Interview

Ken Beatty

Dr Ken Beatty (PhD, MFA, Ling Dip, Ed Dip, BA) taught the last 15 years at universities in the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong. His publications for Pearson, Longman, Oxford University Press, Thomson, Heinle & Heinle and Hong Kong Educational Press include English as a Second Language textbooks and readers from the primary through university levels. He is also involved in electronic media and was Academic Advisor to Hong Kong's Educational Television from 1998 to 2004. Dr Beatty can be reached by e-mail.

Ken conducted this interview by e-mail with ELT News editor Mark McBennett in July 2005.

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ELT: First of all, can you tell us how your long career in ELT began?
KB: Desperation! I started out teaching emotionally-disturbed children, and the Shakespeare and other literature I had studied wasn't helpful. The kids couldn't string a sentence together or read simplified books. I thought a Diploma in Applied Linguistics from the University of Victoria would help me understand and address their problems; it did, and I encourage all English teachers to study linguistics and ELT methodologies.

Eventually, I ended up working with teenagers at a children's prison; I had to go through five locked doors just to get to my classroom where a guard was always present. I left to volunteer for a year as a lecturer at Southwest China Teacher's University in Sichuan and have been involved in ELT ever since.

But before I moved to China, I tried to find a teaching job in Japan. I answered an advertisement from a Tokyo language school and received a letter saying hundreds of candidates had applied and, unfortunately, I was the second-best candidate; they had hired someone slightly more qualified. I was disappointed, but also flattered. I applied again the following year and … received the identical letter! I realized it was simply the standard polite rejection letter sent to everyone who didn't get a job. I laughed and laughed. Politeness is one of the things I love best about Japan!

You have written extensively on many aspects of ELT. Do you have a particular field which you consider your strongest?
Creativity. In every field ­ not just language teaching ­ there is a move toward specialization. People on tight career paths take no time to study outside their own disciplines. In my case, my first degree was in Geography followed by Diplomas in Education and Linguistics. After that, I studied Theater, completing a Master's degree in Playwrighting. My PhD is in computer-assisted language learning. When I approach writing, I do so from a variety of experiences and perspectives and hopefully bring along my own infectious love of learning. I'm always up for a challenge and try to write create materials in new ways.

You worked for sixteen years in China and Hong Kong. How would you compare ELT there to what you've seen in Japan?
Throughout Asia, students are forced to take years of English instruction. But the purpose, most often, is to pass tests, not to demonstrate working language proficiency. When most Hong Kongers or Japanese graduate from school or university, they seldom need English at work or in their daily lives. Motivation is low.

In China, the situation is quite different. English is seen as a language of opportunity and a competent speaker of English can find far more interesting and better-paying jobs, sometimes with opportunities for international travel. Motivation is high and despite a lack of resources, students find their own ways to learn. There are more English speakers in China than there are in the USA.

But it is important for governments and educational authorities both in Hong Kong and Japan to face the fact that they are heavily dependent on tourism at home and international trade abroad. When a Japanese businessperson travels in Asia, Europe or anywhere else in the world, the common language is usually English. For Japan to continue to compete in business and many other areas, there needs to be a fundamental shift away from the current testing situation that so influences what is taught and how it is taught.

You have publications with just about all the major ELT publishers. But your most recent visit to Japan was sponsored by Longman, I believe.
Yes, I have done a great deal of writing with Longman over the past few years with a primary listening series (eight books) and a secondary non-fiction readers series (40+ books) in China and the four-book secondary/university Read and Think! series used in Japan and throughout Asia. And I continue to write for Longman.

Good publishers are like family. I am sure teachers who have dealt with Longman representatives will recognize among them both personal bonds and a strong culture of learning. The topic of our discussions is never how we can sell more books; it is always what we could be doing to more effectively address the needs of students and teachers. It's a great company.

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