English in Japan. Language policies in Education

English in Japan. Language policies in Education PDF

Author: Elena Agathokleous

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2021-03-18

Total Pages: 9

ISBN-13: 334636674X

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Essay from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: A, , language: English, abstract: The paper deals with the English language in Japan, specifically language policies in education. English has become the language through which the citizens of the globalized community of our world communicate and collaborate. The ability for a person to be able to use the English language to communicate with others is now more important than ever even in countries like Japan which in the past had no significant amount of tourists or immigrants and a rather local mentality of businesses so there was no great need for these people to be proficient in English.

Language Policy in Japan

Language Policy in Japan PDF

Author: Nanette Gottlieb

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-11-10

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 1139504797

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Over the last thirty years, two social developments have occurred that have led to a need for change in language policy in Japan. One is the increase in the number of migrants needing opportunities to learn Japanese as a second language, the other is the influence of electronic technologies on the way Japanese is written. This book looks at the impact of these developments on linguistic behaviour and language management and policy, and at the role of language ideology in the way they have been addressed. Immigration-induced demographic changes confront long cherished notions of national monolingualism and technological advances in electronic text production have led to textual practices with ramifications for script use and for literacy in general. The book will be welcomed by researchers and professionals in language policy and management and by those working in Japanese Studies.

The Role of English Teaching in Modern Japan

The Role of English Teaching in Modern Japan PDF

Author: Mieko Yamada

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-25

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 1317803973

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The Role of English Teaching in Modern Japan examines the complex nature of Japan’s promotion of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In globalized societies where people with different native languages communicate through English, multicultural and multilinguistic interactions are widely created. This book takes the opportunity to look at Japan and examines how these multiple realities have affected its English language teaching within the domestic context. The myth of Japan’s racial and ethnic homogeneity may hinder many Japanese in recognizing realities of its own minority groups such as Ainu, Zainichi Koreans, and Brazilian Japanese, who are in the same EFL classrooms. Acknowledging a variety of English uses and users in Japan, this book emphasizes the influence of Japan’s recent domestic diversity on its EFL curriculum and urges that such changes should be addressed. It suggests new directions for incorporating multicultural perspectives in order to develop English language education in Japan and other Asian contexts where English is often taught as a foreign language. Chapters include: Social, cultural, and political background of Japan’s EFL education Race, ethnicity, and multiculturalism Representations of diversity in Japanese EFL Textbooks Perceptions of English learning and diversity in Japan The role of EFL education in multicultural Japan

The Evolution of English Language Learners in Japan

The Evolution of English Language Learners in Japan PDF

Author: Yoko Kobayashi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-01-19

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1351804561

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This book seeks a better understanding of the sociocultural and ideological factors that influence English study in Japan and study-abroad contexts such as university-bound high schools, female-dominant English classes at college, ESL schools in Canada, and private or university-affiliated ESL programs in Singapore and Malaysia. The discussion is based not only on data garnered from Japanese EFL learners and Japanese/overseas educators but also on official English language policies and commercial magazine discourses about English study for Japanese people. The book addresses seemingly incompatible themes that are either entrenched in or beyond Japan’s EFL context such as: Japan’s decades-long poorly-performing English education vs. its equally long-lived status as an economic power; Japanese English learners’ preference for native English speakers/norms in at-home Japanese EFL contexts vs. their friendship with other Asian students in western study-abroad contexts; Japanese female students’ dream of using English to further their careers vs. Japanese working women’s English study for self-enrichment; Japanese society’s obsession with globalization through English study vs. the Japanese economy sustained by monolingual Japanese businessmen; Japanese business magazines’ frequent cover issues on global business English study vs. Japanese working women’s magazines’ less frequent and markedly feminized discourses about English study.

Foreign Language Education in Japan

Foreign Language Education in Japan PDF

Author: Sachiko Horiguchi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-12-23

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9463003258

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Language education is a highly contested arena within any nation and one that arouses an array of sentiments and identity conflicts. What languages, or what varieties of a language, are to be taught and learned, and how? By whom, for whom, for what purposes and in what contexts? Such questions concern not only policy makers but also teachers, parents, students, as well as businesspeople, politicians, and other social actors. For Japan, a nation state with ideologies of national identity strongly tied to language, these issues have long been of particular concern. This volume presents the cacophony of voices in the field of language education in contemporary Japan, with its focus on English language education. It explores the complex and intricate relationships between the “local” and the “global,” and more specifically the links between the levels of policy, educational institutions, classrooms, and the individual. In the much-contested field of foreign language teaching in Japan, this book takes the reader directly to the places that really matter. With the help of expert guides in the fields of anthropology, sociology and linguistics, we are invited to join a vital discussion about the potentially revolutionary implications of the Japanese government’s policy of teaching Japanese citizens to not only passively engage with written English texts but to actually use English as a means of global communication.” – Robert Aspinall, PhD (Oxford), Professor, Faculty of Economics, Department of Social Systems, Shiga University, Japan This insightful book about language education involves different disciplines using ethnographic methods. Both ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ speakers of Japanese (or English) collaboratively examine two different types of qualitative approaches in Japan – the positivistic and the processual. This is a must-have book for researchers and educators of language who are interested in not only Japan but also language education generally.” – Shinji Sato, PhD (Columbia), Director of the Japanese Language Program, Department of East Asian Studies, Princeton University, USA.

Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Asia

Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Asia PDF

Author: Kayoko Hashimoto

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-16

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 131541323X

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Why has English language proficiency in Japan remained so low in comparison to other Asian countries? Has Vietnam attempted to improve English language teaching because ASEAN has adopted English as its working language? Why do English language teachers struggle with curriculum changes imposed by governments in order to make them competitive in the international community? Do professional development (PD) programs actually meet the needs of teachers? This book addresses issues surrounding these questions by examining how the Japanese and Vietnamese governments have approached and defined the PD of English language teachers and how such PD programs have been delivered. It further analyses the impact of policy changes on individual teachers and explores how PD can help teachers to implement such changes effectively at the micro-level. PD of language teachers or language teacher education is relatively new as a field of inquiry in Applied Linguistics. By including case studies of Japan and Vietnam in the one volume, this book embarks on the challenging task of demonstrating that PD is an essential element of the successful implementation of language policies in Asia, where World Englishes have been shaped by distinct local contexts.

English Language Education Policy in Asia

English Language Education Policy in Asia PDF

Author: Robert Kirkpatrick

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-11-27

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 3319224646

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This volume offers comprehensive 'state-of-the-art' overviews of educational policies concerning the teaching of English in a large number of Asian countries. Each contribution is written by a leading expert and gives a clear assessment of current policies and future trends. Starting with a description of the English education policies in the respective countries, the contributors then delve into the 'nuts and bolts' of the English education policies and how they play out in practice in the education system, in schools, in the curriculum, and in teaching. Topics covered include the balance between the acquisition of English and the national language, political, cultural, economic and technical factors that strengthen or weaken the learning of English.

Encyclopedia of Language and Education

Encyclopedia of Language and Education PDF

Author: Stephen May

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-03-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783319023434

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In this third, fully revised edition, the 10 volume Encyclopedia of Language and Education offers the newest developments, including an entirely new volume of research and scholarly content, essential to the field of language teaching and learning in the age of globalization. In the selection of topics and contributors, the Encyclopedia reflects the depth of disciplinary knowledge, breadth of interdisciplinary perspective, and diversity of socio-geographic experience in the language and education field. Throughout, there is an inclusion of contributions from non-English speaking and non-western parts of the world, providing truly global coverage. Furthermore, the authors have sought to integrate these voices fully into the whole, rather than as special cases or international perspectives in separate sections. The Encyclopedia is a necessary reference set for every university and college library in the world that serves a faculty or school of education, as well as being highly relevant to the fields of applied and socio-linguistics. The publication of this work charts the further deepening and broadening of the field of language and education since the publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia in 1997 and the second edition in 2008.

English in East and South Asia

English in East and South Asia PDF

Author: Ee Ling Low

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-08-29

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 0429782063

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This book provides a first systematic and comprehensive account of English in East and South Asia (EESA) based on current research by scholars in the field. It has several unique features. Firstly, it provides a rigorous theoretical overview that is necessary for the understanding of EESA in relation to the burgeoning works on World Englishes as a discipline. Secondly, in the section on linguistic features, a systematic template was made available to the contributors so that linguistic coverage of the variety/varieties is similar. Thirdly, the vibrancy of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic realities that govern actual English in use in a wide variety of domains such as social media, the Internet and popular culture/music are discussed. Finally, this volume includes an extensive bibliography of works on EESA, thus providing a useful and valuable resource for language researchers, linguists, classroom educators, policymakers and anyone interested in the topic of EESA or World Englishes. This volume hopes to advance understanding of the spread and development of the different sub-varieties reflecting both the political developments and cultural norms in the region.

Language Policies in Education

Language Policies in Education PDF

Author: James W. Tollefson

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780805836011

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How do language policies in education serve the interests of dominant groups within societies? How do policies marginalize some students while granting privilege to others? How do language policies in schools create inequalities among learners? How can schools further the educational, social, and economic interests of linguistic minorities? These questions--the focus of the chapters in this book-- are at the heart of fundamental debates about the role of schools in society; the links between language policies and inequalities of class, region, and ethnicity/nationality; and conflicts between linguistic minorities and "mainstream" populations. The connections between language policies and inequality are examined, as well as successful efforts to use language policies in education to assert the social and linguistic rights of language minorities. *All of the chapters are original and substantial contributions to the study of language policy and exemplify major theories and research methods in the field. *The case studies are international in scope, including cutting-edge analyses of important language policy debates in North America, Australia, Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. *The multiple meanings of criticallanguage policy study are highlighted. First, the term refers to the field of critical linguistics. Second, the book seeks to develop readers' ability to critically "read" language policies--that is, to understand the social and political implications of particular policies adopted in specific historical contexts. Third, it features chapters that are critical of traditional analyses that fail to capture the full social and political context of language policies and too often accept uncritically the claims of policy. *Sections are included on theoretical issues in language policies; the use of language policy for governance; the role of language policy in managing ethnic conflict; the link between language and globalization; and the impact of critical pedagogy on social change. This volume is intended for scholars and other specialists in language policy, education, applied linguistics, critical linguistics, and language teaching. It is designed for use as a textbook in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on language policy and language education.