English as a bridge, not a tool of assimilation

English should serve as a bridge for intercultural dialogue rather than a tool for cultural assimilation, education leaders from across Asia, Europe and Latin America said at a forum in Beijing, calling for language education that equips students to communicate globally while remaining firmly rooted in their own cultures.

The remarks were made during the inaugural Leaders Talk session of the 2026 Belt and Road Forum for Language and Culture Collaboration on Friday and Saturday.

A collective of more than 20 presidents of English teachers' associations, university leaders and education experts from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative shared their views on English teaching and teacher development.

Speakers agreed that English, as a global lingua franca, should enable learners to tell their own cultural stories rather than replace them.

Singapore was frequently cited as an example of balancing global communication with cultural preservation. Alvin Pang of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Language Centre said Singapore adopted English as a neutral language to connect its diverse ethnic communities while requiring students to master their mother tongues.

"National unity thrives not through uniformity but through the wise balance of a shared language and diverse cultural anchors," Pang said, adding that English serves as a common language for communication while mother tongues keep people connected to their cultural roots.

Malaysia's multilingual education system was also highlighted as an example of how English can coexist with local languages.

"English gives students the stage, but their own languages give them the story," said Surinderpal Kaur Chanan Singh of Universiti Malaya. She said the goal of English education is to develop graduates who can think across languages rather than only in English.

Echoing her views, Sivabala Naidu of the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association said Malaysia's multilingual reality shows that international communication and cultural identity can reinforce rather than compete with one another.

Students may write confidently in English while speaking Malay, Mandarin, Tamil or indigenous languages at home, she said.

Kazakhstan highlighted curriculum reform as another way to strengthen cultural confidence.

Tatyana Letyaikina of the Kazakhstan Teachers of English Association said English is positioned under the country's trilingual education policy as "a tool for cultural exchange" rather than assimilation.

She said international publishers are encouraged to incorporate Kazakh history and cultural narratives into English-language textbooks, while the growing use of "Kazakhenglish" — blending Kazakh and English — enables young people to present their traditions and values to international audiences.

Offering a Latin American perspective, Valeska Villarroel of Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Venezuela said English teaching should move beyond encouraging students to imitate native speakers and instead empower them to express their own identities.

"A Venezuelan student should not have to 'act' American to be proficient. Instead, they own the English they speak, using it to project their own identity," she said.

Villarroel said English classrooms should incorporate Venezuelan history, local expressions and social realities so that students use the language for authentic self-expression rather than cultural imitation.

Language proficiency should not come at the cost of cultural erasure but should instead help learners engage confidently with the world while remaining rooted in their own identities, she added.