even the area of the city where they work changes every day, as they have to move all around Paris to get to the arrondissement centre they are assigned to. As Nina repeats several times, tutors had to adjust to the children, to the schedule, to the centres, to the administration, to the programme. In addition to their changing timetable, the participants indicated that they were paid by the hour which was perceived negatively. Indeed, they complained about this, because during school holidays, the company did not offer

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PT sessions and, therefore, they were not paid. Peter explained how he felt about being paid by the hour: Extract 11 I think that, like the way it was explained to me, the hourly rate includes preparation and also commuting but I sort of think that’s a little bit of a joke, actually. So, I sort of feel like I don’t know, I mean I try to keep my preparation to a minimum in some ways. […] However, if you don’t prepare properly, the work is less enjoyable and less beneficial. But I think the hourly rate could be more generous and more respectful of the actual work. Peter felt that the salary was too low compared to what a language tutor earns in Australia. Accordingly, he tried to prepare lessons as quickly as possible, even though he realized that the less prepared he was, the worse the lesson went. In other words, given the low salary that included preparation time, commuting time, and class time, for him, it seems natural to make little lesson preparation as he felt the salary did not respect the work involved. However, Linda explained the advantages: Extract 12 As with everything, there are good and bad sides. […] you know exactly what you are going to earn […] But at the same time […] our payslip can change a lot from one month to the next. And for me, personally, I think it’s better to be paid a fixed amount and then do overtime so that it becomes balanced […]. In one hour I say to myself, I earn half a meal with friends, or half a visit to the hairdresser. In this excerpt, being paid by the hour is not necessarily seen as bad per se, but rather, it depends on how much it is earned or as Linda added further on in the interview: “It can be motivating if you earn a lot, but if you don’t earn a lot, it can be very, very depressing.” Linda transformed teaching time into tangible assets such as a meal with friends. Thus, she seems to monetize every hour she works in the private tuition centre, maybe because the payslip changes from month to month. Moreover, it seems that this type of work pushes tutors to put the emphasis on the economic aspect, not making much room for pedagogy, as Peter indicated.

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Natural English Language Skills Most of the tutors recognized they had been hired for their language skills as NESs, that is, because of their origins and accent. As mentioned, Linda’s job as a tutor was perceived as imposed by the labour market: she felt that in France, it was impossible to find work more appropriate to her skills and education. She felt that her skills as a master’s graduate were not taken into account in the teaching job. However, as she also works as coordinator, she was able to take advantage of them in the coordinator aspect. In fact, Linda perceived her job not as “a career choice” but a job that allowed her to “pay my bills.” She said: Extract 13 Having an advanced degree and working under these conditions is a source of dissatisfaction. Linda stressed that even if she had what is considered as an asset to work (English) in France (Rámila Díaz, 2020) and an advanced degree, she was still only able to find a precarious job. In Bourdieu’s words, the linguistic and cultural capital of an NES tutor is not as valuable as it would be for a French worker, who could take advantage of it to find a better paid job. On the other hand, Heidi, a NNES tutor, was very proud of being taken on by the company: “I mean, I felt happy they took me, you know, I thought: Ok! Cool! They take me, so my English should be really good.” However, despite her initial enthusiasm, she was upset when the managers told her to lie about her nationality: Extract 14 Well, I mean, I felt kind of happy […] but then they [the managers] told me that I have to lie about my origins. […] I’m supposed to tell the people that I’m half American. Heidi being required not to tell the truth was connected to the company’s “native only” policy. However, as a NNES, she shared her fears: Extract 15 […] in front of the children, I’m not worried about it at all, but sometimes, when there are parents that are actually like native English speakers, […] I

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hope he is not going to realise that I’m not a native English speaker, you know? It puts me in this, like nervous situation. For Heidi, being presented as somebody who she is not places her in an awkward position, because even if she considers herself as bilingual, she is afraid of speaking with a NES parent who could reveal her real identity. Indeed, she stresses the situation makes her feel nervous and uncomfortable with herself. This point seems to suggest that the NES ideology can have a negative effect on NNES tutors. As can be seen, Heidy shared her fears about being caught, as the enterprise bases its own market legitimacy on employees’ origins and not on their competences and skills as teachers (Moussu & Llurda, 2008; Holliday, 2006).

Discussion The findings from the interviews with six English language tutors in Paris have helped to unveil some aspects of tutors’ identity as well as parts of their daily professional lives. From a societal point of view, English in France has become increasingly important, for children and also for workers, for whom an English language proficiency certificate could lead to advantages in their future studies or professional career. However, although English is highly valued in the French linguistic market (Bourdieu, 1991), it does not have the same value for native English language tutors, given the poor work conditions and lack of recognition of their professional skills. This suggests that English as cultural capital is appreciated for French citizens, but it is not recognized as such for tutors who cannot take full economic advantage of it. In this situation, tutors have a dual identity as schoolteachers and tutors, although they prefer to be called teachers rather than tutors. For the participants, the term teacher seemed to legitimize their daily occupation, whereas tutor seemed to evoke a less professional activity. Echoing Bray (2022), it seems that there was no clear-cut difference between the two activities for some of the tutors (Marcia). Furthermore, as in Kobakhidze’s (2018) study, tutors commit to teach as they think they have to satisfy customers. Nevertheless, they lacked training in English teaching, and some (Elisabeth, Peter, Marcia, and Heidy) have no intention of continuing that particular career path. Indeed, these participants considered teaching English a “dead end” activity (Xiong et al., 2022). Then, social legitimacy seems to come from

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the private tuition sphere that embraces the NES teacher ideology (Holliday, 2006; Paikeday, 1985). On the other hand, NNES tutors may be treated with little respect, and their identities are threatened as they are asked explicitly to make up a NES tutor identity. This shows the enterprise seeks to legitimize its professional activity by hiring NES and using them as a market hook but paying little attention to pedagogical or didactic aspects (Castellotti, 2011; Moussu & Llurda, 2008). In addition, tutors’ daily professional lives require constant adjustment, as they must adapt to an ever-changing schedule that includes where they teach, the hour, the level, the students, and their monthly salary. Furthermore, given that they are paid by the hour, one teacher (Linda) monetizes her teaching time into concrete purchases. All in all, the findings suggest that English tutoring in France is a site of struggle for tutors. Firstly, tutors are not trained to consider themselves as teachers of English, even if this is the term they preferred. Moreover, because of the poor salary along with lack of teaching background, tutors see their job as a temporary, stopgap position. Also, NNES teachers report symbolic violence towards them, as they are asked not to say where they come from and also to invent a native teacher persona. Finally, the rate per hour is regarded as something demotivating that seems to cause some teachers to neglect proper lesson preparation.

Conclusion and Implications In this study, I first presented the situation of the French market regarding tutoring. Secondly, the experience, qualifications, and some of the challenges tutors face every day were offered. This small-scale study was limited by several factors: overall the limited number of participants, so the sample cannot be representative of the study population. However, even so, this study provides insights into tutors of English in France. The study contributes to the existing knowledge of shadow education tutors by shedding light on tutors’ degrees and qualifications. All six tutors interviewed hold a BA degree, four have master’s degree, and one is pursuing her PhD studies. The tutors in the present study were not without academic qualifications, although only one of the six tutors interviewed (Emily) had a degree connected to teaching languages and the rest had no formal training as teachers.

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Secondly, the present study contributes to work on tutors’ identity (Bray, 2022; Xiong et al., 2022; Yung & Yuan, 2018; Kobakhidze, 2014, 2018; Popa & Acedo, 2006). Respondents considered themselves as teachers, rather than tutors, as the latter is less connected to discipline than the former. This finding aligns with those of Kobakhidze’s (2018) study in Georgia. In addition, this study helps extend shadow education discourse to the NES teacher ideology (Holliday, 2006; Paikeday, 1985). Some of the interviewees, although NESs with natural English skills and considered an asset in the French labour market, are stuck in insecure jobs. One of the teachers from Austria found her identity as an NNES challenged by the company employing her, putting her in an uncomfortable position and wary that an NES parent might discover the truth. This study has shed light on some of the tutors of English in France and the challenges they face. While this study was set in France, due to the global scope of PT, the results could help to highlight the challenges tutors may suffer globally such as the stress due to being paid by the hour and the adjustments to an ever-changing timetable. The implications are that there is a need to regulate PT on the part of policymakers and offer tutors stable job contracts, in order to balance otherwise unequitable conditions. This chapter could also help managers understand tutors’ need for training and/or qualifications, but also their career expectations, professional lives, and economic concerns. Also, the chapter illuminates the challenges some NNES tutors might be undergoing, with clear implications for managers, who should have transparent and fair employment criteria. This chapter raised issues such as expatriates’ difficulty finding other jobs than language tutors, which led to teaching English with no training, and due to the job conditions, some would not be interested in continuing this career path. This could be read as symbolic violence (Bourdieu, 1991) towards NES, as they are pushed into a labour market which is indirectly run by linguistic market rules. The final implications are, as highlighted by Xiong et al. (2022), that managers should create better conditions, as well as provide training in English teaching. Recommended Texts Glasman, D. and Besson, L. (2004). Le travail des élèves pour l’école en dehors de l’école. Rapport établi à la demande du Haut Conseil de l’évaluation de l’école, 15. La Documentation française.

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This report analyses the private tuition education context in France from students’ and parents’ points of view. Kobakhidze, M. N. (2018). Teachers as tutors: Shadow education market dynamics in Georgia. The University of Hong Kong, CERC and Springer. This book was one of the first to address the topic of dual identity as teachers and tutors. The research focuses on teachers’ professionalism and beliefs, as well as views of ethical behaviour and unethical practices. Bray, M. (2022). Teachers as tutors, and tutors as teachers: Blurring professional boundaries in changing eras. Teachers and Teaching, 28(1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2021.2019700 . In this text, Bray analyses from a diachronic point of view the terms teacher and tutor all around the world. His findings highlight the increasing fuzzy borders between them. Engagement Priorities • Consider the findings of this chapter regarding tutors’ professional lives; can you identify how these differ from those of teachers in formal settings in your context? • Is there any sign that tutors’ working conditions may lead to lack of motivation? How could tutors’ motivation in the workplace be enhanced? • Research on private tutoring around the world emphasizes how it contributes to social inequalities. Do you think the same criteria apply regarding English private tutoring in your context? • After reading the chapter, could you think of a research topic to expand knowledge about English private tutoring in your context?

References Bourdieu, P. (1991). Langage et pouvoir symbolique. Seuil. Bray, M. (2022). Teachers as tutors, and tutors as teachers: Blurring professional boundaries in changing eras. Teachers and Teaching, 28(1), 64–77. https://doi. org/10.1080/13540602.2021.2019700 Castellotti, V. (2011). Natif, non natif ou plurilingue : dénativiser l’enseignement des langues ? In F. Dervin & V. Badrinathan (Eds.), L’enseignant non natif : identités et légitimités dans l’enseignement-apprentissage des langues étrangères (pp. 29–50). Éditions Modulaires Européennes. Charmaz, K. (2007). Constructing Grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage Publications.

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Galinié, A., & Heim, A. (2016). Inégalités scolaires: Quels rôles jouent les cours privés? [Educational inequalities: What roles do private lessons play?]. UNESCO. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of Grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine. Glasman, D., & Besson, L. (2004). Le travail des élèves pour l’école en dehors de l’école, Rapport établi à la demande du Haut Conseil de l’évaluation de l’école, 15. La Documentation française. Halimi, S. (2012). Apprendre les langues, Apprendre le monde. Ministère de l'éducation nationale, de la jeunesse et de la vie associative. Hetzel, P. (2007). Temps des familles, temps des enfants : autour de la scolarité. Conférence de la famille 2007. Rapport de propositions remis à Philippe Bas, Ministre de la Santé et des Solidarités. Holliday, A. (2006). Native-speakerism. ELT, 60(4), 385–387. Kobakhidze, M. N. (2014). Corruption risks of PT: Case of Georgia. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(4), 455–475. Kobakhidze, M. N. (2018). Teachers as tutors: Shadow education market dynamics in Georgia. The University of Hong Kong, CERC and Springer. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 66–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.202 Levis, J. M., Sonsaat, S., Link, S., & Barriuso, T. A. (2016). Native and nonnative Teachers of L2 pronunciation: Effects on learner performance. TESOL Quarterly, early view. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.272 Loi Borloo. (2005). LOI n° 2005–841 du 26 juillet 2005 relative au développement des services à la personne et portant diverses mesures en faveur de la cohésion sociale. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000632799/ Monier, N. (2022, January, 17). L’Officiel de la Franchise. http://officieldelafranchise. fr/analyses/secteur/soutien-­e t-­c ours-­p articuliers-­q uelles-­l econs-­t irer-­d e-­l a-­ pandemie-­17012022 Moussu, L., & Llurda, E. (2008). Non-native English-speaking English language teachers: History and research. Language Teaching, 41(3), 315–348. Paikeday, T. M. (1985). The native speaker is dead. Paikeday Publishing. Popa, S., & Acedo, C. (2006). Redefining professionalism: Romanian secondary education teachers and the PT system. International Journal of Educational Development, 26, 98–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2005.07.019 Rámila Díaz, N. (2015). Students’ Preferences regarding Native and Non-Native Teachers of English at a University in the French Brittany. Procedia 32nd International Conference of the Spanish Association of Applied Linguistics (AESLA) (pp. 93–97). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.036 Rámila Díaz, N. (2016). L’analyse des malentendus dans une entreprise linguistique multiculturelle: de l’instabilité émotionnelle au turnover. In S. Gerolimich & S. Vecchiato (Eds.), Le plurilinguisme et le monde du travail. Entre besoin, défis et stratégies (pp. 111–127). Peter Lang.

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Rámila Díaz, N. (2020). European and national trends impacting on EFL development in public education and private tuition sectors in France. Estudios Interlingüísticos, 8, 209–224. Rosenwald, F. (2006). Les aides aux devoirs en dehors de la classe. Ministère de l’éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, Note d’information, n° 06–04, février. Tatar, S. (2019). Employment of English language teachers in an EFL context: Perspectives from school administrators. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 21(2), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v21n2.72648 Xerfi. (2017). Le marché du soutien scolaire à l’horizon 2020. Menace d’ubérisation, enrichissement de l’offre, recours croissant au numérique : quelles perspectives pour le marché et ses différents acteurs? Xerfi. Xerfi. (2021). Quelles stratégies pour les acteurs du soutien scolaire face au durcissement des conditions de marché? Xerfi. Xiong, T., Li, Q., & Hu, G. (2022). Teaching English in the shadow: Identity construction of private English language tutors in China. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 43(1), 73–85. Yung, K., & Yuan, R. (2018). The most popular star-tutor of English: Discursive construction of tutor identities in shadow education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 153–168.

English Private Tutoring at a Transition Point in Morocco’s Education System: Its Scale, Nature, and Effectiveness Ali Ait Si Mhamed, Anas Hajar, and Meriem Fadli

Introduction Located in northwest Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco is a multilingual country, where Arabic and Tamazight are the official languages, while French is the main foreign language of commerce and scientific education (Bahmad, 2020). As regards English, Jebbour (2021) points out that there has been a growing emphasis on English in Morocco in recent years driven by two main assumptions: that Moroccan policy makers recognised the limited role of French to communicate at the international level and how English serves as a universal lingua franca, and that Morocco has constructive economic and political relations with two major English-speaking countries, namely, the USA and the UK. Related to this, R’boul (2020, p. 1) indicates that English is increasingly perceived by Moroccans as ‘a high-prestige language’, and it somehow reduces the dominance of French in numerous domains including education. School education in Morocco is divided into primary (grades 1–4), lower secondary (grades 5–9), and upper secondary education (grades 10, 11, and 12). Primary and lower secondary schooling is compulsory and provided free

A. A. S. Mhamed • A. Hajar (*) Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] M. Fadli Iscae Business School, Rabat, Morocco © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_11

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of charge in public institutions. In Grade 1, French is formally taught in public schools, and it is progressively more used in the upper secondary school (Jebbour, 2021). In the lower secondary school, students start learning a second foreign language (English, Spanish, German, or Italian), although English and French are taught from Grade 1  in private schools (Jebbour, 2021; Ministry of National Education , 2022). Grade 12, the focus of the present study, represents a critical stage in education in Morocco, because students at the end of Grade 12 take a high-stakes national exam to obtain the Certificate of Secondary Education, which is the gateway to university admission. As English is one of the core subjects in the high-stakes examination, the aim of the mixed-methods study reported in this chapter was to uncover Grade 12 (age 17–18) students’ experiences and reflections on the fee-charging English private tutoring (EPT) they had received in Agadir, Morocco’s southernmost major city. This study was informed by Benson et al.’s (Benson, 2011) three-­ dimensional model of language learning beyond the classroom: (a) location (physical vs. virtual), (b) locus of control (other-directed vs. self-directed goals), and (c) pedagogy. The chapter concludes with suggested pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research into EPT.

Private Tutoring (PT) in Morocco and Beyond PT has primarily been prominent in East Asian societies such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong, because they are deeply rooted in the Confucian traditions of learning beyond formal settings and the practice of using examination systems (Zhang, 2021). Since the new millennium, PT has become widespread worldwide on a significant scale. Compared with earlier literature offering an overview of the global spread of PT (e.g. Bray, 2009), recent studies have revealed continued expansion. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provided some indication of overall enrolment rates, combining fee-charging and fee-free PT. It showed statistics for PT received by Grade 8 students for mathematics in 2019 and found that in 13 out of 64 countries (e.g. Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia, Turkey, Romania, Taiwan, Cyprus, Singapore, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco, the setting of the present study), more than 50% of students participated in various forms of PT. Addressing the TIMSS 2019 findings, Bray (2022, p. 65) pointed out that the statistics only covered Grade 8, and enrolment rates were likely to be higher in later grades as students approached the end-of-secondary-school examinations. Table 1 shows data giving the scale of PT in some North African countries. It varied by country, with 90% of all

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Table 1  Indicators of private tutoring in North Africa Location Patterns Algeria

Among the 8415 secondary school students in 17 provinces surveyed in the academic year 2013/2014 by Sadkaoui (2015), 67% were receiving PT. It was especially demanded in mathematics (65%), physics (43%), and Science (22%). Only 7% took EPT. Morocco In 2016, Rhazal et al. (2018: 18) surveyed 267 students as a representative sample for urban secondary school students. They found that 85% were receiving PT. No particular reference was made to EPT. Egypt Sieverding et al. (2019), using data from the 2014 Survey of Young People in Egypt, reported that 72% of Grade 12 students were receiving private one-to-one PT and 18% private group tutoring. No particular reference was made to EPT. Tunisia A 2008 study by the Association for the Protection of Consumers (cited by Bray, 2021b: 16) indicated that 73% of 250 households reported that their children had PT. No particular reference was made to EPT.

students surveyed receiving PT in Egypt, 85% in Morocco, 73% in Tunisia, and 67% in Algeria. Although some are rough estimates rather than exact indicators, ‘they are part of the jigsaw puzzle which can be used to assemble the picture’ (Bray, 2021a, p. 444). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no empirical study was specifically allocated to explore the nature of EPT and its effectiveness in these North African countries. In Morocco, few empirical research studies on PT exist (e.g. Caillods et al., 1998; Rhazal et  al., 2018), and none of these studies has focused on EPT. Caillods et al.’s (1998) 1993 survey of 1953 mainstream secondary science teachers indicated that 53% provided PT (cited in Bray 1999, p. 55). Of them 27% indicated that they gave PT to the first year of secondary education, and 78% to the most senior grade. The data showed that 70% of teachers had indicated that they gave PT to help students, mainly since they could not cover the curriculum during school hours. Commenting on the reasons of having PT in five Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, Fakih et al. (2022) suggest that the PT phenomenon has expanded in these countries primarily due to low salaries in the formal system, overcrowded classrooms, poor-quality teaching methods, and the need to secure a place at competitive universities. The secondary school students surveyed in Rhazal et al.’s (2018) study mentioned the following main reasons for having PT: to improve their understanding of the subjects taught at school (59%), to learn how to study the academic subjects (42%), and to receive individual attention that they cannot have in the overcrowded classrooms (19%). In this regard, Fakih et al. (2022, p. 2) argue that PT in MENA can contribute to ‘fostering

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unethical practices by encouraging some teachers to refrain from giving their best effort in class’, increasing student dropout levels and decreasing school attendance records. Although the above few quantitative studies have given some insights into the scale and reasons for the prevalence of PT in Morocco, students’ voices and critical reflections on their PT experiences, in particular EPT, remain few. The empirical study reported in this chapter adds to this knowledge by reporting Grade 12 students’ perceptions of the EPT they had participated in over the previous 12 months, using both quantitative and qualitative data.

