Introduction

The role of English in the global arena has prompted official language-in-education policy makers to adopt language education policies to enable its citizens to be proficient in English and to access knowledge. Local educational contexts in different countries have implemented English education in their own ways with different pedagogical goals, motivations, features and pedagogies. Although much of the research cited in English language planning policy has focused on macro-level language policy and planning, there is an increasing interest in micro-planning – in particular, teacher agency in policy response. Jennings (1996) suggests that it is teachers’ experiences, ideas and beliefs that determine how they interpret school policy and how they translate policy into instructional practices. Stritikus (2003) in his explication of ‘policy-to-practice connection’ explains that the way teachers implement policy is influenced by a myriad of factors such as their beliefs, attitudes towards pedagogy and their political or personal ideologies.