ERIC Number: EJ1131956
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2011-6721
EISSN: N/A
Extrapolating from an Inquiry into Curricular Issues Concerning the Adoption of English as Medium of Instruction in a Japanese University Situation
Toh, Glenn
Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, v9 n1 p210-235 Jan-Jun 2016
Japanese universities have lately begun to teach academic content in English instead of Japanese. In this article, I examine curricular and ideological issues related to having English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at a Japanese university before examining their links to larger cultural-political forces in Japan, including neoconservative agendas. My discussion is framed within the setting of a Japanese higher education facing the challenges of: (1) low enrolments and institutional solvency; (2) curricular reform in keeping with the need for institutional renewal. Specifically, based on a critical narrative inquiry into a workplace encounter involving two university courses, one in introductory psychology and another in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), I will explore the ideologically-embedded nature of discourses affecting professional understandings of language, meaning making and curriculum. I will also observe that the "changes" resulting from the adoption of EMI are only superficial and that the role and status of English, in reality, remains circumscribed.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Language of Instruction, Language Role, Higher Education, Course Content, Introductory Courses, English for Academic Purposes, Second Language Instruction, Enrollment Trends, Political Influences, Political Attitudes, Teaching Methods, Educational Policy, Vignettes, College Faculty, Psychology, Classification
Universidad de La Sabana. Campus del Puente del Común, Km. 7, Autopista Norte de Bogotá. Chía, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Tel: +57-1-861-5555 Ext 41011; e-mail: laclil@unisabana.edu.co; Web site: http://laclil.unisabana.edu.co/index.php/LACLIL/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A