Global Competence and Foreign Language Education in Japan

Abstract

The pursuit of global competence (GC) is heavily promoted as part of university education in Japan, where the government exhorts universities to equip graduates with skills that will enable them to function as global citizens. Foreign language (FL) educators are often expected to cultivate these globally competent individuals. However, there is little consensus on what GC actually is, and limited evidence that existing models of GC are actually applicable in the Japanese context. This study used a qualitative survey targeting professionals, researchers, university teachers and students to determine the attributes that are seen to comprise GC, and the challenges faced in achieving GC in the Japanese context. Findings highlighted the primacy of FL communication skills, as well as openness, extraversion, emotional stability, and a willingness to engage. To overcome challenges to the achievement of these attributes, we suggest that FL educators need to tap into learners’ individual identities and aspirations, rather than pursuing generic and decontextualized approaches to the development of GC.

Fostering Global Competence in Teacher Education: Curriculum Integration and Professional Development

“…He contends that this interpretation of global competence needs to be revised because its ideational foundation is connected to US corporate interests and has a pedagogical impulse focused on managing the new capitalism's propensity to weaken social cohesion while molding its culture. Moreover, Sakamoto et al (2022) proposed that educators should empower learners' unique identities and goals to overcome obstacles to accomplishing these traits rather than adopting generalized and decontextualized approaches to developing global competence.…”

Exploring the impact of intercultural competence education on students’ adaptability and success in culturally diverse environments

“…Still, the discourse surrounding the concept of IC presents a diverse landscape (Deardorff, 2019;Liang & Schartner, 2020), with terminologies such as cross-cultural competence (Gertsen, 1990;Matsumoto & Hwang, 2013), global competence (Caligiuri & Di Santo, 2001;Hunter et al, 2006;Sakamoto & Roger, 2022) and cultural intelligence (Ang et al, 2007;Earley & Ang, 2003;Erez et al, 2013;Iskhakova et al, 2021) often being used interchangeably, despite the subtle nuances that distinguish them (Fantini & Tirmizi, 2006;Sabet & Chapman, 2023).…”