In this authoritative volume, Janet Enever explores the complex forces that shape national and local language education policy-making for the early introduction of English as a foreign language at primary and pre-primary levels worldwide. This is the first book of its kind demonstrating theextent to which English is now perceived as a pre-requisite for participation in the global economy, reflecting the rapid development of early start English now explodingacross Asia, Latin America, and other fast-growing economies.