Theoretical Framework This study is guided by Benson’s (2011) theoretical model for understanding learners’ language learning experience outside of the school settings. It consists of three dimensions: location, locus of control, and pedagogy. Location refers to the place in which a language learning activity occurs, which can be both physical and virtual environments. The dimension of locus of control centres on how far learners’ goals of learning a specific language are influenced or controlled by what is covered by their English language tutors (i.e. the goal of ‘grade achievement’), or they feel in control of their language learning. That is, their learning goals are more likely to be regulated by themselves and can be associated with achieving their own personal, academic, and/or vocational purposes (i.e. learning a language because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable or to work/study abroad). The third dimension, pedagogy, in this study mainly pertains to students’ evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of EPT. Benson’s (2011) model is considered one of the few theoretical models that attempts to capture the less well-charted terrain of learners’ language learning experiences beyond the formal settings. Commenting on this theoretical model, Reinders and Benson (2017, p. 562) point out that this model has been increasingly adopted by empirical studies for analysing participation in language learning beyond the classroom; however, it is ‘still rudimentary and clearly in need of further development’. Hence, this study attempted to expand the focus of this model to explore the influence of EPT on a group of Moroccan Grade 12 students’ overall achievement (i.e. both tangible and intangible impact of EPT) during the COVID pandemic.

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Data and Methodology This mixed-method study is the first empirical attempt to explore the nature of the EPT that a sample of Grade 12 Moroccan students (aged between 17 and 18 years) had received over the previous 12 months and how effective they thought it was. To achieve this objective, the following research questions are addressed: 1. What were the scope, frequency, cost and modes of EPT received by the participants? 2. How do the participants evaluate their EPT experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic? The data were collected by the third author of this chapter during the COVID-19 pandemic between 4 December 2021 and 25 January 2022 from two mainstream schools in Agadir, Morocco’s southern major city. This period marked the time frame when Morocco reopened schools after closing them on 13 March 2020 up to the beginning of October 2020. The regulations of reopening schools included keeping classrooms smaller by limiting the number of students who attend in-person. Hence, students took turns studying offline and online mode of instructions for a long period of time during the pandemic. Indoor masking was a mandate for upper classes (e.g. Grade 12, which is the focus of this research study) regardless of vaccination status. Those students who attended small classes kept mandatory distance among each other. Masks were authorised all the time during the in-person sessions. Local governments monitored community transmission, vaccination coverage, screening testing, and occurrence of outbreaks to guide decisions on the level of layered prevention strategies. Although visits to schools were very limited during the pandemic, some particular exceptions which did not include crowds and larger groups were made. Therefore, the third author who collected data was permitted in school premises to collect data following all necessary preventive measures abovementioned. The two schools (School A and School B) enrol students aged from 6 to 18 years, Grades 1–12. To select schools, the researchers drew up five potential sites from the website of the Education Department of Agadir and contacted their principals by email to explain the purpose and procedures of the study and inviting their schools to participate. Only two schools that include secondary students in the science stream were willing to take part in this

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study, and data were collected from them. The number of Grade 12 science stream students in both schools was 419 students: 231 in School A and 188 in School B. A total of 200 students (149 males and 51 females) completed the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 47%. The names of the schools and participants have been anonymised. The study used two research methods: a close-ended questionnaire and individual interviews. The survey sought to elicit certain dimensions of EPT, including the scope and types of EPT, its frequency, and parental expenditure. Informed consent was given in the first part of the survey. The final item of the survey asked the respondents to write their email address if they were willing to take part in an individual semi-structured interview. Twenty-two students expressed their initial willingness to participate in follow-up interviews. An email was sent to these participants in Arabic and French about the aims of the study, their rights, and the requirements of their participation in the interview part. Only ten students (six from school A and four from School B) responded to this email. The interviewees were informed at the beginning of each interview that their participation was entirely voluntary and that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any point without any repercussions. The participants’ verbal permission to digitally record their responses for later transcription was also obtained from them. One individual, semi-­ structured interview with each participant was used to generate meaningful insights into Grade 12 students’ experiences, attitudes, and feelings towards EPT (see Appendix for a sample of interview questions). Each interview lasted around one hour and was tape-recorded for transcription purposes. The data were produced in Arabic and/or French to enable them to express their ideas clearly and with confidence. The interviews were conducted by the third researcher in empty classrooms on school premises to comply with COVID-19 control measures of social distancing, and face masks were worn. The questionnaire data were analysed using SPSS software, and the qualitative data used Clarke and Braun’s (2013) guidelines for conducting thematic analysis. The researchers familiarised themselves with the data through reading and re-reading the interview transcripts ‘actively, analytically and critically’ after these had been translated into English (Clarke & Braun, 2013, p. 205). After the process of familiarisation, the data were grouped to generate the initial codes in response to the research questions and the theoretical framework. Codes that shared features in general were collated to generate themes. The tentative themes derived from the coded data, and the entire data sets were tested. Once all the themes had been found, the sub-themes within each theme were identified, resulting in the thematic map of the data presented in Fig. 1.

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Locus of control: motives of having EPT

Location

Physical EPT

203

Virtual EPT

Grade achievement

Long-term goals

Pedagogy

Advantages of EPT

Disadvantages of EPT

Fig. 1  The final thematic map derived from students’ data

Findings and Discussion Guided by Benson’s (2011) theoretical model, this section addresses the research questions related to the scale, types, frequency, and costs of the EPT that the participants received. It also reported the participants’ evaluation of their EPT experiences.

Location: Virtual and Physical Environments The data showed that the extent of PT within the survey population was 81% (162 out of 200). This might be particularly because the students were in the science stream and had likely stronger demand to PT than their counterparts in the arts streams (Bray, 2021b). Yahiaoui’s (2020) quantitative study with senior secondary students in Algeria revealed that 80.6% of science stream students had PT compared with 60% in the literature and philosophy stream and 46.7% in the foreign languages stream. In terms of EPT, 58% of participants (94 out of 162) received it. Concerning the mode of EPT delivery, 37% of the participants (n. 35) had physical EPT lessons in groups, with 11% studying in groups of less than 10 students and 26% of students studying in groups of 10 or more (see Fig. 2). Only five participants (6%) had physical one-to-one EPT.  This finding might be because group tutoring is more

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Physical small group 11% Virtual 24%

Physical large group 26%

Physical one-to-one 6%

Physical+virtual, 33%

Physical small group

Physical large group

Physical one-to-one

Virtual

Physical+virtual

Fig. 2  Modes of EPT delivery

affordable than individual tutoring for many households, and group tutoring may be more profitable for both private tutors and tutoring companies (Hajar & Abenova, 2021). Nine out of ten interviewees indicated that they were receiving group tutoring in the tutorial centres because it was more affordable to them. One interviewee from School A indicated that group tutoring helped her to be more disciplined, as shown in Extract 1. Extract 1 I decided to go to group tutoring because it is less expensive than individual tutoring. I can also be more disciplined. My peers and I encouraged each other since all of us needed to study hard during this critical stage of our academic lives. (Student 2, School B)

Also, 31 participants (33%) reported that they received both physical and virtual EPT, and 23 participants (24%) received only virtual EPT over the previous 12  months. This finding revealed that more students had sought

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online tutoring during the COVID-19 pandemic than previously. As Zhang (2021, p. 49) highlights, ‘COVID-19 increased the power of technology and capital in digital learning, and online tutoring greatly expanded the shadow space.’ However, many students sought physical tutoring although this type of tutoring tends to be unsafe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is mainly because the majority of African countries have no PT regulations, leaving it to a laissez-faire environment (see Bray, 2021b).

Locus of Control: Frequency and Motives of Having EPT Concerning the frequency of EPT attendance over the previous 12 months, 50 out of 94 students (53%) mentioned that they had two one-hour sessions per week, 27 students (29%) received three EPT sessions per week, and 10 students (11%) had one session per week. However, only five students (5%) received four or more EPT sessions per week, and two students (2%) did not answer this question (see Fig. 3). The analysis of the motives for having PT is in Table 2. The most common reason given was to prepare for the university entrance exam (54%). The quantitative data also revealed that 24% of respondents had EPT to understand English as a subject better, and 22% wanted to obtain the required scores in certain international English proficiency tests like TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) as a perquisite to pursue their own studies abroad. Other possible reasons like parents’ or teachers’ recommendations did not have a substantial impact on students’ decision to receiving EPT. On the contrary, two 60%

53%

50% 40% 29%

30% 20% 10% 0%

11% 5% once a week

twice a week

three time a week

Fig. 3  Frequency of attending EPT

four times or more a week

2% missing

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Table 2  Numerical data of motives for having EPT Reasons To prepare for university entrance exam To understand English as a subject better To obtain the required score in an English language proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL and IELTS) My parents motivated me My schoolteachers recommended it Other reasons

Frequency (n=94)

Percentage

51 23 21

54% 24% 22%

5 2 4

5% 2% 4%

interviewees indicated that their English teachers were against EPT, believing that they had covered the curriculum thoroughly during the school time, and PT had minimal effects or none at all on students’ academic achievement. Extract 2 elucidates this point: Extract 2 Our English teacher at school, like some other teachers, is strongly against tutoring. Some teachers claimed that they explained the lessons very well and students only needed to revise the materials covered by them. (Student 3, School A)

Seven out of ten interviewees indicated that their main reason for receiving EPT was for the national test familiarisation and practice, especially because their teachers at mainstream schools could not cover the curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic. Extracts 3 and 4 elucidated this point. Extract 3 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to finish our syllabus and courses by the end of the last semester. We skipped important lessons. Therefore, taking tutoring lessons is now necessary because all teachers are speeding up the pace and I need to prepare very well for the national exam. Teachers impose their pace and do not care if we do not follow. Tutoring was a real salvation for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Student 5, School A)

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Extract 4 I went to the private tutorial centre to obtain high scores in the national exam. The schoolteacher teaches us everything in the textbook including the less important topics in the national exam. The tutor gave us a booklet with a lot of mock exams and exercises. Also, he explained the topics clearly. (Student 4, School B)

The above extracts indicate that almost all participants tended to uphold the view that it was necessary to take EPT for more examination training when the high-stakes national examination was approaching. Such external instrumentality of language learning, as Hajar (2022) asserts, tends to be largely associated with Dörnyei’s (2009) one kind of possible self, namely, the ought-to language self. The ought-to language self implies the external pressures that the individual attempts to respond to, to avoid possible negative future outcomes and bow to social pressures and demands (Dörnyei, 2009). Therefore, it bears little resemblance to the individual’s own desires and wishes because it is largely regulated by significant others, such as parents and teachers. Nevertheless, the qualitative data revealed that three interviewees had a combination of ideal and ought-to self-orientations towards having EPT. More precisely, they found EPT useful for being coached for the international standardised language tests such as IELTS and TOEFL, by receiving practice with similar test items along with learning certain strategies to answer questions. Obtaining adequate—and preferably high—scores in this high-stakes language test is as a prerequisite to apply for a scholarship to one of leading universities in other countries, especially the English-speaking ones. EPT for them can also be a means to accomplish their desired future visions, like studying or working abroad, and communicating with people from other cultures. Extract 5 exemplifies this idea. Extract 5 The English teacher at school did not use interesting activities by using videos, pictures, competitions and games. I needed to pass the TOEFL test and master English to complete my studies abroad and work there if I win a scholarship. English is the language of international communication. (Student 3, School A)

Pedagogy: Advantages and Disadvantages of EPT Table 3 summarises the interviewees’ reported advantages and disadvantages associated with EPT.  They evidenced positive attitudes to receiving EPT, regarding EPT sessions as a better environment for preparing for the national

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Table 3  Advantages and disadvantages of EPT Advantages of EPT

Disadvantages of EPT

Individual attention with a clear Being tired due to extensive EPT in the explanation evenings and at weekends My English school teacher reads only I have to wake up at 7 am to go to the from the textbook with little school. I stay there until 4 pm. Sometimes explanation. Then, she asked, “Do I have to go to the tutorial centre you understand?” No one answered, immediately. I return home at 9 pm. I and she continued … the private often stay up all night to study. This tutor knows how to deal with each makes me feel exhausted. Therefore, I student. If I don’t understand drink a lot of coffee and take vitamins. anything, she is happy to explain the (Student 3, School B) same idea in different ways until I I often return home at 10 pm, due to absorb it. (Student 1, School A) tutoring. I cannot sleep before 1 am, to study. This made me feel so tired and my bones hurt me. I sometimes felt as if I didn’t sleep. (Student 6, School A) National exam familiarisation and Creating psychological and financial burden practice on the family I attended English private tutoring to Private tutoring is expensive. I need 150 have more exercises on the national Dirham (15.5$) for each subject per exam and learn strategies to answer month. Without tutoring, I will not the questions of this exam. He achieve high scores … I feel my parents’ reviewed the previous exam suffering by spending 450 Dirham (46$) questions with detailed explanations. on my tutoring sessions per month. (Student 5, School B) (Student 2, School A) Private tutoring is so expensive. My father paid 600 Dirham (61$) monthly to the tutorial centre. This created a psychological pressure on me. (Student 3, School B) A means to achieve desired future Having backwash on schooling vision Our English schoolteacher knew some My tutor taught us how to master an students who had tutoring. She American accent. After having sometimes became angry when these tutoring, I understand movies students sometimes caused noise or without translation. I read and answered the questions before those who understand the text well, my did not take tutoring. (Student 4, School vocabulary inventory expanded, and A) my English pronunciation improved. My plan is to study in the United States. (Student 1, School B)

examination and developing their English language proficiency than school classes. The demands of examinations can largely shape the content of PT sought by students and their families (Bray, 2021b). As illustrated in Table 3, the participants preferred EPT sessions because they tailored to their individual needs, especially because the mainstream classes were large, and most

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schoolteachers had mediocre teaching without covering the whole curriculum in official school hours or preparing their students adequately to the high-­ stakes examinations at the end of secondary education. In this regard, Yung (2021, p. 125) points out that ‘PT exploits the oppressive education system embedded with high-stakes testing and makes a profit from the oppressed learners.’ Yung (2021, p. 125) further argues that participating in PT to secure a place at prestigious universities ‘may no longer be a voluntary decision’ to most families regardless of their socioeconomic status. The analysis of qualitative data showed that eight out of ten interviewees indicated that PT created a considerable financial burden on their parents, as shown in Table 3. The quantitative data also revealed that 44% of the respondents attending EPT reported their parents spent 400–600 Moroccan Dirhams (US$ 41–62) on EPT sessions each month, while 25% spent 600–800 Moroccan Dirhams (US$62–82) (see Fig. 4). Bray (2021b, p. 70) remarks that for most African countries, aspirations for ever higher levels of education expanded the PT market, and this in turn created organisational and financial burdens ‘not only because of the total enrolments in educational institutions but also because unit costs were much greater at higher than at lower levels’. The issue of expenditure on PT as a financial burden has also been reported in other studies (e.g. Hajar, 2018 in England; Bray et al., 2020 in Myanmar; Kim, 2016 in South Korea). Bray et al. (2020), for instance, found that 68.1% of Grade 9 and 11 students in Myanmar indicated that PT was a moderate or heavy financial burden on their families.

9%

more than 800 Dirham

25%

600-800 Dirham

44%

400-600 Dirham 16%

200-400 Dirham 6%

Less than 200 Dirham 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Fig. 4  Costs of EPT in Moroccan Dirham (MDH) ($1 = 9.75 MDH)

40%

45%

50%

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Also, all interviewees reported that they had lived with an excessive burden of study without having enough time for sleep or practising their hobbies (see Table 3). This finding was also echoed by primary school students in other contexts such as Kazakhstan (Hajar et al., 2022). Hajar et al. (2022) found that most participants lived with an excessive burden of study with little time for hobbies or leisure. As shown in Table  3, EPT can have a backwash on schooling by, for example, leading students who receive tutoring to feel bored in class or even defiant, especially when the private tutor covered the materials taught by schoolteachers in advance (see Bray & Hajar, 2023).

Conclusion and Implications The overarching aim of this mixed-methods study was to explore the nature of EPT and its effectiveness as perceived by a sample of Grade 12 science stream students in Morocco during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showed that 81% of participants (162 out of 200) participated in PT, and 58% received EPT, largely for tangible benefits related to obtaining high scores in high-stakes examinations and entering more prestigious institutions in Morocco or abroad. This finding aligns with the international research which has revealed that education systems with high-stakes assessments at watershed points have strong incidence of PT (Zwier et al., 2021). It seems that PT has been absorbed into the education culture and is hard and unrealistic to eliminate it altogether because families will always be competitive; but policy makers need to pay attention to matters of curriculum, including the impact of high-stakes examinations. They can also consider teachers’ delivery styles and the availability of in-school support for students with diverse needs (see Bray & Hajar, 2023). Related to this, PT can be ‘a major vehicle for maintaining and exacerbating social inequalities’, especially for those who cannot afford PT or that with lower quality (Bray, 2021b, p. xi). This is because they may not gain the full curriculum or be acquainted with the nature of such high-stakes tests. This aspect, as Bray (2021b, p. xii) indicates, is not widely recognised by policy makers and warrants further research attention. With the above in mind, policy makers in Morocco and elsewhere need to adopt effective procedures to ensure fair and equitable access to prestigious institutions. As the findings of this study show, the students exercised their agency by critically reflecting on the advantages and drawbacks of EPT during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the indifferent attitude of some English

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language teachers and the difficulty of covering the curriculum during the online lessons. Therefore, tutoring was perceived as ‘a real salvation for students during the COVID-19 pandemic’ (see Extract 3, Student 5). Learner agency, as Hajar (2020) describes, is a characteristic of proactive agents capable of thinking, wishing, and acting on recognising how a specific activity can overcome certain contextual constraints and help them achieve their ultimate goals. It is essential that policy makers provide teachers with not only online platforms but also adequate training in their use and how to evaluate their effectiveness. Insufficient teacher preparation on how to deliver online lessons and design teaching materials during the COVID-19 pandemic was reminiscent of reports of other contexts, especially in developing countries, such as Hashemi (2021) in Afghanistan and van Cappelle et al. (2021) in India. In the present study, nine out of ten interviewees indicated that they were receiving EPT in the tutorial centres, as well as 37% of the respondents had physical EPT lessons in groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding apparently indicates that Morocco adopts a laissez-faire approach to regulating PT, whereby education outside mainstream school hours is not under the government’s purview. Although a legislative Decree No.30/9 of 2014 disallows classroom teachers from providing PT lessons, it seems that this directive requires some more reinforcement for both families and teachers to abide by it. PT market in most African countries is perhaps similar to that in Central Asia, where ‘imperfect legislation, lack of implementation mechanisms, and absence of legal enforcement’ describe this market (Silova, 2010, p. 340). In this regard, Bray (2021b, p. 57) points out that the tutorial centres are largely unregulated in Africa, because most African governments such as Egypt felt that setting out regulations for licensing tutorial centres may imply that they acknowledge the existence of these centres and legitimate them. In this regard, Bray and Hajar (2023) describe how some countries in the Middle East, especially Qatar, have been more proactive towards regulating tutorial centres by introducing codes of practice. In order to license a tutorial centre in Qatar, certain conditions should be available in the tutorial centre including displaying prices in a visible location at the headquarters, employing tutors who only have a higher qualification in the field of specialisation and maintaining data on courses and other services. Having set out these regulations, the Qatar authorities devised a system to evaluate all accredited centres and announced that the licence of any centre gaining a poor evaluation would be suspended (Bray & Hajar, 2023). This study can be also a call to researchers to conduct additional research to further understand the possibility and effectiveness of regulating the PT in their context.

