ABSTRACT
Since its establishment in late 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), in which English is the official working language, has urged its members to improve the quality of English language education, because the lack of English proficiency remains a major challenge for most member countries. This chapter examines how governments and state educational management authorities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries have responded to the need for increased English competency, highlighting the changes in education policy to foster the professional development (PD) of English language teachers. It finds that while most countries have introduced educational reforms to promote English language education, to date, there is no agreed framework for teacher competency or shared curriculum for training teachers across the region. The chapter argues that closer cooperation between countries on the PD of English language teachers would improve the overall standard of English language education in the region.
