ABSTRACT

English language proficiency has long been recognised as important to the academic success of non-native English-speaking international students through the setting of minimum English language requirements as a condition of entry to Anglophone universities. The present study provides a historical account of the evolution in language entry standard setting in UK higher education from 1989 to 2021 from supply side, language policy perspectives. The primary minimum language entry policies from a range of micro, meso, and macro actors are contextualised within the broader political ideologies of the time, their rationale explained, and impact on higher education described. The trend of minimum standard setting from institutional self-regulation to government intervention and scrutiny underlies the study. Broadly, three periods of policymaking are delineated: 1) 1989–98, the era of institutional autonomy within a period of small-scale overseas student participation, 2) 1999–2008, the failure of minimum standard self-regulation unleashed by the economic imperative instilled by the Labour Government’s Prime Minister Initiatives, and 3) the introduction of government regulation from 2009 in the form of the CEFR B2 minimum standard, ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ status, and Secure English Language Testing.

摘要

通过将最低英语语言要求设置为进入英语大学的条件，英语语言能力长期以来被认为对非英语母语的国际学生的学业成功很重要。本研究从供给侧和语言政策的角度，对 1989 年至 2021 年英国高等教育语言入学标准制定的演变进行了历史性的描述。来自一系列微观、中观和宏观行动者的主要最低语言入学政策在当时更广泛的政治意识形态中处于背景下，解释了其基本原理，并描述了对高等教育的影响。从制度自律到政府干预和审查的最低标准制定趋势是本研究的基础。宽广地，