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The current study is the first that has provided some evidence of the nature of EPT at a transition point in Morocco and its association to obtain access to higher education from the students’ point of view. Nevertheless, the present investigation is not free from limitations. In particular, it was a small-scale study and relied only on the data collected from 200 Grade 12 science stream students in two mainstream schools in Agadir, Morocco’s southern major city. Hence, future large-scale studies on EPT including the perceptions of students with and without tutoring, together with the viewpoints of parents and practitioners, would enrich the database. Recommended Texts Bray, M. (2021). Shadow education in Africa: private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong and Paris: UNESCO. Drawing on comparative analysis, this book examines the nature and policy implications of shadow education in 54 African countries. The analysis contributes to wider discussions on non-state actors in the education sector. Bray, M. & Hajar, A. (2022). Shadow education in the Middle East: private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. London: Routledge. This book examines the scale and nature of shadow education in 12 Middle East countries (Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, and Yemen). It also addresses the issue of what policy makers should do about private tutoring. Rhazal, A., Ajana, L., Khouna, J., & Hajjami, A.E. (2018). Private tutoring and internet use: case of Moroccan pupils in qualifying secondary education in urban area. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 8(2), 34–46. This quantitative study explored the nature of private tutoring received by secondary school students in Morocco and their motives for having it. Engagement Priorities • What procedures can be adopted by the Ministry of Education in your country to promote fair competition to highly selective schools and universities? • Thinking about the modes of private tutoring, to what extent do you think that online tutoring will be expanded after the COVID-19 pandemic in your country? • What obstacles does the Ministry of Education in your country face to regulate the private tutoring market?

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Appendix Indicative interview protocol 1. Have you received English private tutoring (EPT) in the last 12 months? Who suggested it? 2. Have you attended individual or small group EPT? Have your tutoring sessions been face-to-face or online due to COVID-19? Which one do you think more useful? Why? 3. Who was giving you EPT? 4. How many hours per week do you attend EPT? How long is each lesson? How much is the cost? 5. Why have you been taking EPT? 6. Do you think PT can have an impact on your university placement? How? 7. What about the advantages and disadvantages of EPT? 8. What do you think about the future of private tutoring market in Morocco? Is it going to expand or decrease?

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Bray, M., & Hajar, A. (2023). Shadow education in the Middle East: Private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. Routledge. Bray, M., Kobakhidze, M. N., & Kwo, O. (2020). Shadow education in Myanmar: Private supplementary tutoring and its policy implications. In Hong Kong: Comparative education research Centre. UNESCO. Caillods, F., Gottelmann-Duret, G., Radi, M., & Hddigni, E. (1998). La formation scientifique au Maroc: Conditions et options politiques. UNESCO-IIEP. Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage. Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9–42). Multilingual Matters. Fakih, A., Haimoun, N., & Sleiman, A. 2022 What drives demand for private tutoring in the Middle East and North Africa region? Evidence from a Youth Survey. African Development Review. 1–12 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-­8268.12626. Hajar, A. (2018). Exploring year 6 pupilsí perceptions of private tutoring: Evidence from three mainstream schools in England. Oxford Review of Education, 44(4), 514–531. Hajar, A. (2020). Arab sojourner expectations, academic socialisation and strategy use on a pre-sessional English programme in Britain. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 15(3), 221–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2019.1696200 Hajar, A. (2022). The ideal multilingual self of individuals in conflict-affected situations. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.108 0/14790718.2022.2029865 Hajar, A., & Abenova, S. (2021). The role of private tutoring in admission to higher education: Evidence from a highly selective university in Kazakhstan. Hungarian Education Research Journal, 11(2), 124–142. Hajar, A., Sagintayeva, A., & Izekenova, Z. (2022). Child participatory research methods: Exploring grade 6 pupils’ experiences of private tutoring in Kazakhstan. Cambridge Journal of Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.108 0/0305764X.2021.2004088 Hashemi, A. (2021). Online teaching experiences in higher education institutions of Afghanistan during the COVID-19 outbreak: Challenges and opportunities. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 8(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331198 3.2021.1947008 Jebbour, M. (2021). English language teaching in Morocco: A focus on the English department. The Journal of North African Studies, 26(1), 103–115. Kim, Y. C. (2016). Shadow education and the curriculum and culture of schooling in South Korea. Palgrave Macmillan. Ministere de l’education nationale, Morocco (2022). Retrieved May 5, 2022, from www.men.gov.ma R'boul, H. (2020). The spread of English in Morocco: Examining university students’ language ontologies (pp. 1–8). English Today.

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Reinders, H., & Benson, P. (2017). Research agenda: Language learning beyond the classroom. Language Teaching, 50(4), 561–578. Rhazal, A., Ajana, L., Khouna, J., & Hajjami, A.  E. (2018). Private tutoring and internet use: Case of Moroccan pupils in qualifying secondary education in urban area. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 8(2), 34–46. Sadkaoui, K. (2015). The causes and effects of private tutoring on students’ academic achievement in the official examinations. Al-Hikma Journal for Educational and Psychological Studies. 4(7), 184–2016. [in Arabic] https://www.asjp.cerist.dz/en/ article/25948 Sieverding, M., Krafft, C., & Elbadawy, A. (2019). An exploration of the drivers of private tutoring in Egypt. Comparative Education Review, 63(4), 562–590. Silova, I. (2010). Private tutoring in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Policy choices and implications. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40(3), 327–344. Van Cappelle, F., Chopra, V., Ackers, J., & Gochyyev, P. (2021). An analysis of the reach and effectiveness of distance learning in India during school closures due to COVID-19. International Journal of Educational Development, 1–10. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102439 Yahiaoui, H. (2020). Private tuition: High stakes and thorny issues. English Language Teaching, 13(7), 88–98. Yung, K. W. H. (2021). Shadow education as a form of oppression: Conceptualizing experiences and reflections of secondary students in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 41(1), 115–129. Zhang, W. (2021). Non-state actors in education: The nature, dynamics and regulatory implications of private supplementary tutoring. UNESCO. https://gem-­report-­2021. unesco.org/wp-­content/uploads/2021/12/03-­Wei.pdf Zwier, D., Geven, S., & Werfhorst, V. (2021). Social inequality in shadow education: The role of high-stakes testing. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 61(6), 412–440.

Part III English Private Tutoring for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in English-Speaking Countries

ESL Private Tuition in the UK: Social Mobility and Discourses of Integration Philip Kirby

Introduction Private tuition has existed for centuries in the UK. Historically, it has served the interests of wealthier families, either to prepare preschool children for school or to provide an alternative to formal education (Bray & Kwo, 2013). In recent decades, the landscape of private tuition has dramatically expanded and, in some respects, diversified, although it is still mainly used by wealthier families (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). Recent estimates suggest that the UK private tuition market is worth approximately £2 billion (Kirby, 2016) but could be worth as much as £6.5 billion (Regent Group, 2016). Estimates for the value of the market in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet available, but given the prevalence of online services, it seems likely that the private tuition market has been resilient (Economist, 2021). The sector has been described as ‘that rare thing: a booming British industry’ (Cohen, 2013, p. 1). Data on this ‘shadow education’ sector is notoriously difficult to secure (Bray, 2010), not least because, in the case of the UK, private tuition is unregulated (see Hansard, 2018). However, data from a national survey of 2016, reported in Holloway and Kirby (2020), found that over one quarter (26%)

P. Kirby (*) King’s College London, London, UK e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_12

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of state-educated children in England and Wales had received private tuition at some point in their lives. Of these children, just over half (51%) received tuition in English, the second most popular subject for tuition after maths. The evidence further suggests that privately educated students—about 7% of the school age population in England (Long, 2019)—use private tuition at higher rates than state school students (Kirby, 2016), pointing to the continuing social gradient of private tuition usage. There are many varieties of English tuition in the UK market. One of the main types of tuition aims to support learners in taking UK transitional exams, such as GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education, formerly O-levels) at 16 years of age that determine entry into post-16 education, and A-levels (Advanced levels) at 18 years of age and necessary for entrance into higher education. English is a mandatory subject at GCSE and an optional subject at A-level. English is also a component of the ‘11+’ entry exams for England’s 163 remaining grammar schools (see Hajar, 2020)—academically selective schools that have largely, but not completely, been phased out (Danechi, 2020)—and extra tuition is used to assist students taking the 11+ exam. In addition to these transitional exams, English tuition is sometimes used to support students with specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, which affect reading and writing skills. These types of English tuition frame the discussion in this chapter and are briefly discussed below. This chapter’s main focus, however, is on a form of English tuition that receives little attention in broader debates about private tuition, in either academic or policy spheres: English as a second language (ESL), meaning here English learnt by those whose mother tongue is not English, but who live in a country where English is the main language spoken (for further discussion on the complexities of terminology in this area, see Nayar, 1997). While ESL tuition is intended for students learning English as a second language, ESL students may also use the types of English tuition detailed above to assist them with specific aspects of the secondary school curriculum, including transitional exams. ESL private tuition is frequently used by students who are immigrants to the UK—both permanent immigrants, for instance children who have moved to the UK with their families, and temporary immigrants, such as tertiary students studying at higher education institutions. In addition, ESL tuition may be used by students born in the UK and raised in a household where the principal language is not English. ESL tuition is also provided by tutors in the UK, via the internet, to students living abroad seeking to improve their English language skills, perhaps prior to attending a UK university or for professional development. Thus,

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the [ESL] student population [in the UK] is extremely diverse and includes refugees and asylum seekers, European Union nationals … people from established communities, newly arrived husbands or wives, so-called economic immigrants, people who are joining family members, people with work permits and people who were born in the United Kingdom but who spent their childhood abroad. (Roberts et al., 2007, p. 21)

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union—officially enacted on 31 January 2020—has likely affected the constitution, if not the overall diversity, of ESL learners. Given the points above, and the diverse UK landscape of the needs and purposes of private tuition, recent research shows that there is a substantial amount of ethnic variation in the uptake of English private tuition (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). This is situated alongside other class and regional differences in the UK, most notably the oft-cited North/South socio-economic divide in England, which includes lower average levels of educational attainment in the North than in the South (Webb et al., 2022). The first part of this chapter contextualises ESL tuition within the broader field of private tuition in the UK, highlighting the difficulty obtaining data on ESL tuition in particular, not least because many tuition services in the UK provide it alongside other types of English tuition, making numerical data difficult to disaggregate. While the focus is on the UK, the methodological challenges discussed here will likely be familiar to researchers working in other contexts. The chapter then considers how ESL tuition is advertised and sold to students and their parents through a discourse analysis of the websites of online tuition companies in the UK. This method is one way of approaching the nebulous area of ESL tuition to shed light on the supply-side, as well as the demand-side, of this area of the private tuition marketplace (Holloway & Pimlott-Wilson, 2019). This discourse analysis considers the claims of such websites, showing how tuition agencies situate ESL tuition within a narrative of integration, suggesting that English language skills are key to educational, professional, and indeed personal, success. It contextualises this discourse within the broader challenges sometimes faced by international students attempting to study in the UK and adjust to its education conventions, and with previous research concerning the formation of ESL learner identities.

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 rivate Tuition, Social Mobility, and Demography P in the UK The latest data on the UK private tuition industry reveal a clear trend: a substantial and increasing demand for the service. In 2005, 18% of state-­educated children in England and Wales aged 16 or younger had received private tuition at some point in their lives; by 2016, this figure had increased to 26% and, by 2019, had risen again to 27% (Kirby, 2016; Holloway & Kirby, 2020; Sutton Trust, 2019). Of these students, the majority had received tuition in English (no data is available for 2019, but for 2016, the figure was just over half ) (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). The amount and type of private tuition depends on factors including area, ethnicity, and wealth. The North/South divide in England is broadly reproduced in private tuition usage, with 44% of children aged 16 or younger having received private tuition in London at some point, and 28% in Southeast England. This compares to 14%, 16%, and 24% of children having ever received private tuition in Northwest England (including Merseyside), Yorkshire and Humberside, and Northeast England, respectively. In Wales, 28% of children aged 16 or younger had received private tuition at some point (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). English tuition in general, including ESL, has some statistically significant differences according to ethnic background. The definition of ethnic here is broad, following the major ethnic groups defined by the UK Department for Education: ‘white’, ‘black’, ‘Asian’, ‘mixed’, and ‘other’. As of 2016, 47% of white pupils had received private tuition for English at some point, 57% of black students, 63% of Asian students, 55% of mixed ethnicity students, and 33% of students from any other background (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). More granular data is not available, for example, giving the proportion of each group that speaks English as a second language. Higher rates of English tuition for children from black and Asian backgrounds may reflect recent immigration trends from certain parts of Africa and China (UK Home Office, 2020), to support children for whom English is a second language (for further discussion of the history of ESL provision and immigration, see Leung & Franson, 2001b). Children from black and Asian backgrounds also have higher than average rates of all types of private tuition, including lessons in a musical instrument and maths, so this trend could be a product of cultural difference (see Bray & Lykins, 2012). Private tuition uptake is also highly stratified according to wealth. The proxy employed here is the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) II, a widely used tripartite classification system that allocates children to a family affluence

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level—low, medium, high—based on a set of questions regarding a family’s lifestyle and assets. Using this scale, 31% of children from high-affluence backgrounds have had private tuition at some time, 21% from medium-­ affluence backgrounds, and only 16% from low-affluence backgrounds (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). In other words, private tuition use is weighted towards the wealthier end of the social spectrum. There is also evidence that poorer families tend to prioritise tuition differently from more well-off families, with 70% of children from low-affluence backgrounds having received tuition in specific GCSE subjects, compared to 36% and 38% of children from medium- and high-affluence backgrounds, respectively (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). The social and ethnic data interrelate, and specific demographics can exhibit different levels of private tuition usage. For example, 78% of Asian Londoners from highly affluent backgrounds report having used private tuition at some point in their lives, compared to 0% of white pupils from low-affluence backgrounds in Northwest England (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). Higher rates of private tuition usage in the UK, then, are associated with both pupils from wealthier families and pupils from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. The reasons for this pattern are beyond the scope of this chapter but have been discussed elsewhere (see Francis & Hutchings, 2013). For present purposes, with reference to tuition in English as a second language, these contextual data show that it occurs within a broader landscape where non-white British communities are more likely to receive private tuition, on average, than white Britons. Alongside this general observation, differences relate to region and wealth. It is likely that the kinds of regional differences evident in the UK are present in various forms in other countries, meaning that care is required when making claims about private tuition usage on national and international scales.

 SL Tuition and Learner Identity in the Second E Language Context Learning English as a second language is not only a technical exercise for students. Students in a second language (L2) environment, including those receiving private tuition, must negotiate both the formal and informal demands of learning a new language in a country with cultural and social norms that may be substantially different from those they are familiar with (Leung & Franson, 2001a). Their earlier educational achievements may be

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challenged by the demands of learning in this new environment, at least at first, as well as the challenges of acculturation to a new social, educational, and professional setting. For some, this will be the first time that they have used private tuition. The diversity of ESL students’ backgrounds makes these challenges equally varied. While there is little research on private ESL tuition beyond references in broader studies (e.g., Zhang, 2020), research on ESL instruction in school and university contexts provides a cross-sectional perspective on the construction of learner identity to situate the discourse analysis in the next section. In the school context, Berry and Williams (2004) undertook a detailed analysis of the linguistic difficulties experienced by Hong Kong-born students at a British private school, in terms of listening, speaking, writing, and vocabulary problems. While these are difficulties faced by all students in an L2 environment: many of them are linked to the other two categories of problems, namely sociocultural and affective. When the students experienced difficulties linguistically, many of them also felt worried and nervous. Socio-cultural problems, like linguistic problems, generally involve affective aspects. (Berry & Williams, 2004, p. 125)

Extra ESL lessons alone, suggest Berry and Williams, may not be sufficient to alleviate these issues; additional, extra-curricular efforts to help students adjust to the English learning environment may be required. Private tuition represents one possible example of such extra-curricular efforts, although, as mentioned, it may also present its own challenges to the learner for whom it is a novel form of instruction. In research with adult learners of English as a second language, Roberts et al. (2007) note questions of social justice here, too: In the ‘superdiverse’ cities of the United Kingdom, where migration, integration, cohesion and intercultural communication are hot issues, there is an urgent need for research that looks at the unique set of conditions that produce the multi-lingual Britain of the early 21st century and how these conditions can be exploited to enhance the linguistic capital of all those who are not local speakers of English. (Roberts et al., 2007, p. 28)

Roberts et al. (2007, p. 28) argue that further attention should be paid to ‘the complex relationship between literacy and English language in the diaspora. Indeed, there is no adequate conceptualising of this relationship that takes account of the diversity in background of those for whom English is not

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their expert language.’ Given this diversity, it has been suggested that a high degree of flexibility is required by teachers to adjust to the different learning requirements of ESL students (Martin, 2009; Tai & Poon, 2016). In research with 35 adult Saudi learners of ESL in the UK, Nouf Aljasir (2020, p. 1) found that ‘most learners succeeded in negotiating and constructing an intercultural identity, which allowed them to actively seek out opportunities to participate in the host community and improve their language-learning outcomes.’ Yet, ‘for a few learners, experiencing identity conflicts and failure to construct their desired identity was a primary obstacle to their language development as they tended to withdraw from social interactions’ (Aljasir, 2020, p. 1). Aljasir’s conclusion is that the ‘participants’ experiences provide evidence that English learning is not only a process of developing language skills but also of negotiating and constructing an identity’ (Aljasir, 2020, p. 13). Crucially, this process of identity formation is not uniform: the individual differences identified among the learners when constructing their L2 identities provide evidence that homogeneity in linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as having a similar status in the host community, do not predict a similar trajectory of identity construction. (Aljasir, 2020, p. 13)

These observations open up complex questions around who English ‘belongs’ to (Norton, 1997), given its usage as both the official and/or de facto language of some states, most obviously England, but also as an international lingua franca—a fact fundamental to its popularity in the UK, and also global, private tuition markets. To further reflect on identity formation in ESL contexts, the remaining sections of this chapter consider how ESL instruction is advertised by tuition providers in the UK, drawing out and analysing key themes.

