A Critical Approach to English Education in Japan

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C. Burrows

Critical applied linguistics seeks to question and problematise the political and social dimensions to learning and education. This paper applies this critical perspective on political policies underlying English language education theory and practice in Japan. It examines the overarching philosophy behind the embrace of a move towards a discourse of linguistic instrumentalism (Wee, 2008), before addressing the practical challenges experienced by teachers and learners through the introduction of foreign teaching methodologies.

Key Words : Critical approach theory, Critical applied linguistics, Language education

Critical applied linguistics

Critical applied linguistics (henceforth CAL) seeks to question normative assumptions through a process of critical problematisation. Without necessarily seeking an alternative truth, the process of constant questioning aims to generate new assumptions and the establishment of new orthodoxies as a way of doing applied linguistics (Pennycook, 2010, p. 10). In relation to EFL, this engagement takes places at all levels of language learning; at the level of language policy the perspective highlights a lack of criticality towards both the teaching of English and the role of the language due to a perceived submission on the part of the teacher into the role as language instructor (Phillipson, 1992; Pennycook, 1994). This position assumes an acceptance of modes of intellectual inquiry that are apolitical and asocial due to a reluctance engage in political activities and consequently labelled as self-serving, alienated

stooges of U.S. imperialism. At the level of language instruction, a pedagogy of possibility is advocated that develops theories, forms of knowledge, and social practices that aims to empower participants (Giroux, 1988, p. 134). Without a political, ideological dimension, it is argued, implicitly argues that both culture and language education take place outside the relations of power.

EFL instruction theory

Neoliberal models of commodification and marketisation promote the international trade in bodies, information and discourse, material goods, capital (Luke ., 2007). The demands of participation within this internationalised economy have led to a more interconnected, globalised, and more pertinently, a more pragmatic position with language and culture are valued as commodifiable resources (Heller, 1999). The embrace of what has been termed linguistic instrumentalism (Wee, 2008) underlines a belief in the economic benefits in developing language proficiency in the lingua franca of globalisation among the workforce (Wee, 2008). For countries without the experience of

-A Critical -Approach to English Education in Japan

Department of International Liberal Arts, Chugokugakuen University, 83, Niwase, Kitaku, Okayama 701-0197, Japan

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Western European colonialisation or English as an EFL, English language instruction is being intensely promoted as essential for participation in the globalised economy. Mostly conforming to key tenets of EFL theory (see Larsen-Freeman, 1991), native English teachers are employed to create all-English environments that largely function to facilitate eﬀective, oral communication. In the case of Japan, the Ministry of Education1 _{dictates that all}

seven-year old primary school students commence their formal English education as part of an action plan that expects sixth-form college graduates to be able to participate in normal communication with regard to topics, for example, relating to daily life (The Ministry of Education, 2002).

Whether the goals of creating global citizens can be achieved (however quantified) is dependent on several prominent socio-cultural factors evident in a collectivist country such as Japan. These cognitive and socio-cultural factors can collectively account for the weakness of the communicative approach in this setting. The factors are:

1. The learning expectations of native English-speaking EFL teachers.

2. The learning style of Japanese students. 3. Socio-cultural diﬀerences.

Western foreign language teacher

expectations

Teachers beliefs, assumptions, and background knowledge play a crucial role in their pedagogic decision making process (Woods, 1996; Johnson & Golombek, 2002). Any variance in teacher/ student beliefs is rightly recognised as potentially signiﬁcant when making the transition to the apparent randomness of communicative language teaching (Bowen: 2004). Only by understanding the lived experiences and sociocultural particulars of the learner can the teacher create the conditions for full, willing classroom participation (Norton, 2000). It illustrates the value-ladeness of teaching and learning and how pedagogies that ignore or fail to acknowledge these exigencies can be perceived as negatively and potentially arouse hostility (Coleman, 1996). Such

concerns exist with communicative language teachings disregard for endemic practices and the perception of a form of ethnocentrism that represents an exported homemade methodology without consideration for the locality (Chick, 1996). This increases the potential for the creation of psychological barriers to learning and the consequential eﬀects that are derived from it (Shamin, 1996, p. 109).

