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Interrogating the Presence and Importance of the Nihonjinron Discourse in Japanese Junior High School Efl Classrooms

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Interrogating the Presence and Importance of the Nihonjinron Discourse in Japanese Junior High School Efl Classrooms INTERROGATING THE PRESENCE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE NIHONJINRON DISCOURSE IN JAPANESE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL EFL CLASSROOMS By JEREMIE BOUCHARD A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of English Literature College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham November 2015 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This Modular PhD research project investigates the relationship between nihonjinron and EFL classroom practices in Japanese junior high schools. Its overarching concerns are Can traces of nihonjinron be found in the body of data gathered for this module? and How important are these traces to observed EFL practices? By adopting a social realist approach to critical social research, attention is brought to agentive processes – as revealed through ethnographic means of inquiry – in the study of ideological discourse. In the process, the gaps and contradictions between what people say and what they do emerge as important research concerns, and as points of interest in the analysis of the complex links between structural and agentive processes shaping Japanese EFL education in secondary schools. Analysis of the data collected for this module reveals that the presence of nihonjinron in, and its importance to, observed EFL practices is marginal. 49,932 words (excluding cover page, abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents, lists of illustrations and tables, in-text tables and figures, reference list, and appendixes) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Joe Bennett for acting as my supervisor midway through this modular PhD research project, for helping me in countless ways, and for providing me with valuable advice on how to make this project a reality. My special gratitude to Dr. Alison Sealey, my first supervisor, who introduced me to social realism and to the central interrogation in this project, which is the complex relationship between what people say and what they do. At no less a level of appreciation, I would also like to thank my co-workers at Hokkai Gakuen University, who are always very patient and supportive. I am also greatly indebted to the four devoted Japanese EFL teachers who took part in this study. Without their help, generosity and willingness to explore various aspects of their everyday experiences as language learners and teachers, this project would simply not have been possible. Finally, I owe my deepest gratitude to my wife, Toyo. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Research questions and general research approach 3 2 Two theoretical perspectives grounding this module 6 2.1 Linguistic ethnography 6 2.2 Critical classroom discourse analysis 9 3 Data and method 11 3.1 Data collection 11 3.2 Types of data 15 3.2.1 Audio-recording of classroom discourse 16 3.2.2 Field notes 17 3.2.3 Textbooks and printed classroom materials 19 3.2.4 Teacher interviews 21 3.2.5 Teacher and student surveys 23 3.3 Data analysis 25 3.3.1 Data selection 25 3.3.2 Data transcription 27 3.3.3 Data coding 29 3.3.4 Linking data segments within and across data sources 30 3.4 Translation 33 3.5 Data triangulation 36 3.6 Reflexivity 38 3.7 Ethical considerations 42 4 Exploring the Japanese JHS English classroom 45 4.1 The language classroom: discourse, socialization and power 45 4.2 The foreign language classroom 51 4.3 Japanese JHS 52 4.4 Public and private JHS 54 4.5 Japanese JHS English classrooms 55 4.6 Japanese JHS English teachers 56 4.7 EFL students in Japanese JHS 58 5 The study 61 5.1 Dominant features in the data 66 5.1.1 Teachers’ choice of language in the classroom 67 5.1.2 Code-switching 71 5.1.3 Use of English with simultaneous translation 81 5.1.4 Use of English without translation 86 5.1.5 Culture teaching 92 5.1.6 Challenges faced by English teachers 104 5.2 Perspectives held by teachers and students in regards to EFL 109 education 5.2.1 Teachers’ views on MEXT policies 110 5.2.2 Teachers’ views on culture teaching 111 5.2.3 Teachers’ views on monolingual EFL education 120 5.2.4 Students’ views on EFL education 122 5.2.4.1 Statements related to the EFL classroom 124 5.2.4.2 Statements related to the nihonjinron discourse 125 5.3 Explicit references to the nihonjinron discourse 128 5.3.1 ‘Unique Japan’ and ‘traditional Japan’ 130 5.3.2 Cultural