ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the impact of Global English on the state of affairs of non-English-speaking countries and how they respond to the global rise of this language. Specifically, it explores how Global English influences the language policies of two Northeast Asian (NEA) countries (China and Japan) and two Southeast Asian (SEA) countries (Thailand and Malaysia). It also intends to compare how, in the planning and implementation of such policies, each country in the region (NEA and SEA) has to negotiate the slippery slopes between planning and implementation, between national and international imperatives, to name but a few vexing problematics caught up in the new global phenomenon. The chapter examines these contextual differences that impact policy planning and implementation differently between, as well as within, NEA and SEA. Owing to different historical trajectories, the starting point for the Global English race is not the same nor is the scramble for it conducted on a level playing field for everyone.
