ABSTRACT
This chapter has two foci. One is to review studies on Confucius Institutes in China and abroad, and the other is to explain what this study aimed to achieve, including the research design and theoretical framework this study resorted to and how the study was different from others. The chapter starts with the relevant research on Confucius Institutes, which clearly demonstrates that little research on Confucius Institute had been conducted in the light of language policy and planning, and almost none in language management. The third section is a critical part of this chapter. It first reviews briefly the evolution of the studies in language policy and planning over the last half century, then expounds on the theory of language management by Spolsky and how it is applied to the current study before describing in detail the research design and framework for this study. The main contribution of this study lies not only in its first attempt to examine Confucius Institute in the light of language management theory, but also in modifying it to study language being promoted and managed across many borders at the three levels.
