The Handbook of English Language Education in Nepal

This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to explore wide-ranging topics from applied linguistics, education, sociology, political science, and cultural studies. It presents a comprehensive overview of English language education since its importation to Nepal.

This volume covers English language education (ELE) politics and policy, theories and pedagogies, English as a medium of instruction, English teachers’ professional development, multilingualism and linguistic ecology, perspectives on equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as ELT and technology. Comprising scholarly discussions on emerging ELE issues in contemporary Nepal, the chapters explore various aspects of theoretical, and pedagogical considerations of ELE. While delving into the growing future of English in Nepal, it also presents analytical case studies of its controversial present and past practices. It sheds light on its development, shifting paradigms and present state of affairs, as well as the status of English in conjunction with the national language, Nepali and other Indigenous languages.

This book will be useful to students, researchers and teachers of education, linguistics, and teacher training institutions. It will be an essential read for those involved in English language education, applied linguistics, EIL/WE/ELF, ESL/TESOL/ELT and TEFL, as well as for teachers, teacher educators, teacher trainees and international aid organisations.

Ram Ashish Giri is an academic at Monash College/ Monash University English Language Centre, Melbourne. He teaches and researches issues related to ELICOS courses, TESOL, language testing, and language (education) policy. He has published articles, book chapters and edited books. His recent co-edited book entitled Functional Variations in English: Theoretical Concerns and Practical Challenges was published by Springer in 2020. His co-edited book English as a Medium of Instruction in South Asia, was published by Routledge in 2024. He is currently Editor-in-chief of the Journal of NELTA, Co-editor of TESL-EJ and a Member of the Editorial Board of ASIA TEFL.

Laxman Gnawali is a Professor and leads English language teacher education programmes at Kathmandu University, Nepal. With his first masters from Nepal, he taught English at primary, secondary and tertiary levels in rural and urban parts of Nepal for 15 years. After his second masters from the UK as a Hornby Scholar, he entered the field of teacher education. He contributed to the ELT Survey of Nepal, the Examination Reform Project, English Language Course Development for Teachers in South and East Asia and several other projects. He has published research papers and books/book chapters in the areas of language pedagogy, exploratory action research, ICT integration in Education, teacher professional development among others. Founding Editor of Journal of Education and Research published by Kathmandu University, currently he is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of NELTA. Laxman travels delivering sessions at ELT conferences, inspiring teachers for professional development through publications and network building.