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Volume 1 Number 1, Spring 2004, Pages 1-403   


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From the Editor-in-Chief

    Bernard Spolsky


The establishment of Asia TEFL constitutes a major step in moving responsibility for the teaching of English from what Kachru (1983, 1986) succinctly named the core countries (where knowledge of English was, until recent large-scale immigration, involuntary) to those countries where, for more than a century, there have been concentrated efforts to learn what has become a global language. While many countries have local organizations of English teachers, some purely local and others in the firm grip of exported native speakers, the international field has for the past 38 years been the more or less unchallenged domain of two nominally international associations, one based in Kent and the other in Virginia. The very existence of Asia TEFL asserts that there are regional as well as national concerns, and that English no longer belongs to England and the United States (or even Australia). Just as there is growing recognition of World Englishes (Brutt-Griffler, 2002), so there is room and a need for professional associations of English teachers that will deal with these regional needs.
Of course, Asia TEFL does not intend to replace TESOL International or IATEFL, just as it does not plan to compete with JACET or KATE or ETAI or any national association. What it hopes to do is 뱓o promote scholarship, disseminate information, and facilitate cross-cultural understanding among persons concerned with the teaching and learning of English in Asia.