"A Tale of Two Programs": Interrogating "Open(closed)ness" and "Cultural Diversity" through Critical Observations of Two Japanese University English Language Programs

Autor/in	Toh, Glenn
Titel	"A Tale of Two Programs": Interrogating "Open(closed)ness" and "Cultural Diversity" through Critical Observations of Two Japanese University English Language Programs
Quelle	In: Policy Futures in Education, 13 (2015) 7, S.900-916 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1478-2103
DOI	10.1177/1478210315578064
Schlagwörter	Asians; Cultural Pluralism; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Educational Policy; Course Content; Language of Instruction; Educational Change; Epistemology; Language Attitudes; College Second Language Programs; Universities; Program Evaluation; Cultural Context; Critical Theory; Social Theories; Native Speakers; Stereotypes; Global Approach; Official Languages; Foreign Countries; Japan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate; Kulturpluralismus; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Kursprogramm; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Bildungsreform; Erkenntnistheorie; Sprachverhalten; University; Universität; Programme evaluation; Programmevaluation; Kritische Theorie; Gesellschaftstheorie; Muttersprachler; Klischee; Globales Denken; Office language; Amtssprache; Ausland
Abstract	Japan is known to be a country that manicures its socio-cultural borders. In this article I will examine discourses regarding openness, closedness and cultural diversity in relation to policies and practices that draw heavily on mythologies of English language as an inroad to greater openness and diversity. To do this I will examine two English language programs at two different Japanese universities where I have worked as an English teacher. My analysis will be done within a larger backdrop of discourses, histories and epistemologies depicting: (1) Japan as a monolingual and monocultural nation where cultural diversity has been systemically and strategically resisted (Befu, 2001; Lee, 2006); (2) contestations over claims, meanings, renditions and suppressions of internationalization and cultural diversity in contemporary Japan; and (3) current practices surrounding English teaching, recent changes at policy level enabling content courses to be taught in English, and their implications for understandings of cultural diversity given the plurality of cultures and canons identifiable with English. Through critical observations of English as a Foreign Language and English as a Lingua Franca programs, I will demonstrate how different epistemological assumptions and ideological agendas behind the programs influence understandings, renditions and enactments of what I call open(closed)ness and cultural diversity. I will also observe how subtleties, inconsistencies and incongruities related to such open(closed)ness can in turn exert a wash back effect on policy decisions. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01