With the expansion of research on English as an International Language (EIL), the number of books attempting to conceptualise it in English language teaching also grows (e.g., McKay, Reference McKay2002; Sharifian, Reference Sharifian2009; Alsagoff et al., Reference Alsagoff, McKay, Hu and Renandya2012; Matsuda, Reference Matsuda2012; Zacharias & Manara, Reference Zacharias and Manara2013). But Marlina and Giri's The Pedagogy of English as an International Language: Perspectives from Scholars, Teachers, and Students is definitely not simply ‘another book’ on teaching EIL. Besides discussing principles and practices in teaching EIL as previous books do, this book goes a step further in unveiling the conflicts and tensions involved in implementing the EIL pedagogy. This is a much-needed new perspective for any effort to bridge theory and practice. I align with Sandra Lee McKay in believing that the book ‘plays a ground breaking role in the ever-expanding field of EIL pedagogy’ (Foreword).

The edited book has 15 independent but interconnected chapters in the main body, a brief introduction by one editor at the beginning and an Epilogue by Ahmar Mahboob at the end. The introduction of the book outlines the conceptual framework of teaching EIL, and the organization of the book as well. The main body consists of three thematised parts discussing the principles, practices and problems of implementing the EIL pedagogy respectively. Part I acts as calls for change by introducing the sociolinguistic realities of English and the implications of such realities for contemporary English language education in inner, outer and expanding circle countries. To be specific, Kirkpatrick's chapter outlines six principles of a Lingua Franca Approach in teaching and learning English in the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) contexts. Sharifian's chapter illustrates why and how to develop students’ multi-varietal and metacultural competences in the increasingly multicultural and multilingual contexts of inner circle countries like Australia. Park and Kim's chapter discusses possible ways to teach EIL to achieve the national curriculum objective and at the same time to problematize the native-speaker-supremacy discourse that permeates the current English language teaching practices in South Korea.

Part II serves to showcase in six chapters the practices of teaching EIL in different parts of Asia. Among them, Honna and Takeshita's chapter records signs of American English losing prestige and the rise of Japanese English as an alternative model in English language teaching in Japan. Doan's chapter reports the shifted focus on culture in English language teaching in Vietnamese universities from a monolithic approach to a pluricentric one emphasising the pluricentricity of English, English users and English cultures. Ali's chapter finds positive attitudes towards EIL and the integration of EIL in classroom practices among both in- and pre-service English language teachers in Malaysia. Van de Hoven's chapter reports her own practices of re-designing the culture course for in-service teachers in a Korean TESOL programme. Zacharias's chapter introduces English-teacher education students’ attempts to integrate the principles of teaching EIL in their practices to teach culture in mini-lessons in an Indonesian university. And Xu's chapter presents his ways to develop teaching and assessing methods for a vocabulary studies course within the EIL framework. These chapters on the one hand inform readers of changes taking place in teaching and learning English in different sociolinguistic contexts, and on the other hand exemplify how to translate the principles and beliefs advocated in the EIL theory into practice.

Part III covers practitioners’ critical reflections on the practices of teaching and learning EIL in different contexts. Tupas’ chapter acts as a general reminder that classroom innovations need to take into consideration a series of issues or challenges in and outside of classrooms. The other five chapters present teachers’ and students’ voices, views, experiences and reflections in practicing EIL in turn. Toh's chapter reveals that the conflicting ideological constructions of English as both a language for Japan's internationalization initiative and a threat to Japan's local culture and the predominant native-speaker-supremacy ideology in the discourse of English language teaching in Japan constitute persistent challenge for EIL-oriented teachers to promote Japanese English in practice. Manara's chapter critically reviews a utopian view of diversity advocated by her in her practice of teaching EIL and the struggles and tensions such practices bring to her and her students. Pollard's chapter argues that the existence of linguistic discrimination and the assimilationist attempt to encourage English for communication in Australian society contribute to the widespread discourse of native-speakerism. To implement the pedagogy of EIL in Australia, one has to be critical of such social realities but not simply ask for changes of English learners’ mindset. Both D'Angelo's chapter and Giri and Foo's chapter investigate students’ attitudes towards and experiences of learning World Englishes (WEs) or EIL in Japan. D'Angelo finds that students still prefer a native-speaker model in English language learning. It is very difficult for them to understand WEs varieties and develop metacultural competence in WEs or competence in Japanese English. Giri and Foo find that the powerful discourses and practices in support of native-speakerism force practitioners to reflect on their pedagogical practices in promoting EIL. These reflections not only arouse EIL practitioners’ attention to contextual factors involved in EIL teaching but also encourage them to re-consider the theorisation of EIL in its current forms.

In a sense, Ahmar Mahboob's epilogue is more of a prelude to new conceptualisations of EIL and EIL teaching than a final summary or commentary on the book. He challenges the current theorisation of EIL and puts forward a much broader framework to conceptualise language variation in the global context. This framework greatly facilitates our understanding of the contributions and problems of the current EIL theories and points to new directions for future research.

In a nutshell, the wide coverage of principles, practices and problems in teaching EIL in inner, outer and expanding circles of this book is incomparable by other books with similar topics. It offers useful insights for English language teachers, educators and policy makers in a wide variety of contexts, even for those who are not in the contexts mentioned in the book. As an English language teacher in China, I personally benefit a lot by relating what I have read in the book to the practices of English language teaching in the Chinese context. I would like to recommend the book to my Chinese colleagues and any other language teachers who are interested in practicing EIL teaching in their local contexts. One oversight in the book is that the editors seem to be a little bit mixed up in introducing the last two chapters of Part II in the introduction section, but this should not impede our understanding or appreciation of the book.