 SL Private Tuition, Neoliberal Education, E and Discourses of Integration ESL tuition is provided by and through organisations and individuals in a variety of ways. One of the most common types of tuition organisation is through intermediary companies that list the details of sometimes upwards of 1000 tutors in an online database, putting these tutors in contact with prospective tutees. Typically, these agencies impose some form of selection process on potential tutors, who, once registered, upload profiles visible to prospective tutees. Tutees are then able to choose between them in this online

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marketplace. The types and format of tuition offered by each agency differ, some catering exclusively for online tuition, while others offer in person services, as well. Private tuition is also offered by specialist companies via tuition centres or a dedicated tutor roster. Outside these organisations, ESL tuition is sometimes provided online by individuals via adverts posted on social/professional media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Some ESL tuition is specifically advertised by some companies and individuals; others incorporate ESL tuition into their general English provision. The focus in this section is on specialist tuition websites, whether hosted by companies or individuals, rather than adverts posted on general message boards, such as Craigslist and Gumtree. The definition of discourse here follows Dunn and Neumann (2016), p. 4): a system producing a set of statements and practices that, by entering into institutions and appearing like normal, constructs the reality of its subjects and maintains a certain degree of regularity in a set of social relations. Or, more succinctly, discourses are systems of meaning-production that fix meanings, however temporarily, and enable actors to make sense of the world and to act within it. (emphasis in original)

For the purposes of this chapter, institutions are ESL tuition providers. The discourse analysis here is interested in identifying any key themes across providers’ marketing materials to see how potential ESL learners are positioned discursively and how tuition providers frame education and professional norms to signal the potential of ESL tuition. ESL tuition providers were located via the web-based search engine, Google. The data were collected on 18 February 2022, and the first 100 returns under ‘ESL tuition’ were analysed. This list was supplemented by several of the most popular tuition agencies in the UK with no specific webpages for ESL. These did not appear on the web-based search, but did list tutors with ESL specialism upon closer examination, including those claiming expertise in preparing for ESL tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Once non-UK providers, school and college instruction programmes, and tuition agencies that suppled only English rather than specialist ESL tuition had been excluded, a final list of 22 providers was produced, exemplifying the various types of tuition service outlined above. This method focused on online tuition providers, not those advertising through word-of-­ mouth. The aim here is to identify and analyse the key tenets of the discourse which these providers use to advertise ESL tuition. How specific agencies or individuals frame their services is of no interest, so names are not given.

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Three main themes were identified in the marketing pitches of these providers, which were that ESL tuition provided support for: (1) general life in countries where English was the principal language; (2) academic achievement, with a particular focus on transitional exams, including both curricular English qualifications (e.g., GCSEs and A-levels) and ESL qualifications (e.g., IELTS); and (3) successful career outcomes. Sometimes, intermediary agencies listed their own descriptions of ESL tuition and its usage; elsewhere, agencies let tutor adverts speak for themselves. Language was often normative, either explicitly or implicitly stating that good English skills were a prerequisite for the ESL learner to achieve educational, career, and even personal success. To stress their own English language proficiency, tutors often highlighted that they were native speakers (for further discussion of this terminology, see Dervić & Bećirović, 2019). The discourse was highly consistent across ESL tuition providers, the websites overall pivoting between the three themes above. Most providers offered a range of English language services, including ESL, but a small minority offered only ESL tuition. Much of the advertising language, when provided by an agency rather than an individual tutor, was consistent with that used for other subjects offered by the agency. However, some providers offered a dedicated discussion of English, including the difficulties of its complex orthography and its role in contemporary globalised life, to further highlight the benefits of receiving ESL tuition. Through the three discursive themes, the impression was given that ESL tuition was a mode through which learners might better integrate into UK society, but also the English-speaking international community. In this sense, the possession of high-level spoken and written English skills was given a utilitarian function—a practical necessity, rather than worthy for its own sake or for personal growth. The overall tenor of the tuition agencies’ marketing pitches aligns with the broader shift towards neoliberalism that has characterised UK state education in recent decades (Pratt, 2016; Maisuria & Cole, 2017). This shift has increasingly transferred responsibility for children’s education, and indeed, career outcomes, from the state, to parents, the family, and private enterprise (see, e.g., the recent expansion of the UK academies programme, discussed in Hutchings & Francis, 2018). The limits to state education provision have been framed in the policies of successive governments as opportunities for greater private investment in the individual, as part of an effort to make the UK more competitive in the global marketplace (UK Department for Education and Employment, 1997; UK Department for Education, 2016). Arguably, this shift has accelerated in recent years given the austerity policies introduced by the Conservative-led coalition government of 2010–2015 in

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the wake of the 2007–2009 global recession, and by the associated retrenchment in public funding that followed (Smith & O’Leary, 2013). Learners are increasingly expected to take charge of their learning outcomes (see Pimlott-Wilson, 2017), as indicated here by the way private tuition agencies sell their ESL tuition, especially, to tertiary students. ESL learners in higher education, whose investment in their own education is illustrated most obviously by tuition fees (Wilkins et al., 2013), are frequently the targets of tuition agencies’ marketing materials. These materials highlight the contemporary central role of a university degree for professional success. Where tuition is for children too young to secure and pay for it, the target audience is generally parents. This supports longitudinal study findings that neoliberal reforms in education have coincided with the rise—or, at least, the greater importance—of the ‘professional parent’ (Lareau, 2011), who actively supports their child’s learning needs in various ways, including extra-curricular activities and private tuition (Doherty & Dooley, 2018).

 SL Learners, University Study, and Career E Outcomes: Discourse and Practice The previous section highlighted the key discourse characteristics of a sample of private tuition agencies in the UK, which stress the role of ESL tuition for successful educational, social, and professional integration—into both UK society and a globalised world where English is a lingua franca. This raises an important question: to what extent does this discourse reflect the realities of UK educational and professional landscapes? Certainly, good English language skills have been found to benefit ESL students across an array of subjects at primary and secondary levels, as might be expected (Aoki & Santiago, 2015). Recent policy documents, including statutory guidance published by the Conservative-led coalition government in 2014, foregrounded the importance of English, using language that sits well with the discursive themes employed by ESL tuition providers above: English has a pre-eminent place in education and society. A high-quality education in English will teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others and through their reading and listening, others can communicate with them. Through reading in particular, pupils have a chance to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. Literature, especially, plays a key role in such development. Reading also enables pupils both to acquire knowledge and to build on what

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they already know. All the skills of language are essential to participating fully as a member of society; pupils, therefore, who do not learn to speak, read and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised. (UK Department for Education, 2014, p. 3)

The situation in UK higher education is somewhat different to the other stages of education because of a substantial increase in international students in recent years, many of whom are ESL learners. There is evidence that some UK universities, partly in response to changing student demographics, are increasingly tolerant of orthographic and grammatical errors in student submissions, provided the content is understandable (Office for Students, 2021). Evaluating such policies is beyond the scope of this chapter, but, at least as far as some higher education institutions go, the consequences of minor superficial errors are perhaps limited. In addition, some universities have introduced foundation years specifically to improve the English skills of ESL learners. For example, the INTO schemes at City University of London, the University of East Anglia, and the University of Exeter, amongst others, ‘are designed to develop the academic study skills and high levels of English language competence necessary for undergraduate and postgraduate study’ (University of Exeter, n.d.). Several universities are paying attention to the difficulties that some ESL learners might face and taking practical steps to minimise negative effects. Given all this, the discursive emphasis placed by ESL tuition providers on high-level English skills as a prerequisite for university success may not necessarily reflect the reality on the ground. The consequences of having English difficulties in the job market may be more serious. The most recent (2019) Department for Education Employer Skills Survey, ‘a definitive source of intelligence for understanding the skills challenges faced by employers’, states that 31% of UK employers with work skill shortages claim that applicants with adequate reading skills are difficult to find, and only 26% have adequate writing skills (Winterbotham et al., 2020, pp. 8, 39). The evidence suggests that employers discriminate between applicants based on their language skills at the point of application (i.e., in application documents). A study in an English-speaking country that sent identical written applications to employers with and without spelling errors, for example, found that a single mistake reduced the likelihood of the application being successful by between 30% and 45% (Bright & Earl, 2008). The emphasis tuition companies place on good English skills as a prerequisite for employment, then, is not without justification, even if this opens up further questions around the support ESL learners should get to help level the professional playing field (see Evans et al., 2015).

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Conclusion and Implications This chapter has offered a critical overview of private tuition in the UK, focusing on ESL tuition. It has shown that the landscape of private English language tuition in the UK is multifaceted and that ESL provision exists in a context where tuition is procured at greater rates, on average, by students from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and by students from wealthier families. In terms of the overall private tuition market, previous academic work has suggested that private tuition may act, at least in part, as a vehicle for social mobility, as it has the potential to reduce certain inequalities between ethnic groups (Holloway & Kirby, 2020). At the same time, wealthier families’ greater use of private tuition makes any simple narrative of private tuition and social mobility a hostage to fortune. More research is needed to better understand the types of students who receive private tuition in ESL and whether this demographic also has a similar socio-economic gradient to those receiving other types of tuition. Certainly, the idea that ESL tuition is a way for ESL learners to get ahead, and become more socially mobile, is found throughout the discourse used by private tuition agencies to advertise and sell their services. As with broader narratives of neoliberalism, this discourse places the responsibility for education and potential career progression in the hands of tutees and their parents by using a traditional view of immigration and integration—namely, that there is a stable British society that ESL learners can integrate into, provided their English language skills are of the required level. The discourse of integration refers not only to the UK: ESL tuition is also sold as a vehicle through which learners might enter a global marketplace where English language skills are extremely useful. While putting the onus on ESL learners to safeguard their own future is undoubtedly a marketing strategy, it also reflects the dictates of contemporary neoliberal economies, including the greater responsibility placed on learners by the state for the former’s educational outcomes and, hence, their career success. The implications of these findings are twofold. First, they attest to the desirability of greater regulation of UK private tuition, including ESL tuition, so that policymakers can keep better track of the sector. With greater regulation comes the promise of greater transparency, and only then will researchers and others be able to fully understand the effects—whether positive or negative—that ESL tuition is having on the community of ESL learners in the UK. Second, in providing further evidence that ESL tuition is firmly entwined with the broader neoliberal shift seen in UK education (Pratt, 2016; Maisuria & Cole, 2017), the findings speak to how local and national contexts of ESL

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tuition need to be situated within transnational networks of economic change. But the implications of this are plural. In a globalised world where English is a lingua franca, ESL tuition in the UK is both part of an international network of ESL tuition that better enables some to enter an international professional class and a vehicle through which new UK residents can negotiate potentially unfamiliar cultural and social norms. Recommended Texts Aljasir, N. (2020). Identity negotiation and construction among Saudi learners of English as a second language. BAU Journal—Society, Culture and Human Behavior [Online Journal], 2(1), Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://digitalcommons.bau.edu.lb/schbjournal/vol2/iss1/7 A longitudinal study of Saudi ESL learners in the UK, highlighting how these learners seek to negotiate and construct an intercultural identity. Useful for reflecting on learners’ identity formation in an L2 context. Holloway, S., & Kirby, P. (2020). Neoliberalising education: New geographies of private tuition, class privilege, and minority ethnic advancement. Antipode, 52(1), 164–84. An account of private tuition in the UK, considering its uneven distribution across socio-economic and ethnic groups and the implications of this for social mobility. Useful for understanding the main characteristics of this private tuition landscape. Holloway, S., & Pimlott-Wilson, H. (2019). Marketising private tuition: Representations of tutors’ competence, entrepreneurial opportunities and service legitimation in home tutoring business manuals. British Educational Research Journal, 46(1), 205–21. A discourse analysis of home tutoring manuals for individuals planning to set up their own private tuition businesses. Useful for further exploring the potential of this method for understanding the supply-side as well as demand-­side aspects of private tuition. Engagement Priorities  • ESL private tuition in many countries is a largely hidden market. How can future research further explore this area?  • To what extent have recent neoliberal policy agendas affected how ESL private tuition is sold in your country? • How will the increasing use of online tuition affect the size and characteristics of English private tuition market in your country?

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Non-Formal Adult English Tutoring in the United States Tasha Bleistein

Introduction Criticism is often aimed at private English language tutoring due to its role in a shadow education system that privileges socio-economically advantaged groups that can afford it and helps perpetuate the disparity in achievement between different groups (e.g., Bray & Kwo, 2013). By contrast, in the United States, a large sector of small group and individual English tutoring is conducted by volunteers. This chapter provides a broad overview of immigration and English language education in the United States, focusing on a case study of how one local tutoring programme in Southern California addressed the English language needs of the community. The challenges and lessons learned from the non-formal programme’s efforts to provide free English language tutoring for adults considered Limited English Proficient (LEP) are highlighted.

T. Bleistein (*) Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_13

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Immigration and Language in the United States With nearly 45 million adults and children identified as immigrants (Straut-­ Eppsteiner, 2019), the United States has the largest immigrant population in the world (Origins and destinations of the world’s migrants, 2018), estimated as being from 14% to 19% of the total population. An immigrant, according to the United Nations, is someone who has lived away from their country of origin for one year or longer (Recommendations, 1998). Although the majority of immigrants in the United States have legal status (77%), there is a significant portion who reside in the United States without legal documentation (Budiman, 2020). The percentage of U.S. households where a language other than English is spoken has grown in recent years. More than 22% of the population over five years old speaks a language other than English at home, the largest language group being Spanish speakers (13.5% of the total U.S. population; U.S. Census Bureau, 2019a). Among the U.S. immigrant population, approximately 59% have been categorized as having Limited English Proficiency (LEP; Batalova & Fix, 2021). The official designation of LEP is given when a person responds “no” to a census question asking if they speak English at home. They are then asked to self-report how well they speak English. Those who indicate “not at all,” “not well,” or “well,” (in contrast to those who self-report they speak “only English” or “very well”) are then officially designated as LEP.

Education Level and Immigrants in the Workforce The economic impact of COVID-19 revealed the vulnerability of specific groups of workers, including immigrants. Nearly one in ten workers in the United States is considered LEP and, therefore, may be paid between 25% and 40% less than their peers who are proficient in English (Cherewka, 2020). Post-secondary certification is often a key to both economic and social mobility. Immigrants are three times more likely to be without a high school diploma or equivalent (Budiman, 2020). Of the nearly 30 million adults with immigrant origins in the United States, 63% do not have post-secondary credentials (e.g., a vocational certificate, a college degree; Batalova & Fix, 2021). The majority (80%) of employment opportunities in the United States require education beyond high school levels. The average household income for immigrant households is nearly 4% less than that of non-immigrant households, and immigrant households are also more likely to live below the

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poverty line, especially those with young children (Batalova et  al., 2021; McHugh & Doxsee, 2018). Therefore, much of the English language funding in the United States is tied to improving skills of the workforce.

 ontext: Immigrants, Language, and the State C of California In order to understand the need for local English as Additional Language (EAL) programmes, the larger context of adult English language education must be explored. Immigrant adults disproportionally settle in large metropolitan areas, especially in the states of California, Texas, and Florida. California is home to nearly one-quarter of the immigrant population in the United States; the immigrant population in Los Angeles County comprises 34% of the total state population and has the highest estimated number of unauthorized immigrants (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019b: Batalova et al., 2021). Unauthorized immigrants without post-secondary credentials are unsurprisingly concentrated in states with large immigrant populations, like California, with the largest percentage in the United States, nearly 30% higher than the average across the United States (Batalova & Fix, 2021). The principal location of EAL instruction for adults in the United States has been state adult education systems, which serve only 4% of the EAL population (McHugh & Doxsee, 2018). Budgets for adult EAL courses have been reduced nationally and the flexibility to meet a variety of demands through state-sponsored programmes was reduced after the 2014 bill, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was passed, which ties funding to performance measures, only one of which is English language progress (McHugh & Doxsee, 2018). The bill was built on the existing framework for workplace instruction, rather than prioritizing the long-term needs of U.S. immigrants. With funding targeting workforce preparation, other language goals, such as English for parents to support their children’s education are often absent from the curriculum. WIOA and the current adult education system in the United States prioritize more advanced learners who are better equipped to succeed in meeting employment or study goals (McHugh and Doxsee, 2018). Parent education has had a particularly high decline, along with programmes outside the scope of WIOA funding. Groups often excluded from state-sponsored programmes include the elderly and working adults who cannot attend the hours required by many programmes. Schools often set an unrealistic pace in the attempt to

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meet certain learning benchmarks, and many students cannot repeat courses several times, since waiting lists for English language classes often exist. WIOA requires states to match federal funding, and California spends more than any other state. The funds allocated for English language programmes often go to two-year public community colleges that accept high school graduates and offer certificates or two-year college degrees. The other low-cost venue for adult language education is adult education classes offered by public school districts, although many have closed or reduced these programmes in recent years due to uncertainty over funding and the wish to channel additional resources to younger students.

The Role of Non-Formal English Tutoring Adult EAL immigrants are often unable or unwilling to attend the formal English classes offered by adult schools and community colleges due to inconvenience or emotional and logistical hurdles (e.g., low sense of self-efficacy, fear due to unauthorized legal status; Khazan, 2021; Larotta, 2019). Many adult schools and community colleges have mandatory attendance policies to meet WIOA funding requirements; students must attend classes in the morning or evening, four or five days per week for three-to-four hours a day. Parents or those who work often find these schedules unmanageable. In addition, navigating online registration, parking systems, and similar requirements challenge and discourage some from pursuing education. To meet the needs of the large LEP adult immigrant population, non-profit and non-formal educational organizations across the United States offer free tuition for those who prefer one-on-one or small group lessons to improve their English language skills. Public libraries and local literacy councils have taken the lead in education in this area, offering English conversation circles or one-to-one and small group tuition. Although funding has declined significantly in recent decades and many local offerings have disappeared, some positive funding opportunities have arisen for libraries to provide English language instruction to patrons, such as the American Dream Literacy Initiative (American, n.d.). In 2021, California allocated 15 million dollars to help libraries offer EAL classes over a three-to-five-year period (Peet, 2021). One of the strengths that non-formal educational organizations can offer is the flexibility to operate outside rigid formal structures. Participants in non-­ formal English tuition sessions or classes across the United States may find a sense of belonging through socializing in addition to improving their language skills (e.g., Garcia et  al., 2013). The less formal and smaller

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environment in a non-traditional education setting, like a library, church building, or community centre, can foster a strong sense of community in participants living in the same area. Many successful English language tuition programmes across the United States have been set up in libraries, where as well as borrowing books and media, they also have important community service roles—offering tuition in areas like computer literacy, first language literacy, and EAL. Libraries have long been a place where immigrants can learn about no-cost community resources and feel welcome.

Grassroots ESL Case Study Case studies allow close examination of specific concerns. Studying “real people in real situations” makes for better understanding than “abstract theories or principles” alone (Cohen et al., 2011, p. 289). The author of this chapter was a participant observer, at seven sites and the tutor trainer for the programme that is the focus of this case study. As a professor in a Master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (M.A. TESOL) programme at a local university, she taught a practicum course where some of the M.A. students completed their required teaching hours in the Grassroots ESL programme. She led tutoring sessions, observed M.A. student practicums, and collaboratively created the health curriculum used in the various community sites. The information for this case study comes from interviews with key stakeholders (directors, tutors, and students), personal experience (participation, observation), and a study of relevant documents, archival records, and artefacts (e.g., reports, newsletters, social media, evaluation forms, websites, podcasts).

Welcome to Azusa, California Azusa is home to a non-formal adult EAL programme named Grassroots ESL. Located 27 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Azusa is one of the many cities surrounding the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States; the only indication of where neighbouring cities end, and Azusa starts are the “Welcome to Azusa” signs encircling the city. Azusa has been struggling more than its close neighbours with a relatively high poverty rate and a large number of parents who have not completed high school.

