Ryuko Kubota

Japanese Culture Constructed by Discourses: Implications for Applied Linguistics Research and ELT.

Some of the recent applied linguistics literature on teaching writing and critical thinking to ESL students has presented pedagogical arguments by drawing on cultural differences between ESL students and the target academic community. In these arguments, authors tend to create a cultural dichotomy between the East and the West, constructing fixed, apolitical, and essentialized cultural representations such as groupism, harmony, and deemphasis on critical thinking and self-expression to depict Japanese culture. This article takes Japanese culture as an example and attempts to critique these taken-for-granted cultural labels. The article argues (a) that the essentialized cultural labels found in the applied linguistics literature parallel the constructed Other in colonial discourse; (b) that cultural uniqueness is also appropriated by the Other itself as seen in the discourse of nihonjinron (theories on the Japanese), which represents cultural nationalism and a struggle for power against Westernization; and (c) that emerging research is generating new knowledge on educational practices in Japanese schools and a new understanding of concepts in cultural contexts, challenging the essentialized notion of Japanese culture. Finally, this article offers another way of understanding cultural differences from a perspective of critical multiculturalism and presents a perspective of critical literacy that supports both cultural pluralism and critical acquisition of the dominant language for social transformation.

Ideologies of English in Japan

A number of educators in recent years have argued that the dominance of English has created structural and cultural inequalities between developed and developing countries. Although they tend to dismiss ideological issues regarding teaching English in affluent countries in the Expanding Circle such as Japan, there is a growing concern and critique in Japan on ideologies of English. Critics argue that the dominance of English influences the Japanese language and people’s views of language, culture, race, ethnicity and identity which are affected by the world view of native English speakers, and that teaching English creates cultural and linguistic stereotypes not only of English but also of Japanese people. Recent discourses of nihonjinron and kokusaika provide a broader context for understanding such ideologies. These discourses represent both resistance and accommodation to the hegemony of the West with a promotion of nationalistic values and learning a Western mode of communication; i.e., English. Among several proposals offered by critics, raising critical awareness of English domination parallels the philosophy of critical pedagogy. This paper suggests that both critical consciousness and practical skills in English along with inclusion of varieties of English in the curriculum are necessary for Japanese learners to appropriate English for social transformation.

An investigation of L1–L2 transfer in writing among Japanese university students: Implications for contrastive rhetoric

Abstract Many studies of contrastive rhetoric have confirmed that Japanese writers prefer an inductive style which is negatively transferred to ESL writing, whereas one study found similarities in rhetorical patterns used by good Japanese and English L1 writers. This study investigated whether individual Japanese students use the same discourse pattern in L1 and ESL writing and how each individuals use of similar/dissimilar patterns affects the quality of ESL essays. University students in Japan wrote one essay in Japanese and another in English. A total of 22 students wrote on an expository topic, and 24 students wrote on a persuasive topic. Each participant was interviewed later about their writing and views on rhetorical styles. Both Japanese and ESL essays were evaluated in terms of organization and ESL essays were also rated in terms of language use. The location of the main idea and the macro-level rhetorical pattern were coded for each essay. Results showed that about half of the writers used similar patterns in L1 and L2. Results also revealed a positive correlation between Japanese and ESL organization scores, but no negative transfer of culturally unique rhetorical patterns. The data suggest that L1 writing ability, English proficiency and composing experience in English affect the quality of ESL essays.

Race And TESOL: Introduction to Concepts and Theories

The field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) brings people from various racialized backgrounds together in teaching, learning, and research. The idea of race, racialization, and racism are inescapable topics that arise in the contact zones created by teaching English worldwide and thus are valid topics to explore in the field. Nonetheless, unlike our peer fields such as anthropology, education, and sociology, the field of TESOL has not sufficiently addressed the idea of race and related concepts. This special topic issue is one of the first attempts in our field to fill the gap. This introductory article will survey key concepts and theories defined and debated in various fields, including race, ethnicity, culture, racialization, racism, critical race theory, and critical White studies, to provide a foundation for future explorations.

