Japanese Overseas School) in Belgium: Implications for Developing Multilingual Speakers in Japan
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Language Ideologies on the Language Curriculum and Language Teaching in a Nihonjingakkō (Japanese overseas school) in Belgium: Implications for Developing Multilingual Speakers in Japan Yuta Mogi Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UCL-Institute of Education 2020 1 Statement of originality I, Yuta Mogi confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where confirmation has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Yuta Mogi August, 2020 Signature: ……………………………………………….. Word count (exclusive of list of references, appendices, and Japanese text): 74,982 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Siân Preece. Her insights, constant support, encouragement, and unwavering kindness made it possible for me to complete this thesis, which I never believed I could. With her many years of guidance, she has been very influential in my growth as a researcher. Words are inadequate to express my gratitude to participants who generously shared their stories and thoughts with me. I am also indebted to former teachers of the Japanese overseas school, who undertook the roles of mediators between me and the research site. Without their support in the crucial initial stages of my research, completion of this thesis would not have been possible. In addition, I am grateful to friends and colleagues who were willing readers and whose critical, constructive comments helped me at various stages of the research and writing process. Although it is impossible to mention them all, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my special thanks to the following people: Tomomi Ohba, Keiko Yuyama, Takako Yoshida, Will Simpson, Kio Iwai, and Chuanning Huang. Teaching English in two universities in Tokyo, Tamagawa University and Tokyo University of Science, for the latter half of this research has also helped to develop my thinking. Interacting with students and teachers has broadened my understanding of academic issues which I have discussed in this thesis, and my appreciation also goes out to them. Finally, I would like to thank my family – more than I can express in words - for their unstinting support and unconditional love in every aspect of my life. 3 Abstract This thesis critically examines the language ideologies underpinning the language curriculum and language teaching practices in a nihonjingakkō, a full-time day school for children of Japanese expatriates, in Belgium. By drawing on the theoretical frame of ideology of authenticity and ideology of anonymity (Woolard, 2016), I investigate what language ideologies the school, principal, and language teachers hold and how these influence the school’s language curriculum and language teachers’ pedagogy. The research adopted an ethnographically-oriented case study approach. The data consisted of semi-structured interviews with the principal and language teachers along with questionnaires, classroom observations, and analysis of policy documents from the school. Using qualitative content analysis, the study illustrated the complexity and multiplicity of language ideologies manifested in the school’s policy and practice. The findings indicate that the language ideologies operating in the school influencing the language curriculum and pedagogy are primarily monolingual and homogeneous, and largely influenced by the dominant language ideologies of Japan’s Ministry of Education and Japanese society. Consequently, the school positions itself as if it were a mainstream school in Japan despite its location in the multilingual setting of Belgium. This was manifested through Japanese and English occupying the dominant role in the language curriculum, while French was marginalized, and no other languages were offered. Furthermore, a monolingual approach to pedagogy was adopted that emphasized keeping language separate, disregarding students’ and language teachers’ rich multilingual repertoire. The idea of developing students to be multilingual speakers is missing from the school curriculum and pedagogy, since the school do not conceive their multilingual abilities as a resource. In conclusion, this study proposes a critique of the language education policy of the nihonjingakkō operated in non-Anglophone settings such as Belgium. By setting this research in a nihonjingakkō in Belgium, I argue that these schools have the potential to provide an excellent model for multilingual education for Japanese children and for Japan since the majority of nihonjingakkō students will eventually return to Japan (Sato, 2019). The study also calls for a change in the monolingual language ideologies which shape the equation of ‘foreign language is English’ (Erikawa, 2018; Kubota, 2019; Seargeant, 2009) pervasive in the Japanese schooling context. 