Meaning of English fever | Babel Free

Definitions

Preoccupation or obsession with learning or promoting the learning of the English language.

uncountable

Examples

“2003 Stephen Krashen, "Dealing with English Fever," In: Selected Papers from the Twelfth International Symposium on English Teaching, English Teachers' Association/ROC, Taipei, Crane Publishing Company, 2003. pp. 100-108. English fever = the overwhelming desire to (1) acquire⟳ English, (2) ensure that one's children acquire⟳ English, as a second or foreign language.”

“2007 Jinkyu Park⟳, "Korean Parents in 'English Fever' and Their 'early Study-abroad' Children in the United States: Parental Beliefs and Practices Concerning First Language Peers," Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, August 2007, pp. 19-20. The relentless competition for learning English showed the tip⟳ of its monstrous image in the summer of 1991, when the government announced the plan⟳ to introduce⟳ English to elementary school grades by 1995. The news brought a huge typhoon of English, which swept the whole country into "English fever."”

“Honduras is one of many countries to have⟳ recently contracted “English Fever,” a term used by linguist Stephen Krashen (2003) to describe⟳ the intense desire to know⟳ English and for one’s children to learn⟳ English.”

“Correspondingly, a wave⟳ of “English fever” swept the nation, and English training has become⟳ a huge industry.”

“Many Asian countries are in the grips of what Park⟳ (2009) and others have⟳ termed "English fever" with a desire for fluency, accent reduction, and overall competitive advantage for children who will compete⟳ in the global marketplace.”

CEFR level