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Azusa has a foreign-born population of nearly 30%, the largest percentage being Latino with, more than half the population speak a language other than English at home (United States Census Bureau, 2019b). Even with a large percentage of the population reporting that their English was less than fluent, budget cuts led to significant reductions in English language classes around the community when Grassroots ESL was started. For example, the local adult school reduced from 20 sites around the community to one site on their main campus. Local community colleges offer ESL classes, but some from the LEP community reported that the large class sizes as well as the significant time commitment required made classes an unrealistic option.

Grassroots ESL In 2011, the new position of literacy director at the Azusa Library was funded by the State of California to carry out first-language literacy programmes for adults. In order to understand the first language literacy needs in the community, the new literacy director met with stakeholders in the community. She repeatedly heard that the more pressing need was for more English language learning opportunities. The literacy director had previously worked at a busy library in the same region with active first-language literacy and EAL classes. Drawing on nearly 30 years of experience with first and additional language literacy, she sought potential community partners for funding to support an EAL tutoring programme. The ethos of Grassroots ESL was that disparate groups should work together to address the English language needs of the community. Government and non-profit groups may focus on similar concerns, but competition for funding, unnecessary redundancy of services offered, or other issues can diminish the overall impact. Grassroots ESL believed that a collective impact approach could maximize their positive influence on the community and minimize the competition for limited resources by working collaboratively to address the English language needs in the community. For collective impact to work, five conditions must be met (Kania & Kramer, 2011). 1 . Common Agenda: a shared view of the problem and how to solve it. 2. Shared Measurement Systems: agreement on what success is, how it will be measured, and the ability to hold each other accountable. 3. Mutually Reinforcing Activities: freedom to capitalize on differing strengths to work towards common goals.

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4. Continuous Communication: regular meetings to share ideas and increase trust. 5. Backbone Support Organizations: a person, committee, or organization to create an infrastructure to support the group, and help to resolve issues (e.g., conflicts, financial reporting). Without clear funding and because community initiatives that are owned by one entity, like a library, often do not have the impact multiple agencies can have when they collaborate to address community needs, the director searched for partners open to the collective impact model. In 2013, seven organizations joined together to form Grassroots ESL.

Grassroots ESL Beginnings The initial group of collaborators were the library, two local public elementary schools wanting to offer free English tutoring to parents, two non-profit organizations that offered services such as afterschool tutoring to children and wanted to expand to include English tuition for parents, and two churches seeking ways to serve their congregations or neighbourhoods. There were some growing pains, and two of the initial organizations left, but others joined, an average of eight consistently participating. The goal of Grassroots ESL was to provide volunteer-led, small group English language tuition in a variety of locations around the city. The library agreed to manage tutor training and the data, and the partner organizations designated a site coordinator, managed the space for teaching sessions, and recruited tutors. All agreed to participate in monthly leadership meetings to guide and direct Grassroots ESL.  With an experienced tutor and literacy advocate at the helm, the partnership started with many responsibilities under the supervision of the public library and the staff. Grant funding, tutor training, testing, record keeping, and administrative functions were carried out by library staff or the literacy coordinator.

English for a Healthy Life In the initial years of Grassroots ESL, English for a Healthy Life formed as a smaller grant-funded programme to establish English tutoring sites for Grassroots ESL. English for a Healthy Life was a collaboration between the library, an M.A. TESOL programme, and a community health centre led by

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the nursing faculty of the same university as the TESOL programme. The curriculum focused on English language learning and health literacy, targeting common health needs the community health centre had noted in the local population, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. The M.A. and nursing students had the opportunity to grow and develop in their respective professions—teaching the English language or nursing—serving the local community at the same time. The eight-week English for a Healthy Life sessions were rotated in Grassroots ESL sites, with a health and EAL curriculum developed collaboratively by the Literacy Director, TESOL faculty member and M.A. students, and nursing faculty member and nursing students. The M.A. students served as tutors and the nursing students were consulted about health topics, took participants’ blood pressure, and recorded step counts from pedometers in a log. Each English learner was provided with the curriculum and a pedometer. In the sessions, the adult English learners explored language points relating to health content to improve their English skills and health knowledge. The English for a Healthy Life curriculum was communicative and collaborative, encouraging learners to involve their families in their English and health learning. For example, one healthy food choices unit provided a copy of a children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle, 1969). The English curriculum included describing, categorizing, and discussing food choices, and the English learners, primarily mothers of young children, practised reading the book aloud in the sessions. The out-of-class work included taking the book home to read to their children and leading a family discussion on the importance of healthy eating and healthy food decisions. The ESL lessons combined with subject (health) knowledge encouraged participants to make lifestyle changes related to using English and health (e.g., increased exercise, change in diet) to make holistic, positive changes. After the eight-week sessions, participants completed a final questionnaire. The results indicated improvements in English, healthier food choices, and high levels of satisfaction with the course. Many highlighted the new structures and vocabulary that they had learned or the English practice activities they were able to try outside the classroom. Others reported significant health gains, like losing 13 pounds or dropping their cholesterol by 150 points. All the participants reported improvements in English and health. Interestingly, many mentioned other achievements such as improved self-esteem, self-efficacy, and sense of wellbeing. They reported being proud of their efforts and feeling more connected to others in the community. One participant in English Lessons for a Healthy Life is an example of how the sessions impacted lives. She joined the first sessions offered at the local

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library. Even having lived in the United States for 30 years, she was unwilling to speak English. She came to the sessions after hearing about them from her daughter, an M.A. TESOL student at the time, since the sessions were free and local. The daughter observed her mother using English around the house, which she would not have done before, and walking more to meet her step goals. English Lessons for a Healthy Life was successful partly because its curriculum was based on a needs assessment of the community members and the training in communicative teaching approaches that the M.A. students received.

Tutor Training, Resources, and Approaches English for a Healthy Life was taught at the majority of Grassroots ESL sites around the community, but, after the eight-week session was finished, the sites needed to locate tutors and select materials for regular tutoring sessions. The library and the partner sites advertised for volunteer tutors through flyers inserted in city bills and announcements at local public school parent events. Potential tutors completed an application and were invited to attend an initial tutor-training session, typically offered twice a year for approximately four hours each. The training began by introducing key features of adult learning and second language acquisition to build a foundation for how tutors and tutees interact, aiming to: 1. Make learning relevant and practical by focusing on the daily needs of participants. 2. Show respect for learners and understand that respect can differ according to culture. 3. Facilitate communicative sessions that provide time for socializing. 4. Review material often and allow plenty of practice opportunities. 5. Give praise to balance constructive feedback. 6. Include cultural learning, such as politeness and cultural norms, while also learning about the learners’ cultures. 7. Understand the complexity of language learning and its impact on the ego. After the foundation was built, sections on assessing students’ needs, leading communicative sessions, and approaches to integrating vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, and other skills were covered. Sample activities and lessons were shared, with time to review resources and build a session outline

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in groups. The training was interactive, with group and pair activities throughout, and participants’ evaluations indicated that they enjoyed the training and learned useful approaches and information. The shortcoming is that a single initial training is not enough for potential tutors with no previous experience teaching or being EAL tutors. The training provided a foundation for a local or situated curriculum with students’ needs at its core (Ur, 2013), but a single session does not adequately prepare new tutors. Without on-going training or prepared material, many tutors were unsure of how to proceed. A common request from tutors was for additional teaching material, but the literacy coordinator initially hesitated to provide sets of textbooks due to the high cost as well as the danger of over-reliance on textbooks, making small-group sessions more tutor-centred and less communicative. One long-­ time tutor memorized parts of the textbook he had been using for years in his sessions. He was concerned that students would lose access to textbooks after lessons temporarily moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic; however, he found a website that offered prepared materials he could use in a similar way to the textbook. This tutor’s experience illustrates Apple and Jungck’s (1990) warning about “deskilling” teachers through an over-reliance on pre-­ packaged curriculum; yet many tutors have limited training and few opportunities to improve their skills under the guidance of more experienced or trained tutors. The literacy coordinator noted that most of the Grassroots ESL tutors’ sessions follow a similar structure. While some relied heavily on textbooks, others had experience as teachers and drew on learners’ experience for both content and inspiration in the sessions. One mentioned that her sessions were conversational and focused on topics that the students have expressed interest in such as their work, children’s schooling, and hobbies.

Benefits and Strengths of the Programme While there are areas for growth, Grassroots ESL had a number of positive outcomes. One site coordinator from a public school in the city noted that many parent participants in Grassroots ESL had been distanced from other parents or even neighbours prior to participant in the programme, but their self-confidence and social bonds grew as they felt empowered and improved their spoken English. Parents had become more engaged with the school community and often involved themselves in other parent activities at school. In addition, some sites attracted community members who were not ready or

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unable to attend the formal English learning opportunities offered in the city. Strong social bonds helped learners to persevere and gain the confidence to use English outside lessons (Garcia et al., 2013). Many tutors volunteered in order to make connections across the community and serve others. Others were motivated by their own immigrant connections, whether their own, their family members’, or friends’. Both tutors and learners expressed a sense of connection with others in the community and appreciated the opportunity to learn from each other. With different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the tutor-learner experience helped them understand each other’s unique stories and perspectives.

Challenges and Opportunities Shortcomings of the current model include a single tutor-training session and the lack of connection between tutors that result in uneven approaches in sessions. A one-­time initial training session for tutors is not sufficient to equip volunteer tutors. On-going training opportunities and socialization among tutors is needed, where they can collaborate and share materials and teaching ideas could reduce the burden on individual tutors, strengthen their community ties and commitment to the programme, and build satisfaction. Creation and curation of materials in a repository could help to replicate some of the benefits from the English for a Healthy Life programme where local and relevant curriculum was available. The Grassroots ESL leadership team identified the need for contextualized curriculum to be available to tutors. The team has content expertise in areas like reading report cards or test results, but there remains a lack of training on pedagogical approaches and materials development that needs to be addressed to move forward. A formal needs analysis system and collaborative materials building process are needed to reproduce the strengths of the English for a Healthy Life curriculum and reduce the burden on tutors with minimal training to create their own material. Well-developed, contextualized curriculum material can also assist with training tutors. A revised version of participatory curriculum development is suggested for the Grassroots ESL programme. Participatory curriculum development puts adult learners and their experiences and needs at the centre of local curriculum development. Instead of focusing on textbooks, it draws on Freire’s (2002) work, seeking input from learners for curriculum development. Needs assessment activities should be conducted in tutoring sessions to gather data. Needs assessment data could drive collaborative curriculum development.

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Auerbach (1992) provided a number of classroom ritual activities that can collect relevant data. One example is a “Good News/Bad News” report of what happened over the weekend during the first session of each week. Some Grassroots ESL tutors already lead informal discussions at the beginning of class, so recording data such as problems encountered during daily life could drive the curriculum development process. If a group of tutors, leadership team members, and experts in the form of local M.A. TESOL students or faculty members joined together, they could build a resource repository for tutors to draw from when topics arise. Tutors who participate in collaborative resource development could build up their pedagogical knowledge while better serving their learners and producing resources of use to the broader Grassroots ESL community. A unified pedagogical approach that utilizes insights from learners, tutors, and needs assessment data is needed. Without a clear pedagogical approach, many tutors resort to informal conversation or are over-reliant on mass produced material not specific to learner needs. Considering which materials are invested in as more funding becomes available and how to train tutors to use them in small group and individual tutoring could also improve the quality of instruction. With minimally trained tutors, on-going collaboration and training can enhance the quality of sessions and lead to improved learning experience for participants and increased support for tutors who may struggle to find material content. In addition, examining how lessons are taught and what resources are needed could be carried out as part of an on-going needs analysis process. With local grants available, Grassroots ESL has been able to sustain itself. As new funding opportunities arise, like the ESL funding available to libraries in California approved in 2021, exploring ways to recruit learners from underserved groups, creating or sourcing materials, and increasing the training are key ways to expand and strengthen the programme. Grassroots ESL provides a case study of one non-formal adult English tutoring programme in the United States. While the story of how the programme started and is run is specific, library-sponsored, and other local non-­ formal ESL classes are common across the United States, these local opportunities can provide language support for immigrants looking for flexible learning options.

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Implications English education around the world is often costly, and, therefore, out of reach for groups with lower socio-economic status. Non-formal English tutoring programmes that are staffed with volunteer tutors offer an alternative to for-profit business models that perpetuate inequality. English language teachers, teacher educators, graduate students, and other governmental and non-­ governmental organizations can collaborate to collectively impact, even disrupt, the English teaching industry. Freire’s first language literacy programmes equipped attendees to defend their rights and examine systems of oppression. His legacy and writings, such as Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2002), can serve as inspiration to those who desire to support local populations that have fewer advantages, like the many undocumented (unauthorized) immigrants who participated in Grassroots ESL tutoring sessions. Creating opportunities for language learning and subsequent advancement (e.g., better grades in schools, increased job opportunities) through non-formal tutoring for English learners can be transformative work for the tutors as well as those attending the classes. Recommended Resources Auerbach, E. R. (1992). Making meaning, making change: Participatory curriculum development for adult ESL literacy. Center for Applied Linguistics. This is a classic text that provides a framework for how to utilize adult students’ experiences and needs as the basis for curriculum development in non-formal tutoring and adult literacy and ESL classrooms. Bleistein, T., & Lewis, M. (2015). One-on-one language teaching and learning: Theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. This book is a comprehensive overview of how to conduct language tutoring sessions with practical advice for novice or experienced tutors. Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 9(1), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.48558/5900-­KN19 This article is an overview of collective impact with examples of how it has been applied to address large-scale social problems. Engagement Priorities 1. What role can non-formal English education play in your local context? How can this be a force for equity of access?

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2. What qualifications should be set for tutors so that they “do no harm”? How can this be balanced with the voluntary nature of the non-­formal tutor world? 3. Would you recommend that governments and other funding bodies support non-formal education for students who do not find traditional educational settings to be appropriate? What are the opportunities and challenges of this approach? 4. How could the principles of collective impact be used to address a language related issue in your local context? 5. What are the strengths and challenges of using a participatory approach to curriculum development?

References American Library Association. (n.d.). American dream literacy initiative. Retrieved March 5, 2022, from https://www.ala.org/tools/programming/americandream Apple, M. W., & Jungck, S. (1990). “You don’t have to be a teacher to teach this unit:” Teaching, technology, and gender in the classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 27(2), 227–251. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163008 Auerbach, E. R. (1992). Making meaning, making change: Participatory curriculum development for adult ESL literacy. Center for Applied Linguistics. Batalova, J., & Fix, M. (2021, November). Narrowing the skills gap: Equipping immigrant-­origin workers with postsecondary credentials. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/ equipping-­immigrant-­origin-­workers-­postsecondary-­credentials Batalova, J., Hanna, M., & Levesque, C. (2021, February 11). Frequently requested statistics on immigrants and immigration in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/ article/frequently-­requested-­s tatistics-­i mmigrants-­a nd-­i mmigration-­u nited-­ states-­2020#immigrants-­labor-­force Bray, M., & Kwo, O. (2013). Behind the facade of fee-free education: Shadow education and its implications for social justice. Oxford Review of Education, 39(4), 480–497. https://doi.org/10.1080/0354985.2013.821852 Budiman, A. (2020, August 20). Key findings about U.S. immigrants. Pew Research Center. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-­ tank/2020/08/20/key-­findings-­about-­u-­s-­immigrants/ Carle, E. (1969). The very hungry caterpillar. Scholastic Inc.. Cherewka, A. (2020, September 3). The digital divide hits U.S. immigrant households disproportionately during the COVID-19 pandemic. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/digital-­d ivide-­h its-­u s-­i mmigrant-­ households-­during-­covid-­19

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Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education (7th ed.). Routledge. Freire, P. (2002). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th Anniversary Ed.). Continuum. Garcia, I., Bleistein, T. M., & Fang, E. (2013). United for success: Community health ESL classes. CA TESOL L.A. Regional Conference. Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 9(1), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.48558/5900-­KN19 Khazan, O. (2021, June 4). Why can’t immigrants learn English? The Atlantic. https:// www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/why-­c ant-­i mmigrants-­ learn-­english/619053/ Larotta, C. (2019). Immigrants learning English in a time of anti-immigrant sentiment. Adult Literacy Education, 1(1) https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ ED594573.pdf McHugh, M., & Doxsee, C. (2018). English plus integration: Shifting the instructional paradigm for immigrant adult learners to support integration success. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/ sites/default/files/publications/AdultEd_EnglishPlusIntegration_Final.pdf Origins and destinations of the world’s migrants. (2018, February 28). Pew Research Center. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/global/ interactives/global-­migrant-­stocks-­map/ Peet, L. (2021, August 31). California budget to increase library funding by more than $100 million. Library Journal. https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/ california-­budget-­to-­increase-­library-­funding-­by-­more-­than-­100-­million Recommendations on statistics of international migration, Revision 1 (1998). United Nations. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesm/seriesm_58rev1e.pdf Straut-Eppsteiner, H. (2019). Citizenship and immigration statuses of the U.S foreign-­ born population (CRS Report No. IF11806). https://sgp.fas.org/crs/homesec/ IF11806.pdf United States Census Bureau. (2019a). Percentage non-English language at home. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=percentage%20non-­e nglish%20language%20at%20home&tid=ACSST1Y2019.S1601 United States Census Bureau. (2019b). Quick facts: Los Angeles County, California. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/losangelescountycalifornia Ur, P. (2013). Language-teaching method revisited. ELT Journal, 67(4), 468–474. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cct041

Shadow Education in Literacy for Migrant Students Learning in English as an Additional Language in Australian Primary Schools Karen Dooley, Elizabeth Briant, and Megan Kimber

Introduction English is complexly woven into the fabric of primary schooling in Australia. Given the nation’s location in the ‘inner circle’ of English usage (Kachru, 1985/2015), the language is the usual medium of instruction. Further, all students study subject English, a learning area that includes but is not limited to English qua language. The variant of the language enshrined in subject English is Standard Australian English (SAE). The national curriculum in that learning area is tied to standardised national literacy tests (NAPLAN). In addition, English is both medium and content of examinations through which some families pursue prestigious secondary school opportunities (Campbell et al., 2009; Windle, 2015). It matters, then, that English is differentially distributed across the population.

K. Dooley (*) • E. Briant Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] M. Kimber Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_14

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Most students in Australian schools speak English at home, although SAE may be an additional dialect for them. Others speak English as an additional language (EAL). This was the case in this study: the focal students spoke Sinhala or Chinese. As EAL students, they faced the triple challenge of using English as medium of instruction to learn about English while learning English (Gibbons, 2006). In doing so, they were competing with peers for whom English—if not SAE—was their home language. Additionally, as high academic achievers, they were contenders for coveted opportunities in Australia’s highly differentiated school system. In this context, the study probed parental action on the shadow education (SE) market in ‘English’. By ‘SE’ we mean for-fee tuition that is parent-organised and funded and directed towards academic achievement—the most commonly investigated SE phenomenon (Bray & Kwo, 2014). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the research problem: What educational needs does private tutoring in English serve for families whose children are learning in EAL in the Australian school system? The problem is interesting because it probes the national particularity of parental use of private tutoring in English. Private tutoring might be a phenomenon around the world, and English might be a global lingua franca, but parental decisions about for-fee tuition in English are responsive to practices and policies of the education system within which their children (will) study and the nation-state remains a key scale of activity in this regard. The findings of the study are likely to be of most relevance to other inner circle nations. However, the theorisation, which is drawn from the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, may be of wider utility for understanding the exchange of resources involved in for-fee tuition. To clarify what counts as ‘English’ in Australia, it should be noted that subject English, as specified in the national curriculum, covers not only language, but also literature and literacy. Standards-based grades are awarded without consideration of English proficiency. NAPLAN tests of generic (English) literacy skills occur in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, addressing reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation. After being exempted in their first year of Australian schooling, EAL students sit NAPLAN and are scored against national standards without regard for English proficiency. While intended for school comparison and individual diagnosis, NAPLAN results are considered during admission to certain schools, thereby raising the stakes of the assessment. Some students also sit examinations for selective public secondary school entry and scholarships to prestigious private secondary schools. The selective options appeal to migrants and competition is stiff (Ho, 2020; Windle, 2015). The entry examinations are conducted in English and assess English/literacy. Some use SE for one or more of these purposes: subject English, NAPLAN and selective/scholarship examinations (Dooley, 2020).