4 Impact Statement While a large body of research on Japanese overseas schools exists in the field of applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, this ethnographic-oriented case study is the first to critically examine language ideologies circulating in the school in Belgium, and how these shapes the school’s language curriculum and pedagogy. By focusing on a school in a non-Anglophone setting and including locally hired language teachers as participants, both largely under-researched elements in previous studies, the study bridges a gap in the literature and adds further dimensions to the research on Japanese overseas schools. Furthermore, by shedding light on the ways in which ideology of authenticity and anonymity have a symbiotic as well as dichotomous relationship in the research context, the study can provide insights on Woolard’s concept of ideology of authenticity and ideology of anonymity (2016), which risks slipping into the ‘either-or’ binary conceptualization. On the level of policy implications, the findings argue for the adoption of a multilingual approach to language teaching, which can help students and teachers to fully draw on their multilingual resources in language learning and take pride in their forms of multilingualism. The critique I proposed in this thesis should be of particular relevance to the government of Japan, in particular the Ministry of Education, which has been playing a dominant role in designing and enacting language education policies to schools. In addition, I am convinced that the findings of this study do offer food for thought to other educational institutions which have a similar educational purpose and background. This study and its findings have been presented to scholars at conferences inside and outside Japan. These events have prompted rich discussion which can stimulate others working in this field to undertake additional studies. Upon the completion of this thesis, I plan to collaboratively work with scholars who share similar research interests. This will further illuminate and contribute to advancing the discussions on language ideologies operating in Japanese overseas schools, and how these influence the schools’ language education policy and teaching practice. 5 Contents Statement of Originality ………………………………………………. 2 Acknowledgements …………………………………………………….. 3 Abstract ………………………………………………………………… 4 Impact Statement ……………………………………………………… 5 Chapter 1: Introduction ……………………………………………………. 12 1.1 Introduction: An Anecdote ……………………………………………...... 12 1.2 Aims of the research and the significance for the field…….…………………. 15 1.3 Organization of Thesis …………………………………………………........... 18 Chapter 2: Setting the scene for the study ……………………………………. 20 2.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………........... 20 2.2 Multilingual Japan ……………………………………………………………. 20 2.3 Japanese language education in public schools ………………………………. 24 2.4 English education in Japan in public schools ………………………………… 27 2.5 Teaching languages other than English in Japan ……………………………… 29 2.6 Gakikokujingakkō: Schools for foreigners ……………………………………. 32 2.7 Overseas Education ……………………………………………………........... 33 2.7.1 Nihonjingakkō ……………………………………………………….......... 34 2.7.2 Hoshukō …………………………………………………………………… 36 2.7.3 Kikokushijo ………………………………………………………….......... 38 2.7.4 Teachers and Principals …………………………………………………… 41 2.8 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………… 43 Chapter 3: Language Ideology …………………………………………………. 45 3.1 Ideology, Discourse, and Power ……………………………………………... 45 3.2 Marx and Foucault ………………………………………………………........ 45 3.3 Language Ideology …………………………………………………………... 48 3.4 Ideology of Authenticity and Ideology of Anonymity ……………………….. 51 3.5 Language Ideologies in Japan ………………………………………………... 54 3.5.1 Japanese language and its history ………………………………………… 55 3.5.1.1 Japan and modernization: The Birth of Kokugo ………………………. 56 3.5.1.2 Japan’s Colonial Expansion and Dilemma: The Birth of Nihongo …………………………………………………………. 58 3.5.1.3 After World War Two: Nihonjinron and Critical Perspectives on Kokugo …………………………….. 59 3.5.2 Language Ideologies of English ………………………………………….. 61 3.5.2.1 Admiration of Euro-American cultures and values …………………… 61 6 3.5.2.2 Nihonjinron and Kokusaika …………………………………………… 63 3.5.2.3 Persistent Prevalence of English as the foreign language …………….. 65 3.5.3 Language Ideologies in ELT and JLT …………………………………….. 70 3.5.3.1 Language Ideologies in ELT: Native-speakerism and monolingualism ……………………………………………………………….. 71 3.5.3.2 Language Ideologies in JLT: Native speakerism and monolingualism ……………………………………………………………….. 75 3.6 Language Ideologies in Belgium and Brussels ………………………………. 76 3.7 Limitation and Contribution ………………………………………………….