As English becomes progressively more multimodal and destandardized and as we look to a future where by 2050 Chinese “will have nearly triple the numbers of speakers that English has” (Ostler, 2003) it is important to explore how English can respond to the challenges and opportunities of this multilingual age. Whether we see English as a tool to “win friends and influence people,” as a lingua franca, or as a language whose use is now more symbolic than communicative, its possibilities remain endless. Now that English looks to a new stage in its history in this globalized “Asian century” it is timely that the future of English is explored from an Asian perspective.
If Hong Kong can provide us with an acid test for the possibilities that lie ahead for English in Asia, then recent events that point to a change in attitude to English in Hong Kong can be revealing of broader trends. It is important that the dimensions of this shift in perspective are examined so that the relevant disciplines (Linguistics, ESL, Literary Studies, World Englishes, English Education, to name but a selection) can adapt accordingly. In linguistics alone there has been a great deal of research on Hong Kong English (HKE) by Deterding, Kirkpatrick and others. It has been argued that English language benchmarks in HKE are often based on exonormative (usually RP English) models of English which may not represent the English actually spoken in Hong Kong (Kirkpatrick, 2007). This has informed recent debates in Hong Kong society on the relative merits of multilingual teachers and native English teachers for secondary schools. This conference sets out to explore how such issues are transforming English language teaching and learning in university curriculums across Asia.

See: The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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