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Historically, SE has been little used in Australia. An early international comparative study of 1994–1995 TIMSS data reported prevalence of 20 per cent in Australia (international range: 6–80 per cent) (Baker et  al., 2001). Since then, SE has burgeoned (Sriprakash et al., 2016; Wu & Singh, 2004) as it has in other western countries (Bray, 2009). This has been attributed to increasing competition and parental expectations of payoff from SE (Bray, 2009). In Australia, SE growth has accompanied the restructuring of English/literacy education through introduction of (1) the national curriculum with its highly specified standards-based content (Luke et al., 2012), (2) A-E grading and (3) NAPLAN (Dooley, 2020). It has occurred, moreover, in a school’s market differentiated through funding and school choice policies (Campbell et al., 2009; Windle, 2015). Internationally, standardisation (Byun & Park, 2012) and differentiation (Entrich, 2021) are both associated with SE use. Furthermore, the period has seen substantial immigration from East and South Asia (Ho, 2020; Wu & Singh, 2004). A racialised educational politics has construed ‘Asian’ parents as ‘pressuring’ and ‘pushy’ and criticised them for using SE to pursue educational advantage for their high-achieving children. This fissiparous rhetoric erupts periodically into controversies about national values and cultural norms of childhood, that is, an anglospheric politics of education (Watkins et al., 2017). Researchers have challenged discourses around SE and Asian migrants. One, they have suggested that migrants from Asian countries with highly competitive school systems have been able to read and respond to the new order of educational competition in Australia (Sriprakash et  al., 2016), although they are not the only group in the population to have done so (Dooley et al., 2021; Windle, 2015; Wu & Singh, 2004). Two, researchers have underscored similarities between parenting in migrant and middle-class families. A study in Melbourne reported high levels of SE in affluent English-­ speaking families who are highly active school choosers (Windle, 2015). Taking a different tack, other studies have posited similarity between migrant parents’ preparation of their children for outstanding academic achievement through SE, and middle-class Anglo parents’ ‘concerted cultivation’ of their children. The explicit pedagogies of SE, it is argued, give migrant parents the information they need in order to be involved in their children’s academic work (Sriprakash et al., 2016). It is worth noting that Korean research has found that monitoring children’s academic work and purchasing SE are forms of parental involvement associated with enhanced academic outcomes in mathematics and foreign language (English), although not in subject Korean (Park et al., 2011). In any case, researchers have proposed that, for all the difference of substance, the exchange value of the parenting of educationally

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successful, SE-using migrants in the UK and Australia is akin to that of those fractions of the White/Anglo middle classes which, until recently, monopolised academically elite schooling and its profits (Aris, 2017; Francis et  al., 2017; Sriprakash et al., 2016). This raises the theoretical problem of the place of SE in the capital exchanges of different groups in the population. ‘Capital’ is here understood in terms developed by French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. The concept of cultural capital that we use has been extended beyond the ‘high culture’ efficacious for social reproduction through education in family, community and school in the mid-twentieth-century France of Bourdieu (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990) to cultural resources salient in the twenty-first century and in other nations, and accumulated through SE (Byun et al., 2012; Yamamoto & Brinton, 2010; Yung, 2020; Zhang, 2020). In this vein, the study’s research problem can be reframed as follows: What is the place of SE in English/literacy in the capital exchanges of families of EAL students in Australian primary schools? The chapter has four more sections. In the first we conceptualise capital exchanges in English/literacy education in Australia, highlighting the place of SE. In the second, we describe the empirical study; and in the third, present detailed analyses documenting how SE in English (in all its complexity in the school system of Australia as an inner circle nation), fits into the capital exchanges of three migrant families whose children learn in EAL. After discussion of SE as a form of involvement by parents of EAL students who have migrated to the inner circle, we conclude in the fourth section by raising questions for policymakers and researchers about private tutoring and English. Detailed understanding of the particulars of relevant capital exchanges is useful if research and policy are to engage effectively with such tensions (Lee & Shouse, 2011).

SE and Capital Exchanges ‘Capital’ is the value of resources in a field. When the capital is cultural, those resources take embodied, objectified or institutionalised form (Bourdieu, 1986/2006). Embodied cultural capital is the value that is accorded durable dispositions and cognitive classificatory schema which generate perception, appraisal and action. Subject-specific dispositions such as the inclination to link the content of a text to one’s own life when reading fiction in subject English is an example. Objectified cultural capital is bestowed on culture in material form—books and other learning objects legitimised for use in school

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on the one hand (e.g., textbooks, prescribed novels); and texts produced by students on the other (e.g., a student oral presentation) (Luke, 2008/2019). Institutionalised cultural capital inheres in marks (on assignments), grades (for a semester), scores (on tests) or certifications (e.g., Queensland’s Year 12 Certificate of Education). In all cases, it is an official (‘institutional’) endorsement of the objectified cultural capital produced by the student (Bourdieu, 1986/2006). Parents may transmit their own embodied and objectified cultural capital to their children or invest their social or economic capital in cultural capital for them, as occurs through purchase of SE (Yung, 2020). In the political economy of English/literacy education in English-dominant western countries, EAL needs and other so-called special needs for linguistic and cultural capital have been addressed through add-on compensatory programs, with SE becoming a means by which parents pursue capitals not available to their children through regular and special programs at school (Luke, 2008/2019). During schooled English/literacy in Australia, the child converts an embodied cultural capital of dispositions to learning and subject-specific orientations to linguistic, literary and literate ways of knowing into an objectified cultural capital of schoolwork or assessment. These artefacts—classroom talk, assignments, oral performances, examination scripts and so forth—indicate students’ capacity to objectify their mastery of the cultural contents of books and other learning objects. Some of those artefacts accrue institutionalised cultural capital, as do certain dispositions, for instance, an orientation to linguistic form, a literary sensibility and a literate inclination to meaningful reading. The resources thereby acquired at primary school may be tenderable as capital for secondary schooling (Luke, 2008/2019). From our larger project and previous analyses (Dooley, 2020; Dooley et al., 2021), we knew that the participants viewed education as the means to advantageous life chances for their high-achieving children and were variously pursuing institutionalised cultural capital in subject English, NAPLAN and scholarship/selective school examinations. While we had attended somewhat incidentally to the use of SE to compensate for English proficiency and knowledge of English, we had neither done so systematically nor operationalised the cultural capitals of English/literacy delicately and within a thorough-­ going conceptualisation of schooling as capital exchange. We did that in this study. An exploratory approach was warranted. It was not possible to simply read capital exchanges off the SE products on the local market because at least some of those products are used by families who speak English at home—SAE

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included (Dooley et al., 2018; Dooley, 2020). Concomitantly, while we knew of flows of information about SE in migrant communities, we wondered about the challenge of navigating an SE market that included the content of subject English and NAPLAN—a point of speculation akin to that found in research on SE and subject Korean in Korea (Park et al., 2011).

The Study The study data were drawn from a project on parents’ use of private literacy tutoring with their Year 5 children (9½ to 10½ years in Queensland). In Year 5, students not only undertake subject English and NAPLAN, but might also sit, or prepare for, scholarship/selective examinations in preparation for the commencement of secondary school in Year 7. The recruitment, interview and data preparation procedures of the study have been reported elsewhere (Dooley et al., 2021). The three interviews with parents we subject to intensive analysis here were selected from a set of 35. The selection criteria were that the participants were migrants who used their first language at home, intended their child to complete their schooling in Australia, and nominated EAL as a source of educational need for their child. The selected interviews provide data about the uses of SE that are so controversial in Australia. The families were well off, with incomes from about three to at least seven times the national average. The parents were university-­ educated professionals, some with higher degrees. This was not intentional: we tried unsuccessfully to recruit a broader demographic. All the focal children were high achievers attending reputable public schools with large Asian populations. Differences among the participants pertained to countries of origin, home language, duration of residence in Australia, and countries of parent and child schooling (Table 1). In looking at the implication of SE in English/literacy in Table 1  Demographic differences among participating families Kanthi (M) Years in Australia Parental schooling in Australia Child schooling Home language

20 M: No F: No Australia

> 20 (not continuous) M: Yes (S) F: Yes (S) Australia

Chinese

Mainly Chinese, some English

Key: M = mother, F = father, S = secondary school

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familial capital exchanges, we attend to these differences as well as the similarities. The transcripts were first read for comprehension and then interrogated with two analytic questions: • What did the parent identify as their child’s English-related educational needs? • What did the parent say about their use of private tutoring in response to their child’s English-related educational needs? Stretches of relevant text were extracted, compiled and synthesised for each family. Interpretations were made with concepts drawn from the study’s framing of schooling as capital exchanges. The findings are here reported family-­ by-­family. In each instance, we look first at exchanges involving SE and English at the time of the study; and then, at those imagined for the child’s educational and workforce futures.

SE and Capital Exchanges  anthi and Thanuja: SE to Enable Parental Involvement K for Outstanding Academic Results In response to a question about advice she would give a new arrival from Sri Lanka, Kanthi said that if they could afford it, they should use English tutoring. She observed that the children were likely to be ‘smart’ and the parents ‘well-educated doctors, engineers’ because they would have arrived as skilled migrants. For these children, Kanthi said, success in school is contingent on strong English literacy skills across the curriculum: Because everything is in English, even in maths, you know, word problems are English. If you don’t understand English you can’t read and understand the maths problem. They know the times, and the, that’s the equation has to be there, but can’t understand what it’s saying.

Kanthi’s point was that EAL students might have the requisite mathematical resources: computations or ‘the times’ and writing problems in numerical form or ‘the equations’. However, they need to learn the English used in mathematics so they can activate that objectified cultural capital in Australian

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schools. That English might include everyday vocabulary and subject-specific vocabulary and grammatical structures. In other words, students must learn English, and about how English works in curricular subjects, if they are to understand those subjects in Australian schools. By Kanthi’s account, the objectified and institutionalised cultural capital sought by professional families from Sri Lanka turns on that linguistic capital. In her own family, Kanthi was paying for SE in mathematics and subject English/literacy. Limited curricular detail on the website of her daughter’s school meant that even as a STEM teacher, Kanthi was unable to be as directly involved in Thanuja’s mathematical schoolwork as she might otherwise have been. In these circumstances, SE was a means of involvement. With respect to English, Kanthi said that while she could help Thanuja with her homework, the school did not set enough homework to give students sufficient practice writing in English. Having been schooled in Sinhala, Kanthi said that she was unable to remedy that problem and so had enlisted SE. Kanthi cited persuasion and narrative—genres taught in subject English and sometimes tested in NAPLAN—as examples of content with which Thanuja needed more practice. Genre teaching is informed by systemic functional linguistics. That linguistics has been used in Australian schools for several decades but, as our larger set of interviews showed, is likely to be unfamiliar to those schooled elsewhere (e.g., in England) or earlier in Australia, even if (SAE) English is the home language (Dooley et al., 2021). By way of redress, Kanthi was paying a preservice teacher to tutor Thanuja privately in subject English. The tutoring was slightly ahead of what was being taught at school to enable Thanuja to understand in-class instruction, and involved practice writing tasks. In short, SE was enabling Kanthi to be involved in Thanuja’s pursuit of that objectified cultural capital which is generously rewarded with institutionalised cultural capital in Australian schooling. In response to a question about her hopes for her daughter, Kanthi said she would like Thanuja to enter a prestigious university course and occupation: ‘She’d like to be a dentist and I said it’s good … She don’t want to be a surgeon’. Kanthi said that Thanuja would have to study her way to prosperity as she would inherit little property or money from her migrant family. This aspiration to prosperity through exchange of cultural for economic capital on the labour market is common on the part of the Asian professionals favoured by Australia’s hyperselective immigration program (Watkins et  al., 2017; Ho, 2020). It is notable, then, that Kanthi’s attention to Thanuja’s schoolwork, and use of SE, exemplify forms of parental involvement associated with academic achievement (Park et al., 2011). Kanthi transmitted her own cultural capital where possible, but invested economic capital in SE when it was not

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clear what was valued as cultural capital in mathematics or she did not have the requisite linguistic and cultural capital for subject English and NAPLAN. Kanthi was not planning to have Thanuja tutored for the scholarship examination because she knew from other Sri Lankans that costs of private schooling not covered by the scholarship would leave her with little discretionary income. Her preference was to send Thanuja to a reputable public school, paying for SE as required to secure high grades. Kanthi had used SE this way in her own education in Sri Lanka. The strategy was feasible: it is grades, not public or private schooling per se that make students competitive for coveted Australian university courses. Kanthi was being strategic, then, in marshalling her resources to ensure she had the economic capital to supplement Thanuja’s regular schooling with SE. This was a point of some difference from the other two families.

 eilin and Lingli: Questioning the Necessity of SE M as a Means of Parental Involvement for Outstanding Results and Opportunities for Prestigious Schooling Meilin introduced the topic of English tutoring in response to a question about her daughter’s strengths and needs in literacy. She thought that EAL status was a handicap and said that she had initially been worried about Lingli being schooled in English. When she raised this with Lingli’s teacher, she was encouraged to consider SE, which suggests that Meilin was looking for more than what was on offer at the school. Like Kanthi, Meilin thought SE was necessary because the school did not provide enough homework to enable her child’s high achievement. In any case, Meilin went on to enrol Lingli in the mass tutoring classes of a coaching college with a high profile in the Chinese community. The program addressed comprehension; creative writing; and grammar, punctuation and spelling. Comprehension skills are both an end in themselves in English assessments in Australian schooling and a means to mastery of the content of books and other learning objects across the curriculum. Similarly, writing skills, and grammar, punctuation and spelling are ends in themselves, and means to the production of texts that accrue both objectified and institutionalised cultural capital across the curriculum and in selective/scholarship examinations. When she could, Meilin was directly involved in Lingli’s education. Although not a teacher, she had begun teaching Lingli Chinese when Lingli tired of Chinese school, a common experience in migrant families (Mu & Dooley, 2015). Meilin was thinking of taking over Lingli’s SE in subject

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English and literacy, too. By her report, the mass tutoring program replicated what was taught in school, offering nothing she could not organise herself: … if I have time, I have some patience, I can buy some books from, you know, the book store and is okay. Yeah, I don’t think these [coaching programs] help a lot, yeah, I think the, you know, the program is duplicated, really duplicated.

Like Kanthi, Meilin used SE as a form of involvement in her child’s academic development (in English), although she transmitted her own embodied and objectified cultural capitals as possible (Chinese). Nonetheless, disappointed with the SE in English she had purchased, Meilin was contemplating re-directing her economic capital from SE to commercially available workbooks and monitoring her daughter’s use of them. Meilin was seeking private or selective public schooling for Lingli. She had herself been a winner in the fierce competition for a place in a key school, an academically prestigious selective secondary school in China. At the time of the interview, Lingli had sat the selective public school entrance examination and Meilin was monitoring her use of practice workbooks to prepare for a private school scholarship examination. Like Kanthi, Meilin aspired for her daughter to have a medical career or perhaps a research career. The third participant was somewhat dubious about the feasibility of such aspirations.

 ei-Shan and Andrew: Parental Involvement Through SE P for Outstanding Results and Prestigious Schooling Opportunities Pei-Shan introduced the topic of SE in subject English/literacy into her interview. Like Meilin, Pei-Shan was instructing her child in Chinese after he tired of Chinese school. Pei-Shan drew on her early childhood teaching experience in Taiwan to develop a program for Andrew and her friend’s children. In contrast, Pei-Shan and her friends employed a primary school teacher for subject English and literacy to provide SE which was: … mainly focusing on comprehension and writing. For us, the most difficult part, I think, is tense. We don’t have that in our language, so, [the aim is] for him to get used to it and put it in [his writing]. My boy does read quite well and he’s doing quite well. But he talk to me as well, he say, “You understand when you’re reading it, but you want to put out in words. It’s different to what you understand”. So it does take practice… the school goes for no homework pol-

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icy.. but the kids lose the chance of practising it … Writing doesn’t just come, it does take practice.

Pei-Shan and her husband were having Andrew tutored in the literacy skills of comprehension and writing and in English language. As already noted in the analysis of Meilin’s interview, comprehension skills enable mastery of learning objects while writing skills enable demonstration of that mastery, and hence, accumulation of objectified and institutionalised cultural capital. As noted in the analysis of Kanthi’s interview, the accumulation of those cultural capitals turns on a linguistic capital of English. Pei-Shan pointed to English language resources germane to her son’s schooling, specifically, those of tense. English uses tense to make meanings that Chinese makes through aspect markers, time-related words and other contextual resources. Pei-Shan said that this difference between the languages was difficult for ‘us’. When the school did not provide the homework Pei-Shan thought Andrew needed to build his proficiency to produce accurately tensed writing in English, she converted her economic capital into linguistic and cultural capital for Andrew through SE as she did not have the requisite linguistic capital herself. Like Kanthi and Meilin, Pei-Shan wanted a well-remunerated professional career for her child. However, she cited the experience of her PhD-holding husband as evidence of the elusiveness of the aspiration to convert institutionalised cultural capital into economic capital through the labour market. Pei-Shan was tossing up secondary school options for Andrew. She favoured either the local comprehensive public school or private schooling on scholarship (she had attended a private Australian secondary school herself ). Andrew, however, was keen to join his newly arrived migrant friends in trying for selective public school entry. Pei-Shan disliked the academic hubris of students from that school (‘they need to learn to be humble’)—a problem noted in the Australian literature on selective public schools and SE (Ho, 2020). Nonetheless, Pei-Shan was supportive of her son: ‘He go, “Oh mum, can I do it, too?” And you go, “Oh yeah, if you want to try, let’s try”’. To that end, Pei-­ Shan was considering sending Andrew to the mass coaching college used by Meilin. Where Meilin said the program replicated that of her daughter’s school, Pei-Shan said the depth of subject English and mathematics study, and the breadth of thinking skills on offer, exceeded those of her son’s school.