The Author Responds: (Un)Raveling Racism in a Nice Field Like TESOL

In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 3-25). New York: Longman. Ingold, T. (1994). Introduction to culture. In T. Ingold (Ed.), Companion encyclopedia of anthropology: Humanity, culture, and social life (pp. 329-349). London: Routledge. Kubota, R. (1999). Japanese culture constructed by discourses: Implications for applied linguistics research and English language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33, 9-35.

The Politics of Cultural Difference in Second Language Education

Cultural difference is an important topic of discussion in second language education. Yet cultural difference is often conceptualized as fixed, objective, and apolitical based on an essentialist and normative understanding of culture. This article challenges such conceptualizations by examining and politicizing multiple and conflicting meanings of cultural difference. Multiple meanings of cultural difference are illustrated in examples from contrastive rhetoric research, the national standards for foreign language learning in the U.S., and culturally relevant teaching for minority students. The multiple and often contradicting meanings of cultural difference signify that they are produced in discourses that embody politics and struggles for power. The concept of a discursive construction of culture and cultural difference is exemplified in how characterizations of Japanese written communication styles are related to identity politics and colonialist discourses. It is suggested that cultural difference needs to be viewed as relational and as a construct shaped by discourses and power.

Women Faculty of Color in TESOL: Theorizing Our Lived Experiences

Without community there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression. But community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist. (Lorde, 1984a, p. 112)

Learning a foreign language as leisure and consumption: enjoyment, desire, and the business of eikaiwa

Abstract Social inclusion typically refers to the integration of the disadvantaged into the mainstream society as a national agenda. However, social inclusion in a broader sense addresses aspirations to be included in a global imagined community as well as a local community of like-minded people. Drawing on a qualitative study of men and women learning eikaiwa [English conversation] in informal settings in Japan, this paper investigates the aspects of leisure and consumption as characteristics of foreign language learning, rather than investment for gaining cultural capital. This perspective highlights the enjoyment of socializing with the teacher and the peers and forms of akogare [desire/longing] including romantic desire and the aspiration to be like other Japanese people with fluency in English. The manifestations of romantic akogare for white English-speaking men related to learning English were nuanced, diverse, and identified across gender and race. The dimension of leisure and consumption produces and reflects the business interest of the eikaiwa industry which commodifies and exploits whiteness and native speakers. The aspects of leisure and consumption challenge the possibility of critical engagement in foreign language learning.

New Approaches to Gender, Class, and Race in Second Language Writing.

Abstract Gender, class, and race are constitutive elements essential to writers’ agency and identity. However, these categories are not typically paid substantial attention in second language writing as well as in the larger field of second language acquisition and bilingual development, although issues of gender have been explored to a greater extent than the other two categories. This article summarizes constructivist and poststructuralist approaches to gender discussed recently in the larger field of second language learning and applies key concepts to issues of gender, class, and race in second language writing as well as interrelations among them. Recent discussions on gender and language have problematized fixed understandings of the gender binary in relation to language use. They have explored how gendered use of language is socially and discursively constructed and how gender, language, power, and discourse are related to each other in dynamic and transformative ways. It is suggested that new approaches to gender, class, and race be dialectic in that they should both explore differences between social categories in a non-essentialist way and expose discourse and power relations that are embodied in these differences. Future research agendas on gender, class, and race in second language writing that incorporate these approaches are suggested.

‘Language is only a tool’: Japanese expatriates working in China and implications for language teaching

Drawing on a qualitative case study, this article questions two prevailing assumptions: that English is a universal lingua franca and that English proficiency is indispensable for transcultural work. The study involved Japanese manufacturing companies with subsidiaries in China and investigated the language use of Japanese expatriates and Chinese office workers as well as the views of participants (including managers in Japan) about competencies deemed important for overseas work. Interview data revealed that the major languages used were Japanese and to a lesser extent Mandarin. Although English proficiency was deemed useful, the primary importance was placed on the “ability to communicate’’ supported by communicative and foundational dispositions along with cultural knowledge. These findings pose a challenge for critiquing neoliberal underpinnings.