Adopting and Adapting to New Language Policies in a Self-Access Centre in Japan

Imamura, Yuri

doi:10.37237/relay/010120

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A brief examination of articles published about the Japanese context in JASAL Journal and Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal confirms that a vast majority of self-access language learning literature in Japan focuses on the learning of English, and to a lesser extent, Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). Encouragingly, there is a growing body of work examining language policy in Japanese SALCs, which documents a shift away from English-only policies to ones which promote translanguaging (Adamson & Fujimoto-Adamson, 2012;Imamura, 2018;Thornton, 2018) or a more multilingual focus (Murray & Fujishima, 2016;Wongsarnpigoon & Imamura, 2020, 2021. Looking specifically at student perceptions, Thornton's (2020) investigation into student attitudes to SALC language policy revealed that students in both institutions surveyed were supportive of multiple language use in their SALCs.…”

Section: Lote In Self-access In Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linguistic Diversity in Self-Access Learning Spaces in Japan: A Growing Role for Languages Other than English?

Thirnton

2023

SISAL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In line with foreign language instruction in general, foreign language provision in self-access learning centres (SALCs) has been dominated by English language learning. This is largely due to the nature of the internationalisation agenda in Japan, termed kokusaika, which emphasises English as the most important international language, the learning of which can facilitate Japanese economic advancement (Hashimoto, 2017; Kubota & Takeda, 2021). Largely missing from this narrative is a promotion of multiculturalism within Japan between different migrant populations, for many of whom English is as much a foreign language as it is for Japanese nationals (Tsuneyoshi, 2018). In order to truly internationalise, Japan must understand and embrace the linguistic and cultural diversity within its borders. Therefore, international education should focus on more than simply English education. This is as true for self-access facilities as it is for the mainstream curriculum. While there is some provision in some facilities for languages other than English (LOTE), as yet, no systematic investigation into the degree and nature of this provision has been conducted. Using data from a survey administered with coordinators of SALCs across Japan, this study investigated the degree to which SALCs in Japan are focusing on LOTE and the different ways in which they support these languages. The results revealed increasing focus on LOTE in some SALCs, in terms of materials and services offered, and significant linguistic diversity among SALC staff. However, common heritage and indigenous languages in Japan are largely absent, and a tendency to see language provision primarily as the appropriate balance between English and Japanese still persists in some SALCs.

show abstract