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Policy Contexts and Family Decisions This study addressed a question about the place of SE in English/literacy in the capital exchanges of three families whose children were EAL students in Australian primary schools. It found that exchanging economic for cultural capital through SE was a means of parental involvement in their children’s academic work when direct transmission of parental cultural capital was not possible. That was the case with the English language resources that are medium and content of instruction and assessment in Australia as an inner circle nation. Like research conducted in the outer circle (Yung, 2020), then, the findings point to the use of SE in English to compensate for differences between the language used at home and the English which attracts institutional capital in formal education. Moreover, as evidence about SE in English in all its complexity as subject English, generic (English) literacy skills, and content of selective/scholarship examinations, the findings provide a useful lens on the role of SE in enabling the involvement of parents from East and South Asia in schooling after emigration to the inner circle (Park et al., 2011; Sriprakash et al., 2016). For the study families, the use of SE was part of a broader educational strategy for securing, maintaining or improving their children’s social position by exchanging institutional cultural capital for economic capital through the labour market. The school system in which this strategy is enacted is one which has responsibilised parents and children for educational success and failure (Torrance, 2017) and legitimated the flow of resources to parental desire rather than student merit (Barrett DeWeile & Edgerton, 2016; Brown, 1990). That school system is located in a society with a hyperselective immigration program skewed to affluent and well-educated migrants accustomed to highly competitive schooling and especially dependent on education for life chances. This has led to the conclusion that answers to the problems of excessive SE and the racialisation of academic achievement in Australia might rest in a more balanced immigration mix (Ho, 2020). To that we add another possibility. Our findings raise a question which might be posed to education policymakers: What is the social cost of the inaccessibility of EAL teaching expertise in public schools? To elaborate, while the study families were using SE for ‘enrichment’ (Entrich, 2021), each was simultaneously using it to improve English proficiency for an English-medium school system. Kanthi enlisted a tutor to keep Thanuja slightly ahead of the school curriculum so that she could understand classroom instruction; Meilin had been encouraged to go to SE when she approached the school with her concerns about Lingli’s English; and Pei-Shan

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employed a tutor to teach Andrew tense and other features of SAE. This is unsurprising given (1) the add-on and compensatory nature of EAL provision in the schools of Australia as an English-dominant western nation; and (2) the growing reliance on SE for compensatory education in the political economy of English/literacy in those nations (Luke, 2008/2019). To some extent, then, the fissiparous anglospheric politics around SE would seem to be an artefact of anglospheric imaginings (Vucetic, 2011) of the linguistic character of the student population. This is a point of relevance beyond the primary years addressed in our data. Since the data were collected, EAL provision in Queensland public schools has been decentralised, resulting in the loss of dedicated EAL pathways through mainstream secondary schooling (Creagh et al., 2022). Every Queensland school must now supply EAL services; and under the aegis of ‘inclusive education’, generalist teachers are now expected to provide for all. Given evidence that schools may be turning to commercial providers to fulfil these obligations (Creagh et al., 2022), research to understand the capabilities of teachers for EAL instruction, and the provisions made by schools for EAL students, is urgent. We suggest that these developments may also be making SE, as privatised tuition, even more thinkable for Queensland parents seeking EAL pedagogies for their children. Recommended Texts Parenting, private tutoring and educational advantage in Australia. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37(3), 426–41. https://doi. org/10.1080/01596306.2015.1061976 This article explains what parents of EAL students were looking for in their use of tutoring in 2010s Australia. Sriprakash, A., Proctor, H., & Hu, B. (2016). Visible pedagogic work: Butler, R., Ho, C. & Vincent, E. (2017). ‘Tutored within an inch of their life’: morality and ‘old’ and ‘new’ middle class identities in Australian schools, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43, 2408–2422. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/1369183X.2017.1315867 This article analyses racialised middle-class struggles for educational advantage through tutoring in 2010s Australia. Creagh, S., Hogan, A., Lingard, B. & Choi, T. (2022). The ‘everywhere and nowhere’ English language policy in Queensland government schools: a license for commercialisation. Journal of Education Policy, published online 12 February, https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2022.2037721 This article analyses EAL policy settings in Australia in the early 2020s.

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Engagement Priorities 1. What are the patterns and trends in the use of for-fee tutoring in the medium of instruction in your country? 2. In an anglophone country, should parents have to pay for private tutoring to secure the instruction in English as an additional language they desire? 3. Does private tutoring in your country deliver the educational and career payoff families hope for? Acknowledgements  This study was funded by Australian Research Council Project, DP160100848, Private literacy tutoring: A sociology of shadow education.

References Aris, S. (2017). Indian tigers: What high school selection by parents pursuing academic performance reveals about class, culture and migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(14), 2440–2455. https://doi.org/10.108 0/1369183X.2017.1315869 Baker, D. P., Akiba, M., LeTendre, G. K., & Wiseman, A. (2001). Worldwide SE: Outside-school learning, institutional quality of schooling, and cross-national mathematical achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(1), 1–17. Barrett DeWeile, C. E., & Edgerton, J. D. (2016). Parentocracy revisited: Still a relevant concept for understanding middle class educational advantage? Interchange, 47, 189–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-­01509261-­7 Bourdieu, P. (1986/2006). The forms of capital. In H. Lauder, P. Brown, J. Dillabough, & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Education, globalization and social change (pp. 105–118). Oxford University Press. Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (2nd ed.). Bray, M. (2009). Confronting the shadow education system: What government policies for what private tutoring? UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning. Bray, M., & Kwo, O. (2014). Regulating private tutoring for public good: Policy options for supplementary education in Asia. Comparative Education Research Centre. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002270/ 227026E.pdf. Brown, P. (1990). The ‘Third Wave’: Education and the ideology of parentocracy. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 11(1), 65–86. https://doi. org/10.1080/0142569900110105

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Byun, S.  Y., & Park, H.  J. (2012). The academic success of East Asian American youth: The role of shadow education. Sociology of Education, 85, 40–60. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0038040711417009 Byun, S. Y., Schofer, E., & Kim, K. K. (2012). Revisiting the role of cultural capital in East Asian educational systems: The case of South Korea. Sociology of Education, 85(3), 219–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040712447180 Campbell, C., Proctor, H., & Sherington, G. (2009). School choice: How parents negotiate the new school market in Australia. Allen & Unwin. Creagh, S., Hogan, A., Lingard, B., & Choi, T. (2022). The ‘everywhere and nowhere’ English language policy in Queensland government schools: A license for commercialisation. Journal of Education Policy, published online 12 February. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2022.2037721 Dooley, K. (2020). Intent and probability: Parents’ use of NAPLAN-related private literacy tutoring. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 43(3), 235–244. Dooley, K., Liu, L. W., & Yin, Y. (2018). Tuition edu-business and Asian migration in Australia. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2018.1461063 Dooley, K., Briant, E., & Doherty, C. (2021). Transnational meritocracy: Parent ideologies and private tutoring. In J. C. K. Lee & N. Gough (Eds.), Transnational education and curriculum studies: International perspectives. Routledge. Entrich, S. R. (2021). Worldwide shadow education and social inequality: Explaining differences in the socioeconomic gap in access to shadow education across 63 societies. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 61(6), 441–475. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0020715220987861 Francis, B., Mau, A., & Archer, L. (2017). The construction of British Chinese educational success: Exploring the shifting discourses in educational debate, and their effects. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(14), 2331–2345. https://doi. org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1315852 Gibbons, P. (2006). Bridging discourses in the ESL classroom: Students, teachers and researchers. Bloomsbury Publishing. Ho, C. (2020). Aspiration and anxiety: Asian migrants and Australian schooling. Melbourne University Press. Kachru, B. B. (1985/2015). Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English in the outer circle. In B. Kachru & J. J. Webster (Eds.), Collected works of Braj B. Kachru (Vol III) (pp. 153–176). Bloomsbury Publishers Plc. Lee, S., & Shouse, R. C. (2011). The impact of prestige orientation on SE in South Korea. Sociology of Education, 84(3), 212–224. Luke, A. (2008/2019). Using Bourdieu to make policy: Mobilising community capital and literacy. In A.  Luke (Ed.), Educational policy, narrative and discourse (pp. 173–189). Routledge. Luke, A., Woods, A., & Weir, K. (2012). Curriculum, syllabus design and equity: A primer and model. Taylor & Francis.

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Mu, G. M., & Dooley, K. (2015). Coming into an inheritance: Family support and Chinese heritage language learning. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 18, 501–515. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.928258 Park, H. J., Byun, S. Y., & Kim, K. K. (2011). Parental involvement and students’ cognitive outcomes in Korea: Focusing on private tutoring. Sociology of Education, 84, 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040710392719 Sriprakash, A., Proctor, H., & Hu, B. (2016). Visible pedagogic work: Parenting, private tutoring and educational advantage in Australia. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 37(3), 426–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/0159630 6.2015.1061976 Torrance, H. (2017). Blaming the victim: Assessment, examinations, and the responsibilisation of students and teachers in neo-liberal governance. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 38(1), 83–96. Vucetic, S. (2011). Anglosphere: A genealogy of a racialized identity in international relations. Stanford University Press. Watkins, M., Ho, C., & Butler, R. (2017). Asian migration and education cultures in the Anglo-sphere. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(14), 2283–2299. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1315849 Windle, J. (2015). Making sense of school choice: Politics, policies, and practice under conditions of cultural diversity. Palgrave Macmillan. Wu, J. G., & Singh, M. (2004). ‘Wishing for dragon children’: Ironies and contradictions in China’s education reform and the Chinese diaspora's disappointments with Australian education. Australian Educational Researcher, 31(2), 29–44. Yamamoto, Y., & Brinton, M. C. (2010). Cultural capital in East Asian educational systems: The case of Japan. Sociology of Education, 83(1), 67–83. https://doi. org/10.1177/0038040709356567 Yung, K. W. H. (2020). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: A narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/01434632.2019.1660667 Zhang, W. (2020). SE in the service of tiger parenting: Strategies used by middle-­ class families in China. European Journal of Education, 55, 388–404. https://doi. org/10.1111/ejed.12414

Private Tutoring in English: Lessons Learnt and Ways Forward Anas Hajar and Kevin Wai Ho Yung

Introduction A steadily growing body of education literature has been systematically focusing on schools and schooling. However, insufficient attention seems to be paid to the widespread phenomenon of private tutoring (PT), which is “inevitable, universal, and will likely continue to intensify into the foreseeable future” (Baker, 2020, p. 311, italics in original). Rather than regarding PT as an “an invader,” Chang (2019, p. 462) pointed out that PT has now expanded to reach almost all corners of the globe and “operates as an assemblage in which society, culture, education and business are entangled and interact with each other.” That is, the influence of PT has implications for the nurturing of new generations, economic growth, the operation of formal education systems, and cultural and social development. Although research on PT has gained increasing attention as a global educational phenomenon with substantial implications for educational practices, English private tutoring (EPT) remains a relatively under-researched area A. Hajar (*) Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan e-mail: [email protected] K. W. H. Yung Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5_15

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(Hajar & Manan, 2022; Yung, 2022). Therefore, this volume has attempted to address this research gap by uncovering the nature and effectiveness of EPT in 13 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States) across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America. Based on the collection in this volume, this chapter concludes with the lessons learnt from the phenomenon of EPT in these countries. It discusses the main research themes emergent in the volume and how governments and policymakers in these countries responded to the growing spread of the phenomenon of EPT. The chapter ends with pedagogical implications for ELT and directions for further research in EPT.

The Diverse Motives for EPT Participation The volume deduced that the fundamental motive for EPT is social competition. Since academic performance is a principal vehicle for such competition, most EPT is reinforced by the desire to obtain high—or at least adequate— scores in examinations. The effectiveness of EPT tends to be largely linked to its tangible benefits in terms of measurable educational outcomes for students. Precisely, the benefits of EPT are associated with keeping up with the school curriculum, improving students’ English scores in mainstream schools, and/or passing high-stakes exams to secure a place at a selective school or institution, and creating better job opportunities for individuals. This issue might have attributed to the overemphasis on high-stakes examinations at watershed points as the principal gate-keeping mechanism. In this regard, Bray and Kwo (2014, p. ix) point out that “tutoring tends to reinforce only one dimension of education: learning to know” more than the other pillars proposed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Delors Report (1996) including learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together. As shown in this volume, several chapters illustrated the washback of EPT by describing how EPT amplifies teaching and learning of specific aspects of English assessed in high-stakes exams, and how this narrowing of the curriculum impacts mainstream education. Beyond this fundamental driver are specifics related to mainstream schools. Some families identify gaps in the instruction by English language teachers at school and complain about a lack of individual attention in large classes. At the same time, the long-term goals of having EPT in relation to personal,

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cultural, academic, and professional achievement (i.e. increasing interest and enthusiasm for English language learning and use, having meaningful interaction with people from different cultures, working/studying abroad or pursuing an international career) were also articulated in the empirical studies of some chapters about EPT in China, India, and Kazakhstan. There has been little detailed evidence available about the intangible gains of attending EPT and their significance on students’ overall achievements. The “intangible, soft benefits,” as Hajar (2018) describes, go beyond mainstream attainment and improved examination results and look at language learners’ personal growth in terms of raising their self-esteem/self-awareness, self-confidence in using the target language, and socialising with others inside and outside the classroom. In this volume, the soft benefits of EPT were particularly crystallised in English-speaking countries. Bleistein, for instance, focused on a case study of how one local tutoring programme in Southern California provided free EPT in a variety of locations around the city for those considered Limited English Proficient (LEP) adults. Many LEP parents who participated in these non-formal English tuition sessions indicated that their self-confidence and social bonds had grown as they felt empowered and improved their spoken English. They also had become more engaged with the school community and often involved themselves in other parent activities at school. They found a sense of belonging through socialising with diverse community members in addition to improving their language skills. In this sense, educational policies need to be informed by richer and deeper understandings of the impact of “intangible, soft benefits” of EPT on language learners’ overall achievement and the best ways that can be adopted to enhance these benefits inside and outside the classroom.

Educational and Social Inequalities The prevalence of PT is so striking that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has expressed concern that the rapid expansion of PT could negatively affect formal educational systems in terms of both equity and quality (UNESCO, 2019). Therefore, UNESCO’s (2019, p. 6) Concept Note for the 2021 Global Education Monitoring Report highlighted the importance of understanding the nature and effectiveness of PT, especially since this phenomenon “is often overlooked in analyses of non-state activity in education.” PT in core subjects such as mathematics, languages (especially English), and sciences can be a major instrument for maintaining and exacerbating educational and social inequalities, a major concern

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standing in the way of the achievement of equitable and inclusive, high-­ quality education. Rich families tend to invest in more and better PT than can middle-income families, who, in turn, can invest in more and better PT than poor families (see Bray & Hajar, 2023; Yung, 2022). For instance, a Chinese survey reported by Kwok (2010, p. 52) indicated that high-income households had greater demands for supplementary education than middleand low-income households: 62.5%, 57.9%, and 47.1% respectively. As revealed in this volume, able students from disadvantaged backgrounds in some contexts may find themselves at a disadvantage, not because of their academic ability, but because they are less likely to be able to afford targeted “exam entrance” tutoring. Kirby, for instance, pointed out that students from more affluent families benefited from exam coaching to gain entrance to selective grammar schools and institutions in England. English is a mandatory subject at GCSE, a component of the grammar school entrance examination and an optional subject at A-level. Hajar also uncovered the association between EPT and access to Nazarbayev Intellective Schools (NISs), highly selective EMI schools in Kazakhstan. It showed that most parents (74% of fathers and 83% of mothers) who organised EPT for their children were holders of university degrees and had the economic means to invest in more and better EPT, so their children had a greater chance of gaining a place at NISs. EPT is regarded as one of the strategies used by some parents to free themselves from the burden of tracking their children’s progress and/or help them receive additional support, especially in contexts where many parents are not sufficiently competent in English. The chapters about EPT in China and India clearly replicated this point in this volume. PT demands substantial household expenditure and exacerbates social inequalities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been reported in several chapters of this volume that COVID-19 increased the power of technology and more students had sought online tutoring during the COVID-19 pandemic than previously. As Luo and Chan (2022, p. 34) fittingly point out, “since the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been prominent concerns about how shadow education widens the education attainment gap—in face of school lockdowns, affluent families have more resources to hire private tutors for their children.” Ait Si Mhamed et al., for instance, found that most interviewees in Morocco indicated that EPT constituted a financial burden on their parents, but they were obliged to receive EPT for the national test familiarisation and practice, especially because their mainstream teachers could not cover the curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, PT and its washback essentially flourish in educational systems where high-stakes testing serves as a gatekeeper to future educational opportunities.

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Complex Identities of English Language Tutors In addition to language learners and their parents, some chapters of this volume shed light on the English language tutors’ identities in the language teaching profession. Rámila Díaz, for instance, qualitatively explored the perceptions and experiences of six English private tutors offering services to children and teenagers in a private tutorial centre in Paris. All participants referred to their multiple identities such as “sisters,” “friends,” “babysitters,” “discipline helpers,” “native/non-native speakers of English,” “tutors,” and “schoolteachers.” This view aligns with a poststructuralist approach to identity which has moved away from depicting identity as fixed and unitary to using the plural form identities in recognition of the multiple, evolving, and complex strands of selfhood (Norton, 2013). Also, all participants in Rámila Díaz’s study expressed their preference for being conceived as schoolteachers than private tutors or animatrices in terms of their professional identity formation. They believed that teacher-supplied PT was mainly the outcome of poor teacher pay. The idealisation of “native speaker” English language tutors was also criticised by some participants in “Non-formal Adult English Tutoring in the United States,” especially since the owner of the tutorial institute pushed them to fake their own identity as “native speakers” of English to lure students’ parents. In this regard, Anjea (2014, p. 32) points out that over 70% of English language teaching programmes continue to classify a “native English speaker criterion” as one of the most fundamental conditions in hiring teaching staff. The steady use of native speakers of English as “models” and interlocutors to be hired in language tutorial centres can be conceived of as “a specific kind of chauvinistic action involving similar processes as more established forms of prejudice, stereotyping, and/or discrimination” (Rivers & Ross, 2013, p. 327).

 egulations Concerning the Provision of PT R and the Lessons Learnt Table 1 presents regulations in the 13 countries of this volume concerning teachers in regular schools who wish to offer PT services. Bray and Kwo (2014) point out that four main approaches of policy officials in dealing with PT can be identified: prohibition, ignorance, regulation, and encouragement. Many governments have prohibited teachers from providing PT to their own

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Table 1  Regulations on teachers’ provision of PT in the 13 countries of this volume Country Australia

Regulation

The PT market adopts self-regulation through the formation of professional associations such as the code of conduct of the ATA (Bray & Kwo, 2014). Bangladesh A 2012 Ministry of Education circular prohibited serving teachers from providing PT to their students. However, teachers can provide PT in remedial lessons in schools (Hamid & Mahmud, 2022). Brazil The school and education authorities do not have policies on the matter, leaving decisions to the teachers themselves and to their clients (Ventura & Gomes, 2023). China Regulations in Guangzhou, Xinjiang, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Shandong prohibit serving teachers from providing tutoring and identify penalties (Kwok, 2010; Zhang, 2013). France No information could be secured by the authors on the regulations of PT, and their administrations seemed to be in the laissez-faire category. Germany The PT market adopts self-regulation through the formation of professional associations (Bray & Kwo, 2014). India The State Assembly adopted the Bihar Coaching Institute (Control and Regulation) Bill. Coaching institutes serving ten or more students were required to (1) register with the authorities for renewable three-year periods; (2) publish their course structures, fees, and tutors’ qualifications and experience; and (3) provide buildings with adequate classrooms and first-aid facilities (Bihar, 2010; Bray & Kwo, 2014). Japan Laws and regulations emanating from the 1950 Local Public Service Act remain valid and are reiterated periodically (Bray & Kwo, 2014). Teachers in public schools are prohibited from giving PT (Bray & Kwo, 2014). Kazakhstan Although Kazakhstan’s government had authorised the delivery of supplementary PT by schools, parents had to transfer payments for PT to the bank account of their children’s school (Silova, 2010). Few public schools in Kazakhstan had their own bank accounts (Silova, 2010, p. 339). Furthermore, serving teachers giving PT were asked to purchase a licence and pay taxes to legally offer PT. However, almost all teachers have been reluctant to declare their additional income considering it a survival strategy (Hajar et al., 2022). Morocco A legislative Decree No.30/9 of 2014 prohibited serving teachers from providing PT lessons (cited in Ait Si Mhamed et al., 2023). However, However, substantial evidence shows that the practice has continued. South Teachers in regular schools (both public and private) and full-time Korea professors in colleges and universities are prohibited from providing private supplementary tutoring (Bray & Kwo, 2014; Korea, 2013: Article 3). United The government adopts a non-interventionist policy by leaving the PT Kingdom market to regulate itself (Hajar, 2018). United The policymakers advocate the laissez-faire approach by leaving States decisions to the teachers themselves and to their clients.