For many Western EFL instructors, active student participation is viewed as essential to a productive, beneficial lesson, and equates to the best language learners being those who are able to easily codify and orally transmit messages in the target language. It represents learner-centred principles in which learning is a visible affair with students expected to achieve maximum opportunity to practice by having a maximum share of participation (see Long and Porter, 1989). This notion of participation, however, is generated by a discourse of power belonging to a particular culture of professionalism. For CAL proponents, this lacks a comprehension of language as a collection of meanings that play an important role in how people interpret themselves and the world in which they live. They argue such subjective assessments and beliefs (i. e., of good practice) in itself is founded on autonomous scientific principles that is in fact ideologically motivated. A distinction between active and passive participation based on oral activity derives from a phonocentrism which is in turn part of a rationalist Western culture which prizes oral expression (Pennycook). Conversely, situations deemed less than successful are likewise addressed from the teacher s own perspective, despite them possessing often limited understanding of the cultural context and adequate proficiency in the native language. The expectation is clearly on the learner to conform to the new environment or classroom regime, a condition that has been termed modern cultural imperialism for ignoring factors which have to be addressed in order to allow full participation and successful classroom participation. Environments of autonomous learning, student-independence, and student-autonomy are learning strategies that vary from Japans pedagogical traditions (Willis, 1996b) and can render expectations of student contribution, independence, and cognitive processing, unrealistic.

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1 Oﬃcial name: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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Japanese learner expectations

As highlighted above, the EFL classroom will not always be seen as a meeting place between student expectation, curricular content, and pedagogical appropriateness (Matsuda, 2003). The teacher-centered nature of the Japanese education system shapes and maintains student beliefs and concepts in regards to the learning process (Wenden, 1991). Stereotypically, Asian cultures, with their tradition of strict obedience to authority view the teacher as an embodiment of knowledge (e. g., Fox, 1994; Liu, 1998) which is poured into learners and positions them as empty vessels with minimal role in the learning process. This is how all Japanese students have been socialized from an early age. Instances of student dissatisfaction are therefore likely to surface whenever instructional activities are inconsistent with preconceived beliefs (Burden, 2002). Awareness of a discrepancy, if unfulﬁlled, may result in what Linde (in Woods 1996) terms a hotspot . Nunan concurs that:

no curriculum can claim to be truly learner-centered unless the learners subjective needs and perception relating to the processes of learning are taken into account. (Nunan, 1989)

In addition, the situation is not only determined by cognitive and expectancy concerns, but equally influential social and affective dimensions in determining-student participation. Rules and norms governing the L2 classroom interactional patterns will take on new dimensions depending as much on the pedagogic orientation as on the learners disposition and motivation to participate (Pierson, 1996, p. 55). Consequently, rather than be a motivation to use language communicatively, activities can result in the prominent use of L1 and indicate conﬂict in the rationale for the adoption of such activities. This is highlighted in Japanese students preference for the product of knowledge rather than the process of learning (Nakatani, 2008). This could help to illustrate common frustrations that the students

don t talk enough as they follow a

approach to conversation that values reticence and orderly turn taking with less inclination to dominate the conversation (Yamada, 1997). The onus is on

the listener to understand what is being said, rather than ask for clarification. In contrast, Western countries adopt a approach that includes all the strategies which EFL teachers teach students to assist them with their negotiation of language learning, and so is more applicable to a Western style of communication.

Socio-cultural factors in collectivist countries

These powerful counteracting forces are connected with socio-cultural factors, the most relevant of which is especially prominent in a collectivist country such as Japan:

shyness is more prevalent than in any other culture we surveyed. For 3 in 4, shyness is viewed as a problem, with over 80 labeling themselves as shy more than any other nation. The Japanese report feeling shy in virtually all social situations (Zimbardo, 1977)

Manifestations of this inﬂuence which can be observed in the Japanese classroom include and are common stereotypes among native English-speaking EFL instructors (Anderson in Wadden, 1993). They:

1. do not participate in classroom interaction, 2. are obedient to authority, and

3. lack critical thinking skills.

These characteristics are the product of centralized curricula, didactic and expository teaching styles, concentration on knowledge acquisition, examinations emphasizing reproductive knowledge over genuine thinking, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequately trained teachers (Pierson, 1996, p. 55). The significance of the factors is illustrated in the following common complaint among native English teachers:

[students] seldom volunteer answers, a

trait that many Western instructors ﬁnd extremely frustrating. Most Japanese will only talk if specifically called upon, and then only if there is a clear-cut answer. This does not necessarily signify an unwillingness to comply, but may simply indicate that the student is too nervous to respond,

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or too uncertain of the answer to risk public embarrassment. (Anderson in Wadden, 2003)

Conclusion

The stratified and gendered experiences that learner bring to the classroom are shaped by learning episodes they encounter in the classroom but also by the broader linguistic, social, economic, political, and historical milieu in which they all grow up. Classroom discourse, like all discourse, is socially constructed, politically motivated, and historically determined. English teachers need to be aware of the political dimension in EFT and question underlying ideologies of the global embrace of English as the international language of commerce, education, and academia. This necessitates them to critically evaluate the implications of their role in the production and reproduction of social inequalities (Pennycook, 1994). In addition, pedagogic adaptations must be explained and students sensitized (Cooker, 2004) to both the attitudinal and behavioral expectations required during the transition from a teacher-centered system to one where students are more actively involved in decisions about their learning.

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