Keywords Japanese Education, Educational Reform, Globalization, Curriculum Design, Bilingual Education, English as a Lingua Franca
Due to an increase in globalization, international business, and the Tokyo Olympics being held in 2020, Japan faces a growing need to develop a population with the English language skills and cultural awareness needed for global success. The need to address these goals has been noted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) who is spending large amounts of money on various initiatives in schools, universities, and businesses across Japan. This papers outlines some of the key policy changes and educational initiatives that are being spearheaded by MEXT in order to develop the Japanese populason’s English language proficiency and to create a more international higher education system in order for Japan to remain competitive on the global arena. These initiatives will then be framed within the concept of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) or English as an international language (EIL). Finally, this paper specifically describes a number of programs, all of which have received considerable funding from MEXT, that have been developed at one university in Tokyo to develop globally minded bilingual individuals capable of performing in international academic or business contexts. Results of some of these programs are described in terms of language gains, study abroad placement, and post-graduation employment statistics.
Full Text : PDF
- Aloiau, E. K. W. (2008). The Design of the International Program English Curriculum.
- The Soka Economic Studies.37, March 2008. 107-127.
- Bircan, E. (2013). English as a lingua franca for global business communication.
- American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal, 5(6).
- Block, D. (2010). Globalization and Language Teaching. In N. Coupland (Ed.), The
- Handbook of Language and Globalization (pp. 287-304). Boston, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Butler, Y. G. (2007). Foreign language education at elementary schools in Japan:
- Searching for solutions amidst growing diversification.Current Issues in Language Planning, 8(2), 129-147.
- Grabe, W. and Stoller, F.L. (1997). Content-based instruction: research foundations. In
- M.A. Snow & D.M. Brinton (eds.), The content-based classroom. White Plains, NY: Longman. 5-21.
- Kirkpatrick, A. (2012). English as an International Language in Asia: Implications for
- language education. In Kirkpatric, A. & Sussex, R (Eds.). English as an International Language in Asia: Implications for language education . Dordrecht: Springer.
- McKenzie (2010).Relevant Language Attitude Research.The Social Psychology of
- English as a Global Language (Vol. 10, pp. 41-71): Springer Netherlands.
- Miichi, K. (2010, 7, 17). More colleges offer courses taught in English. The Asahi
- Shimbun.Retrieved October, 25, 2010, from
- http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007160463.html
- Mondejar, M., Laurier, J., Valdivia, L., Mboutsiadis , B., & Sanchez , E. (2012). Language
- policy in Japan: Shifting paradigms. In K. Bradford - Watts, R. Chartrand, & E. Skier (Eds.), The 2011 Pan - SIG Conference Proceedings. Matsumoto: JALT.
- N.A. (2014).English Education Reform Plan Corresponding to Globalization.Ministry of
- Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Tokyo. Accessed on November 7th 2014 from http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2014/01/23/1343591_1.pdf
- N.A. (2014). Faculty of Liberal Arts: Overview. Soka University, Tokyo.Accessed on
- November 7th 2014 from http://fila.soka.ac.jp/en/overview.html
- N.A. (2014).Global program to develop human resources. Soka University, Tokyo.
- Accessed on November 7th 2014 from http://www.soka.ac.jp/en/department/global/
- N.A. (2014).National University Reform Plan (Summary).Ministry of Education, Culture,
- Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).Tokyo. Accessed on November 7th, 2014 from http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2014/01/23/1343591_1.pdf
- N.A. (2014). Special English zones proposed as part of Cool Japan tourism initiative.
- Japantoday.com. Aug. 28, 2014 06:51AM JST. Accessed on Nov 5th from
- http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/special-english-zones-proposed-as-part-of-cool-japan-tourism-initiative
- Shimomura, H. (2014). Statement by Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
- Technology of Japan on the October 12 International New York Times article "Japan's Divided Education Strategy". Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). October 31, 2014. Accessed on Nov 10th, 2014 from
- http://www.mext.go.jp/english/topics/1353287.htm
- Shimamura, H. (2013). Global 30 Universities.The Japan Times, Sept. 30. 2013. Accessed
- on Nov 10th from http://info.japantimes.co.jp/ads/pdf/20130902_global_30_universities.pdf
- Yoshida, K. (2008). TEFL in Japan: An overview. AILA Presentation. August 25, 2008.
- Retrieved on November 2nd, 2014 from http://pweb.cc.sophia.ac.jp/1974ky/TEFLinJapan.pd