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students, other students in their schools, and/or students from other schools. Among the 13 countries considered, Bangladesh, Japan, the Republic of Korea, parts of India (e.g. West Bengal), parts of China (e.g. Shandong, Tianjin, Jiangsu), and Morocco (see Bray, 2021a; Bray & Kwo, 2014) belong to this category. Commenting on this approach, Bray (2021b) asserts that discouraging and even prohibiting serving teachers from giving PT tends to represent swimming against the tide of other forces. This is because PT will never disappear, especially since many parents seek to give their children additional support regardless of the quality of education in mainstream schools as well as many teachers believe that they have a right to provide the PT service and earn extra incomes (Bray, 2021b). Liu and Bray (2020, p. 12) for instance, found in their study in Myanmar that “much of the tutoring was a response to parental demand rather than corrupt and corrupting pressure from the teachers and the tutoring companies.” The governments of some other countries (e.g. Brazil, France, United Kingdom, United States) were in a laissez-faire category, mainly ignoring the phenomenon and leaving decisions to the teachers themselves and to their clients. While this approach is probably the most common, it is not recommended because ignoring the PT market can result in serious consequences on mainstream education systems and on societies and economies. Apart from the issue of equity in access to prestigious schools and universities reported in some chapters of this volume, teachers who are also tutors may purposely cut the content of their mainstream lessons to force their students to have PT from them or sometimes leak to their tutees the exam questions (see Bray & Hajar, 2023). Among the 13 countries considered, Kazakhstan had some sort of PT regulation, by approving it under certain circumstances. Silova (2010, p. 339) pointed out that Kazakhstan’s attempts to regulate its PT market had been “stalled by the major rift between the legislative vision and school realities.” Specifically, although the state legislation in Kazakhstan had authorised the delivery of PT by schools, parents had to transfer payments for PT to the bank account of their children’s schools. However, few public schools in Kazakhstan had their own bank accounts (Silova, 2010). Furthermore, tutors in Kazakhstan were asked to purchase a licence and pay taxes to legally offer PT. In addition to this complicated procedure, most Kazakhstani teachers have been reluctant to declare their additional income considering it a survival strategy. In this regard, Bray and Kwo (2014) point out that if the PT regulations are not put into action, the consequences would be worse than a

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situation in which there are no regulations, because this matter can contribute to undermining the role and status of the government. As regards Australia and Germany, Bray and Kwo (2014) indicate that the PT market in the two countries adopts self-regulation through the formation of professional associations. Bodies are formed for the enhancement of the PT market and/or for professional negotiation with governments. The code of conduct of the Australian Tutoring Association (ATA) in 2011, for example, illustrates the advertising practices of that organisation, and ATA members are expected to adhere to the code (see Bray & Kwo, 2014 for further explanation about this code). Alongside regulations should be efforts to make PT less necessary. This can be achieved by increasing teachers’ salaries, reviewing class sizes, and improving staff quality and performance within schools (Bray & Hajar, 2023, p. 70). Policymakers should be also aware of the impact of high-level examinations and seek ways to balance final evaluations through school-based assessments of project work and other performance measures (Bray & Hajar, 2023).

Conclusion and Implications This volume is the first of its kind in ELT with a focus on PT, an important but neglected topic in applied linguistics and language education research. Through the cases of 13 countries from six continents, it has shed light on a wide range of issues related to theories, practices, and policies in EPT. The blurring boundary between EPT and mainstream ELT has expanded the dimensions of shadow education and challenged its “shadow” nature. In other words, EPT has somehow disturbed the ecology of ELT, including the curriculum assessment practices in mainstream language education, learning culture, educational inequalities, and identities of students, tutors, and schoolteachers in contexts where EPT is prevalent. The diverse features and modes of EPT, as illustrated in the contributions in this volume, have also challenged the purposes of language learning and how English is taught and learnt. These considerations offer theoretical implications for the ecosystem of ELT in which shadow education plays an important role. This volume also offers implications to researchers, especially those in the fields of language learning beyond the classroom and comparative education. Researchers can keep abreast of the latest developments in their research area in the hopes of providing inspiration for interesting research topics and pointing to gaps in the existing literature of EPT and ELT. The studies included in the book addressed EPT from a holistic perspective, using quantitative,

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qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches. They have attempted to capture the perceptions and experiences of the figures who are both receiving EPT (i.e. children, young people, and adults) and giving or facilitating it (i.e. parents, schoolteachers, and others). Hence, researchers in the fields of private tutoring and language learning can gain a better understanding of the inextricable links between the two fields. They may also make use of the instruments used in these studies or adapt them to suit the purpose of the target context. In practice, this volume has revealed the pedagogical and assessment practices of EPT in different contexts, which can encourage schoolteachers in ELT worldwide to reflect on their teaching and hence enhance their teaching effectiveness. In particular, while tutors tend to overly focus on preparing EAL learners for exams, schoolteachers may consider how their teaching in mainstream schools may cater for their students’ diverse needs, including raising both their English proficiency and exam scores. Tutors who exclusively adopt an exam-oriented pedagogy, on the other hand, may also consider how to help their students use English for authentic communication. As the inauspicious COVID-19 shifts the predominance of face-to-face teaching to online teaching in many countries, the latter has become the de facto option amid the pandemic. Therefore, some contributions of this volume gave insights to language teachers and policymakers about the expanding nature of online EPT such as “education pods,” “Zutors” (i.e. Zoom tutors) as a result of the pandemic (i.e. the online turn in EPT). As EPT has expanded to reach almost all corners of the globe and be absorbed into the education culture, it would be hard and unrealistic to eliminate or ban it altogether. Consequently, the chapters of this volume shed light on the limitations of statutory education and the issues of equity and social justice, with presenting the governments’ different responses to the growing phenomenon of EPT. The contributors also gave invaluable suggestions of how private tutoring markets can be regulated by introducing effective codes of practice.

Future Directions Giving the growing prevalence of private tutoring around the world, EPT has noticeably become an indispensable part of many language learners’ experience. This topic is evolving in the fields of ELT, language education, and applied linguistics. In this line of research, a wide range of concepts and theories can be investigated. For example, from the perspective of language learners, further studies can explore how EPT can benefit their English learning in different aspects, including the enhancement of English proficiency for

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authentic communication and raising their academic performance in English exams. Despite the commonly spoon-feeding nature of EPT and learners’ over-reliance of their tutors’ teaching, as shown in some contributions in this volume, further research can investigate the possibility that EPT could develop learners’ self-regulated learning capacity and autonomy. This is an important area of research because although learners are usually provided with abundant English learning materials in EPT, they need exercise their agency to use them effectively. Their agentic decision-making processes in the context of EPT such as choosing tutors, learning content, and strategies can therefore be explored. In addition, learner’s language learning motivation is an increasingly important aspect of investigation in ELT, given its crucial role in language learning success. Following the “social turn” and “dynamic turn” in second language acquisition research (see Dörnyei et al., 2015), EPT research on language learners’ motivation can be expanded to the socio-dynamic perspective, such as the focus on multilingual self in Hajar’s chapter, “Investing in English Private Tutoring to Achieve an Ideal Multilingual Self: Evidence from Post-Soviet Kazakhstan.” Moreover, considering the complex interplay between language learner agency and the context where mainstream ELT and shadow education coexist, further research may adopt the complex dynamic systems perspective (Larsen-Freeman, 2019). This can capture the emerging and everchanging agency of language learners as well as other stakeholders (e.g. parents, see Zeng and Yung’s chapter, “Chinese Parents’ Agency in Children’s English Learning in Private Tutoring: An Ecological Perspective”) situated in the wider sociocultural context. Some contributions in this volume have focused on the tutors’ perspectives (e.g. Rámila Díaz’s chapter, “Tutors’ Perspectives of English Private Tuition in France: Challenges and Implications”). This is expected to be a topic for further research in language teacher education, considering the traditional focus on teachers in school settings in ELT research. Tutors also play a significant role in EAL learners’ out-of-school learning experience, but research on this has been scant. A potential topic for further research from the tutors’ perspectives is their identities and instructional practices compared to those of schoolteachers, and how their educational backgrounds and teaching experiences may differ. Moreover, given the rise of online teaching in recent years in both school and EPT settings, future research on private tutoring needs to place more emphasis on effective teaching practices in online EPT and tutees’ experiences in the online environment. While shadow education has received increasing attention in comparative education research, there is still a dearth of focus on EPT in the field of

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ELT. Echoing the literature in shadow education (e.g. Bray, 2021b), it makes sense to describe EPT research as being at its “infant stage.” In this regard, more research in EPT is needed to make this area grow in ELT research. This volume has set a pioneer and important agenda to explore various aspects of EPT, and it is hoped that this line of research will continue in the development of the fields of language education and ELT.

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Government of Bihar. (2010). Bihar Coaching Institute (Control and Regulation) Act 2010. Government of Bihar. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from http://www.bihar. gov.in/node/239 Hajar, A. (2018). Exploring Year 6 pupils’ perceptions of private tutoring: Evidence from three mainstream schools in England. Oxford Review of Education, 44(4), 514–531. Hajar, A., & Manan, S. A. (2022). Emergency remote English language teaching and learning: Voices of primary school students and teachers in Kazakhstan. Review of Education, 10(2), e3358. Hajar, A., Sagintayeva, A., & Izekenova, Z. (2022). Child participatory research methods: Exploring grade 6 pupils’ experiences of private tutoring in Kazakhstan. Cambridge Journal of Education, 52(3), 369–389. https://doi.org/10.108 0/0305764X.2021.2004088 Hamid, O., & Mahmud, R. (2022). The dynamics of private tutoring and the English language in Bangladesh. In I. K. W. H. Yung & A. Hajar (Eds.), International perspectives on English private tutoring: Theories, practices and policies. Palgrave Macmillan. Kwok, P. (2010). Demand intensity, market parameters and policy responses towards demand and supply of private supplementary tutoring in China. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(1), 49–58. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2019). On language learner agency: A complex dynamic systems theory perspective. The Modern Language Journal, 103(S1), 61–79. https:// doi.org/10.1111/modl.12536 Liu, J., & Bray, M. (2020). Private subtractory tutoring: The negative impact of shadow education on public schooling in Myanmar. International Journal of Educational Development, 76, 102213. Luo, J., & Chan, C. K. Y. (2022). Influences of shadow education on the ecology of education–A review of the literature. Educational Research Review, 100450. Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. Multilingual Matters. Republic of Korea. (2013). Law regulating the establishment and management of tutorial centres and private supplementary tutoring. Law No.2013.3.23. Ministry of Education. [in Korean]. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.law.go. kr/LSW/LsiJoLinkP.do?paras=1&docType=JO&languageType=KO&joNo=# Rivers, D. J., & Ross, A. S. (2013). Idealized English teachers: The implicit influence of race in Japan. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 12(5), 321–339. Silova, I. (2010). Private tutoring in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Policy choices and implications. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 40(3), 327–344. UNESCO. (2019). Concept Note for the 2021 Global Education Monitoring Report on Non-State Actors. Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372188/ PDF/372188eng.pdf.multi

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Ventura, A., & Gomes, C. A. (2023). English private tutoring: The case of Brazil. In K. W. H. Yung & A. Hajar (Eds.), International perspectives on English private tutoring: Theories, practices and policies. Palgrave Macmillan. Yung, K. W. H. (2022). Enhancing language learning in private tutoring. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language learning and teaching beyond the classroom (pp. 214–228). Routledge. Zhang, Y. (2013). Does private tutoring improve students’ National College Entrance Exam performance?—A case study from Jinan, China. Economics of Education Review, 32, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.09.008

Index1

A

C

Academic achievement, 8–10, 30, 74, 100, 102, 106, 125, 126, 130, 131, 164, 167, 169, 206, 227, 252, 253, 258, 262 Academic performance, 24, 42, 47, 119, 125, 168, 268, 276 Advertise/advertisement, 7, 58–65, 82, 83, 152, 226, 230, 243 Agency learners’ agency, 74 parents’ agency, 8, 73–89 Assessment, 2, 7, 9, 43, 49, 51, 55, 57, 61, 62, 88, 132, 151, 210, 243, 245, 246, 252, 255, 259, 262, 274, 275 Australia, 10, 11, 99, 152, 188, 251–256, 258, 262, 263, 268, 274

China, 17, 24, 89, 99, 179, 222, 260, 268–270, 273 Competition, 42, 76, 87, 96, 98, 100, 105–107, 129, 130, 141, 146, 207, 212, 240, 252, 253, 260, 268 Corruption, 20, 179 Cost, 61, 83, 85, 116, 117, 128, 133, 142, 143, 145, 147, 149, 152, 203, 209, 213, 244, 259, 262 COVID-19, pandemic, 10, 22, 25, 97, 104–106, 133, 163, 182, 200–202, 205, 206, 210–213, 219, 236, 244, 270, 275 Curriculum/curricula, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, 42, 43, 46–50, 57, 60, 61, 65, 76, 82, 96, 98, 107, 119, 120, 126, 127, 130–132, 134, 139–142, 144, 161, 199, 206, 209–211, 220, 237, 239, 242–246, 251–253, 257, 259, 262, 268, 270, 274

B

Bangladesh, 5, 9, 56–58, 60, 62, 64, 95–108, 268, 273 Brazil, 9, 139–153, 268, 273  Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 K. W. H. Yung, A. Hajar (eds.), International Perspectives on English Private Tutoring, International Perspectives on English Language Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26817-5

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282 Index E

I

East Asia, 51, 87 Ecological model/ecological perspective, 8, 73–89, 276 Effectiveness, 9, 10, 21, 26–29, 31, 47, 56, 57, 102–103, 106, 152, 167, 178, 197–212, 268, 269, 275 English as a lingua franca, 10, 166, 167 English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), 19, 162, 270 English as an additional language (EAL), 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9–11, 151, 237–240, 242, 244, 251–264, 275, 276 Enrichment, 98, 119, 262 Equity, 23, 106, 153, 269, 273, 275 Ethnicity, 11, 222 ethnic minorities, 3, 10, 11, 223, 230

Ideal multilingual self, 17–32 Identity/identities, 2, 8, 10, 21, 30, 55–70, 178, 179, 181, 185, 186, 190–192, 221, 223–225, 271, 274, 276 Immigrant, 10, 11, 152, 220, 221, 236–239, 245–247 Income, 58, 59, 65, 101, 104, 105, 115, 118, 126, 140–142, 145, 147, 180, 236, 256, 259, 273 India, 8, 55–70, 152, 211, 268–270, 273 Individual tutoring, 204, 246 Intercultural communication, 224 International English Language Testing System (IELTS), 4, 39, 45, 49, 63, 68, 205, 207, 226, 227 International posture, 27, 28, 30 Invest/investment, 17–32, 58, 88, 102, 105, 113, 114, 118, 125, 129, 147, 162, 227, 228, 255, 270

F

Financial burden, 8, 10, 77, 79, 83, 85, 128, 129, 209, 270 France, 10, 58, 153, 177–192, 254, 268, 273, 276

J

Japan, 4, 8, 37–51, 198, 268, 273

G

K

Gender, 147, 160, 166, 168 Germany, 10, 60, 159–169, 268, 274 Group tutoring, 25, 99, 204

Kazakhstan, 8, 17–32, 198, 210, 268–270, 273 L

H

High-stakes examination/high-stakes testing, 10, 21, 24, 141, 165, 198, 209, 210, 268, 270 Hong Kong, 4, 5, 8, 57, 58, 60, 70, 74–88, 198

Language Motivational Self System, 18 Licence, 180, 211, 273 Literacy, 74, 88, 99, 104, 224, 238–242, 244, 247, 251–264 English literacy, 252–258, 260, 262, 263

 Index  M

Market, 49, 59, 62, 64, 67–69, 79, 82, 85, 95, 96, 105–107, 113, 120, 133, 144, 146, 148–151, 153, 159, 164, 168, 177, 178, 180, 187, 189–192, 209, 211–213, 219, 220, 225, 229–231, 252, 253, 255, 256, 258, 261, 262, 273–275 Marketplace, 82, 221, 226, 227, 230 Media, 24, 103, 115, 116, 130, 162, 226, 239 Middle-class, 8, 55–70, 98, 253, 254 Migrants, 3, 5, 11, 251–264 Mode, 5, 22, 25, 201, 203–207, 212, 227, 274 Morocco, 10, 197–213, 268, 270, 273 Motivation, 2, 7, 18, 20, 39, 43–44, 58, 82, 85, 101, 119, 130, 134, 160, 164, 166–169, 276 N

Native English-speaking teachers/ non-native English-speaking teachers, 180–181 Native-speakerism, 181 Neoliberal/neoliberalism, 19, 64, 70, 87, 95, 98–105, 107, 114, 132, 225–228, 230, 231 Non-formal English tutoring, 238–239, 247 O

Online tutoring, 7, 24, 25, 99, 104, 105, 205, 212, 270

Policymakers, 2, 24, 51, 88, 89, 107, 125, 153, 168, 192, 197, 210, 211, 230, 254, 262, 268, 274, 275 Private schools, 41, 139, 142, 145, 147–149, 151, 185, 198, 224, 260 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 141 Prohibit/prohibition, 88, 271 Providers, 11, 51, 87, 105, 225–229, 263 R

Regulations, 65, 103–104, 201, 205, 211, 230, 271–272 Remedial, 98, 103, 107, 119, 147 S

Salary/salaries, 20, 101, 142, 144, 180, 188, 191, 199, 274 Scale, 2, 5–7, 9, 10, 22, 197–212, 223, 252 Score, 4, 10, 26, 27, 38, 42, 45–47, 85, 128n1, 130, 146, 151, 205, 207, 210, 255, 268, 275 Serving teachers, 273 Small-group/small groups, 5, 11, 49, 213, 235, 238, 241, 244, 246 Social inequality, 24, 148, 210, 269–270 Socioeconomic status (SES), 24, 38, 74, 119, 125, 126, 141, 147, 148, 151, 169, 209, 247 South Korea, 4, 5, 9, 60, 113–134, 198, 209, 268 Study abroad, 9, 10, 68, 69, 159–169, 200

P

Parents, 7, 18, 47, 55, 73, 100, 113, 180, 205, 221, 237, 269 Peer pressure, 58, 78, 101

283

T

Technology, 7, 24, 25, 29, 39, 133, 150, 205, 270

284 Index

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), 4, 63, 68, 205, 207 Tutorial centres, 4, 24, 56, 60, 61, 65, 66, 68, 204, 207, 211, 271 Tutorial companies, 4, 10, 179 Tutor qualifications/tutors’ qualifications, 10, 191

U

United Kingdom (UK), 10, 11, 19, 197, 219–231, 254, 268, 273 United States (US), 4, 10, 11, 24, 235–248, 268, 273 W

Washback, 2, 7, 8, 37–51, 268, 270