Multilingual foreign language education policy and practice in East Asia

Purpose This paper provides a comprehensive review of the evolution of foreign language education policy and practice across three East Asian nations: China, Japan and South Korea since World War II. The purpose is to understand the dynamic forces shaping each country's linguistic identity. By tracing policy shifts over time, we can decode how nations strategically calibrate and recalibrate their linguistic investments in response to changing geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural forces. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a qualitative, comparative case study approach. The methodology combines historical policy examination with comparative cross-national analysis. The longitudinal examination involves systematically tracing policy evolution through government documents and educational curricula over the post-war period. The comparative framework highlights common regional trends and national adaptations in informing policy decisions. Findings This paper reveals that historically national choices in foreign language education were initially driven by realist considerations of national interest and geopolitical power, but have increasingly been informed by neoliberal tenets, as demonstrated by the dominance of English. Yet, the foreign language education policies of these three countries are indicating a constructive multilingual turn, ranging from an active embrace to a passive reception, with the transition unfolding at different speeds across countries. Originality/value This paper presents a comprehensive, longitudinal and comparative analysis of foreign language policy mechanisms in the East Asian context, offering valuable insights for policymakers navigating the dynamics between global competitiveness, regional integration, national identity and educational equity, as well as planning future trajectories.