polarization 144 5.3.3 Japanese students as monolingual 149 5.3.4 Contradicting the nihonjinron discourse 154 5.4 Links between nihonjinron and observed EFL practices 161 5.4.1 Linking nihonjinron and observed EFL practices through data triangulation 161 5.4.2 Insights from work conducted in previous sections 165 5.4.3 Insights from work conducted in Section 5.3 168 5.5 Relevance of the findings to observed EFL practices 171 5.5.1 Exam pressures, CLT and grammar translation 172 5.5.2 Code-switching 174 5.5.3 The act of ‘performing English’ and the reproduction of the English language 180 5.5.4 ‘Traditional Japan’ and the demand for recognition 185 5.5.5 Influences outside the classroom 192 6 Relevance of the current study to nihonjinron research 195 6.1 Contradictions in the data 196 6.2 Revisiting nihonjinron 207 6.3 Implications for the critical work on nihonjinron 212 6.4 Moving beyond nihonjinron 215 7 Conclusion 223 References 226 Appendix 1: Data gathering documents 243 Appendix 2: Sample of classroom transcript 252 Appendix 3: Field note template 256 Appendix 4: Interview questions (with interview dates) 258 Appendix 5: Interview transcript sample 262 Appendix 6: Student attitude survey 273 Appendix 7: Survey on teachers’ use of language in the classroom 275 Appendix 8: List of codes 277 Appendix 9: Analyzed excerpts 278 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 72 Figure 23 98 Figure 45 136 Figure 2 73 Figure 24 99 Figure 46 137 Figure 3 73 Figure 25 105 Figure 47 138 Figure 4 73 Figure 26 105 Figure 48 140 Figure 5 74 Figure 27 106 Figure 49 143 Figure 6 74 Figure 28 107 Figure 50 145 Figure 7 75 Figure 29 107 Figure 51 146 Figure 8 76 Figure 30 112 Figure 52 149 Figure 9 77 Figure 31 113 Figure 53 150 Figure 10 78 Figure 32 113 Figure 54 151 Figure 11 79 Figure 33 115 Figure 55 153 Figure 12 81 Figure 34 116 Figure 56 155 Figure 13 81 Figure 35 116 Figure 57 155 Figure 14 82 Figure 36 117 Figure 58 156 Figure 15 83 Figure 37 118 Figure 59 157 Figure 16 84 Figure 38 118 Figure 60 158 Figure 17 87 Figure 39 120 Figure 61 159 Figure 18 89 Figure 40 131 Figure 62 159 Figure 19 92 Figure 41 132 Figure 63 160 Figure 20 93 Figure 42 133 Figure 64 176 Figure 21 95 Figure 43 134 Figure 65 179 Figure 22 96 Figure 44 135 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Insight expected from analysis of specific data sources 16 Table 2 Functional distribution of L1/L2 in teacher talk, in relation to total teacher talk 70 Table 3 Statements of significance in the student survey 123 Table 4 Distribution of nihonjinron-related codes in the data 162 1. INTRODUCTION In this Modular PhD research project, I investigate the relationship between nihonjinron and EFL classroom practices in Japanese junior high schools (JHS). I devoted Module One to an exploration of nihonjinron and its critiques, proposed five central research questions and outlined seven challenges in this modular project. In Module Two, I developed a theoretical and methodological approach to conducting CDA research in line with social realism. I also analyzed recent MEXT policy documents pertaining to junior high school EFL education with regards to nihonjinron. I concluded that, while recent MEXT policy discourse on EFL education contains traces of nihonjinron, the ideology does not appear to guide policy discourse. This conclusion was reinforced by ample evidence in these documents of other discourses contrasting with nihonjinron. In this third and final module, I analyze observed EFL classroom practices with reference to nihonjinron. Specifically, I ask Can traces of nihonjinron be found in the body of data gathered for this module? and How important are these traces to observed EFL practices? By adopting a social realist approach to critical social research, I bring attention to agentive processes – as revealed through ethnographic means of inquiry – in the study of ideological discourse. The research approach for this module – hereby presented as an ethnographically-based critical classroom discourse analysis of nihonjinron in Japanese EFL classrooms – aims to narrow the critique of nihonjinron to the level of classroom practice. In the process, the gaps and contradictions between what people say and what they do have emerged as important 1 research concerns. These gaps have emerged through a stratified investigation, revealing insight into the complex links between structural and agentive processes shaping Japanese EFL education in secondary schools. Before initiating the analysis in this module, it is important to provide a short definition of nihonjinron and summarize the aims and rationale of the study.
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